LGBTQ Advisory Board Minutes - 5-12-20
LGBTQ Advisory Committee
Committee Chair, Robin Schwartz
Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
Members in attendance – Cindy Brown, Craig Garmendia,
Elizabeth Schwartz, Edward Pascoe, Gayle Durham, Herb
Sosa, Jamie Guirola, Mark Wylie, Michael Bath, Paul
Thomas, Ricki Wilchins, Robin Schwartz, Sunny Weber
Others in attendance- Dan Rios, GMCVB, Commissioner
Richardson
Called to order at 1:00 p.m.
Ongoing Business:
A. Approval of the March 10, 2020 minutes- motion: Riki, second: Herb
B. MBPD Updates – None
C. GMCVB / Marketing updates – Dan Rios provided some updates. All marketing has
halted, they have been focusing on virtual events. 1100 restaurants are signed up for
the program. They are also working on Miami Shines Campaign for reopening.
New Business:
A. Discussion regarding meaningful way to commemorate South Beach’s legendary
Henrietta Robinson and others who passed away during the Coronavirus pandemic-
the Committee discussed and had a few ideas for example: sidewalk brick program or
a sculpture. One suggestion was to have one location, one memorial for all
contributions that have built Miami Beach. Another suggestion was to have a webpage
dedicated to the memorial, maybe a memorial of stories. Also, the committee would
like to commemorate multiple people. Heather Shaw, Tourism and Culture Assistant
Director, said the department would help execute the project, if the Committee provides
direct ideas with examples. The subcommittee on Visibility/Marketing/Tourism was
directed to meet on this topic and bring back ideas to the next meeting.
B. Discussion with Commissioner Richardson- Commissioner Richardson spoke the item
he was bringing to the Commission tomorrow, which is an LGBTQ business database.
He said the National Lesbian and Gay Chamber of Commerce started an initiative that
will help to capture the dollar amount with contracts of entities that are LGBTQ owned.
The item will allow the City Attorney and Commissioner to develop an ordinance an
before it goes to first and second reading to be approved by Commission, he would like
it referred to the LGBTQ Advisory Committee to provide suggestions and comments.
Robin mentioned that the Mayor wanted to establish some criteria for anyone doing
business with the City specifically around LGBTQ issues. She thinks it goes hand in
hand. Commissioner Richardson said this initiative is related to procurement actions;
contacts awarded by the City. We want to track the LGBTQ businesses that are
awarded the contracts. If there aren’t enough, it will make it apparent we need to do
Committee Members
Cindy Brown
Craig Garmendia
Daniel Diaz
Edward Pascoe
Elizabeth Schwartz
Gayle Durham
Herb Sosa
Jamie Guirola
Mark Wylie
Michael Bath
Paul Thomas
Riki Wilchins
Sunny Weber
more outreach to LGBTQ organizations to make sure those gets their share of
contracts awards in Miami Beach.
Subcommittees Reports and Next Actions:
1) HRC Rating (Cindy, Liz, Herb, Sunny)- None, they will schedule a meeting soon to
work on the HRC.
2) LGBTQ Visibility/Marketing/ Tourism (Gayle, Mark, Paul, Sunny)- the subcommittee will
meet on the honoring of LGBTQ people that passed away during the COVID
pandemic.
3) Health and Wellness (Ricki, Jamie, Craig, Paul)- on hold because of the coronavirus.
Discussion was held about HIV and COVID. Food assistance was discussed for
individuals in need. Discussion was held about the Resource Center- it is available to
help guide people for help such as unemployment, food assistance, rent assistance,
etc. It was mentioned that there are also food drives in North Beach on Wednesdays
and South Beach on Saturdays. There was also mention about the free COVID testing
at the Convention Center.
4) Senior Housing (Cindy, Robin, Ed)- Cindy expressed that there will be significant
housing needs after the pandemic and difficulty will increase. Discussions will continue
to be had.
Meeting adjourned at 1:45 p.m.