Bothell Council hears annual DEI update; city to publish roadmap tracker and expand youth engagement
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
City staff presented an annual diversity, equity and inclusion update outlining an advisory committee, youth engagement pilots with North Shore schools, training offerings and a public roadmap tracker of 54 DEI actions; no council action was required.
City DEI staff presented the city’s annual diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) update during the Oct. 14 Bothell City Council meeting and said staff will publish a public tracker to chart progress on the city’s 2023–2026 DEI roadmap.
Assistant City Manager Becky Range introduced Gabby Kuna, the city’s DEI coordinator, who told council members the DEI advisory committee began meeting in May and will serve, initially, as an ad hoc advisory body through December 2026. Kuna said the committee receives departmental highlights to help members act as community liaisons and offered feedback on the roadmap’s goal areas.
Kuna described a youth engagement pilot with the North Shore School District and the district’s Racial and Educational Justice Committee. She said staff convened a youth engagement summit that brought about 50 North Creek High School students to City Hall and that the city runs classroom visits, field trips and other school‑focused events, including Law Day and a Juneteenth program in partnership with high school groups.
On training, Kuna said the city offers a “foundations of equity and inclusion” course to staff and that topical trainings cover ableism, disability inclusion, language access and cultural competency. She noted a recent department‑level discussion led by Parks & Recreation staff about equity in field operations and highlighted an outside construction firm, O'Brien 360, that participated in the course.
Kuna said the roadmap contains 54 action items; staff are building a public tracker so the council and community can see progress, completed items and items still in process. She said staff will also bring a community partnership policy to formalize how the city supports events and programs run by community groups.
Council members praised the programs and asked staff to include lessons learned on the public dashboard. Kuna said no council action was required for the update.