Board Meeting Minutes
Present: Bruce Adams, Nicholas Arrindell, Mumin Barre, Tracey-Alexis Dixon, Sabrina Hsu, Alicia Hannon, Michael Mills, Joy West, Matthew Lee, Jeannette Noltenius, Nan Qiao, Lorna Forde.
Excused: Clemmie Solomon, Yasin Yimam, Roman Santillan, Ashwani Jain
County Staff: Arwa Khadr.
The meeting via Zoom was called to order at 6:04 p.m. by chair, Mumin Barre.
Mumin recognized the life of Tufail Ahmad. He was a community leader, and well-respected
individual that served in Montgomery County for many years.
Approval of the Agenda: On a motion to approve by Mathew Lee seconded by Alicia Hannon, the agenda was approved.
Approval of November 30 Minutes: On a motion to approve by Jeannette Noltenius, seconded by Mathew Lee, the minutes of the November 30, 2021 meeting were approved.
Financial report: Chair Mumin Barre discussed the financials report and indicated there were no additional transactions.
County Government (MSC, FY23 Grant/Staffing): Arwa Khadr provided an update and stated that the funding has been included in budget for FY23.However it is early to know whether the budget is approved. The County Executive budget will be
posted by March 15, 2022. Once approved by the County Council in May, we will receive a further update.
The temporary Sr. Fellow position is currently under review. We received three resumes but they did not meet the qualifications. The temporary agency will be sending additional resumes by this week for review and will then schedule interviews.
The Senior Fellow in OCP is in process. It will take longer than expected. We
should have updates within the next three months.
Mumin confirmed we would like a senior fellow funded through Office of Community Partners (OCP), not the county’s HR process.
* OCP Director, Diane Vu: On leave until March 8, 2022.
* Acting Director Jody Frankentein.
Sister Cities Transparency Act.
Joy West provided an update on the sister Cities Transparency Act. She has contacted Congress who stated there is nothing going on with the legislation at this time. She reminded the Board to send the letter template expressing our concerns.
MSC-MCTV: Gondar Sister City project.
Bruce Adams and Tracey-Alexis Dixon discussed the MSC-MCTV Gondar Project meeting held on January 11, 2022. The meeting was informative. The group discussed the expectation for producing the video, content, and timelines. We have a direct liaison, Girma Hagos, who has worked with the committee in the past. We are currently working on obtaining interviews while Yasin is in Ethiopia now from Gondar University President and Hospital Director, the prior Mayor Dr. Muleken, and Ayanaw. Next meeting by mid-February to include committee members to discuss roles and responsibilities.
The Gondar committee 10 th anniversary is September 27, 2022. MCTV agreed to have the video produced by August to give us time to make final edits before the anniversary date.
Sister City Committee Reports
Morazan University project: Jeannette Noltenius gave an update regarding the funding opportunities to build a campus in Morazán. Letters continue to be sent to Senators and Congressional staffers. He stated that El Salvador’s political situation is fluid. The committee thought there was money from the Government to support projects there, however the request is not apart of the actual budget. In terms of the committee, fundraisers for the scholarship have been canceled due to COVID.
Gondar: University of Gondar sent a letter with a list of medical equipment requests to help
support the University of Gondar Hospital. Dr. Mike Mills will connect with Yasin Yimam to
discuss next steps.
Xi'an: Sabrina Hsu confirmed the entire city is shut down and has not reopened due to COVID.
Daejeon: No new Updates. The delegation trip to the U.S is canceled.
Hyderabad: No updates to report.
Old/new business/announcements
Nominations and Election of Board Chair & Vice-Chair -Tabled.
Chair Mumin will continue to hold the position of Chair until the next meeting.
Bruce recommended a “transitional” position in the interim until election is over and we’ve hired a Senior Fellow.
Action: Board members will email or call Mumin with recommendations.
The meeting ended at 7:05 p.m.
NEXT ZOOM: Discussed via email.
Respectfully submitted,
Tracey-Alexis Dixon, MSC Secretary
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