Baltimore County Human Relations Commission names vice chair, formalizes committees and staffing plans

The Baltimore County Human Relations Commission elected Judge Commissioner Grier as its vice chair and moved to formalize committee work and staff responsibilities at a meeting where members also confirmed an acting executive director and discussed staffing vacancies and outreach plans.

Commissioners said the commission will operate this year through three subcommittees — community partnerships, signature event planning and education and awareness — and set short-term expectations for each. The commission’s staff reported that Renee Coleman has been appointed to serve as acting executive director and that staff will post a vacancy to fill an open specialist role.

Program manager David Skinner, speaking for staff, said that the commission’s bylaws were distributed in advance and that signatures are needed for the commission’s copy. He also told commissioners "she has been appointed to serve in that role," referring to Renee Coleman as acting executive director. Skinner described the commission’s administrative placement under the Office of Human Resources and the county’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The commission agreed to work through three subcommittees. The community partnerships committee will build and prioritize a prospect list of organizations that serve Baltimore County and recommend feasible partners; the signature event committee will plan a fourth-quarter public event; and the education and awareness committee will review and improve public materials, including accessibility and translations. Commissioners split into small groups to begin planning and agreed to exchange contact information and schedule follow-up meetings between regular full-commission meetings.

Staff reported one active federally funded contract that requires specialized contract language the transcript references as "type of 6" language; staff said they have assigned liaisons in each county department to coordinate when that language is needed for federally funded agreements, and that staff are preparing an administrative web page and translated public notice templates.

On membership and staffing, Skinner said staff have conducted recent interviews and will forward recommendations to the executive office for appointment. He said the commission needs about four candidates and has two recommended youth members; staff will submit those recommendations to the Office of Strategic Partnerships for review.

Formal actions at the meeting included electing Commissioner Grier (referred to in the meeting as Judge/Commissioner Grier) as vice chair and approving the minutes of the prior meeting. The vice-chair nomination was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote; the minutes were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. Commissioners also discussed signing the bylaws and staff will coordinate obtaining signatures and placing a signed copy in the commission’s records.

Commissioners used the district reports portion of the meeting to highlight upcoming outreach opportunities: county budget town halls scheduled at Perry Hall High School and Phillips Point Multipurpose Center and a March 22 public event hosted by the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. Commissioners additionally discussed community partners used at past events and requested staff share an existing partner list to avoid duplicating outreach efforts.

The meeting closed with staff agreeing to circulate the bylaws for signature and to add commission subcommittee schedules to the shared meeting materials.

The session combined administrative housekeeping (elections, minutes, signatures), staffing updates and the formation of working groups tasked with community outreach, event planning and educational materials.