2026-05-20 – Women’s Commission Meeting – Meeting Minutes

Attendance

Lori Pinkham, Chair- Present

Eugenie Kavanagh, Vice Chair – Present Beverly Post, Secretary – Present Cynthia Hodges- Commissioner- EA

Natasha Jean-Gilles- Commissioner- Present Angela Andrade- Friend of WC- Present

Aurelia Mboyo- Commissioner- Present

Call to Order

5:30 pm

Meeting Minutes

The motion to accept the April 15th and May 6th minutes was made, seconded, and passed.

Current Business

Any motions made were seconded and passed to accept.

• COFFEE & CONNECTIONS- NeighborWorks partnership. Great turnout. Most had never heard of WC, so we got to meet a lot of women who are interested in knowing more. The women want to keep meeting and networking with resource partners who can help them, so it was decided that NeighborWorks and WC will continue partnering with a networking program on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. (June- skip summer- start again in Fall).

  5 TOPICS ATTENDEES SAID WE SHOULD FOCUS ON TO HELP WOMEN

  IN BROCKTON: (1) Help finding resources, (2) Mentoring young women, (3) Help empower other women, (4) Translations of resources available, (5) Domestic Abuse

• OCTOBER EVENT: The mayor would like us to host a Breakfast event in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and he is looking forward to it.

• NEW PROSPECTIVE COMMISSIONERS

• WHO APPOINTS COMMISSIONERS & How the Process Works: The Commission comprises 11 members: eight appointed by the Mayor and 3 by the City Council President. They want to make sure our appointment process complies with the ordinance. Typically, appointments take 4-5 weeks, barring any obstacles, from the time the notice is sent to the City Clerk until the official swearing in by the City Clerk. It can be longer depending on how many interviews our office needs to conduct. City ordinance states that all members of the women’s commission must be Brockton residents.

• FRIENDS OF WC Language they wanted added to the bylaws: Individuals who wish to support the Commission but are not appointed commissioners may be designated as Friends of the Commission. Friends are welcome to share ideas and suggestions and may assist at events they choose to attend. Friends do not have voting rights. Friends are not required to be residents of Brockton.

• BUDGET

• CONTACTS

• Grants to apply for

New Business

Any motions made were seconded and passed to accept.

Upcoming meetings to add to your calendar:

• Thursday, June 4th – 5:30-6:30 pm- on ZOOM– Report on the morning meeting with the Mayor by Lori & Eugenie. Discussion on next year’s program ideas submitted to date.

• Wednesday, June 17th – 5:30-6:30 pm- IN PERSON– DPW Room (at this meeting, we will discuss & plan the 2026-2027 events calendar.)

Adjourned

6:30 pm