Commission to recruit executive director and part-time intern, forms executive hiring committee

Eneda Roman, chair of the Status of Latinos and Latinas Commission, said the commission will move forward on hiring two positions — an executive director and a part-time intern — and proposed an executive committee to finalize job descriptions and recruitment steps.

The commission approved minutes from Oct. 30, Nov. 13 and Dec. 11 by voice vote before turning to a substantive discussion of the two roles. Doctor Lorna Rivera, a commission member, presented a draft internship description she adapted from other public-policy internship postings and said the role would support the executive director by preparing reports, fact sheets and testimony and by tracking and monitoring legislation that affects Latinos and Latinas.

"I took the liberty even of using some of the language and sort of the formatting of what I found in other internship descriptions," Doctor Lorna Rivera said, noting she highlighted decision points the commission still needs to resolve, including whether the intern should attend commission meetings. Rivera also proposed outreach channels and said the commission could recruit from graduate students at UMass Boston while keeping the search open to other candidates.

Representative Rita Mendez asked whether the internship would be paid and whether the commission's budget can cover both the executive director and an intern. "Will that be a paid internship?" Mendez asked. She said a paid position would make it more feasible for candidates to complete the research and data work the commission expects.

Attorney Zoila Gomez, a commission member, flagged current labor-market pressures and said the posted salary ranges used as a reference may be low for experienced candidates. "Depending on the qualifications, that salary range may be low," Gomez said, adding that paralegal hires in the market she has seen are being paid "over $50,000 a year."

Commission members discussed several administrative and compliance details staff must confirm with House human resources, including CORI (criminal background) checks and mandatory ethics training for paid hires. Sasha, a staff member for Representative Andy Vargas, said HR typically provides hiring documentation, posts positions on city/state job boards and triggers required ethics training emails after an appointment. "It is my understanding that you reach out to HR and they provide you with all the appropriate documentation," Sasha said.

The commission reviewed a job description used by the Commission for Persons with Disabilities as a model for the executive director role. That model lists duties such as program coordination, report preparation and public-data handling, and indicates a compensation band with benefits; speakers discussed how total compensation includes salary plus state-paid medical contributions, retirement options, paid holidays, tuition benefits and other incentives.

Speakers reported differing recollections of budget figures and salary ranges discussed in documents: one speaker referred to a compensation figure transcribed as "61,087,000 roughly" (appears to be a transcription error), another referenced a maximum salary around $87,000, and others recalled a commission budget figure of about $150,000. The commission did not adopt a final salary or budget allocation at the meeting; members said they will verify the correct figures with House staff and existing commissions.

As next steps the commission agreed to: (1) finalize and clean up the intern and executive director job descriptions so they align with the commission's statutory mandate; (2) consult executive directors of other commissions (including the Commission for Persons with Disabilities and the Asian Pacific Islander commission) to gather best practices; (3) coordinate with House HR to confirm posting procedures, background-check and ethics-training requirements, and how compensation ranges and benefits apply; and (4) form an executive recruitment subcommittee to complete and publish the postings. Eneda Roman said the executive committee will consist of Attorney Zoila Gomez, Doctor Lorna Rivera and herself and that committee members will review drafts by email before publication.

Two formal motions recorded in the meeting: the commission approved the minutes (motion moved by Doctor Lorna Rivera and seconded by Representative Rita Mendez) and later moved to adjourn (moved by Eneda Roman and seconded by Attorney Zoila Gomez). Both motions were approved by voice vote.

The commission scheduled its next meeting for the second Wednesday in February at the same time and closed the meeting early to allow administrative follow up.