Commissioners Present:
First District: Howard Sapper
Second District: Nichole Warwick (Vice Chair)
Third District: Katrina Phillips (Chair), Liz Cruz Reyes (Officer-at-Large)
Fourth District: Cecilia Sofranko (Officer-at-Large)
Fifth District: Nick Thayer*, Lyndsey Burcina, Susan Hirsch*

Commissioners Absent:
First District: Daniel H. Sohn
Third District: Angie Avalos Cendejas
Fourth District: Irmina Benson

* Commissioner Thayer and Commissioner Hirsch attended via Zoom per AB2449.

Meeting held virtually and in person.  

I. Call To Order – Mission Statement – Roll Call – Phillips

Meeting called to order by Chair Phillips at 5:37PM. Chair Phillips read the mission statement. Roll call taken by Staff Support.

II. Consent Items
1. Approval of the May 27, 2025, meeting minutes.
2. Approval of the June 28, 2025, special meeting minutes.
3. Approval of the July 27, 2025, meeting minutes.

Motion to approve all consent items.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Warwick    Ayes: 5    Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Cruz Reyes    Absent: 3    Abstained: 3
Commissioners Sohn, Avalos Cendejas, and Benson were absent. Commissioners Sofranko and Burcina abstained. Chair Phillips abstained as Chair. Motion passed.

III. Openings and appointments
Chair Phillips announced openings: one in the First District, two in the Second District, and one in the Fourth District.

IV. Public Comment on Non-Agendized Items
No Public Comment.

V. Officer Reports and Administrative Updates
1. The Commission agreed to have a meeting on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 for their regular monthly meeting. Commissioner Thayer will not be present.
2. Commissioner Warwick announced that pending the asphalt environmental report, CHR will create a position statement.
3. Chair Phillips is partnering with community partners like the D.A office and Verity to bring a performer of a one woman show to tell her story about sexual assault which would be in April 2026. She would like to have in a bigger theater like the Santa Rosa Junior College. The Commission will be bringing this item forward as a discussion item to better execute the event.

VI. Regular Calendar
1. Warwick shared that her and Chair Phillips went to the October 7, 2025 Board of Supervisor’s (BOS) meeting and read the statement on domestic violence. Commissioner Warwick read the statement. No edits were suggested. Motion to approve the statement.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Burcina Ayes: 7 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Sapper Absent: 3 Abstained: 1
Commissioners Sohn, Avalos Cendejas, and Benson were absent. Chair Phillips abstained as Chair. Motion passed.

2. Commissioners Hirsch and Cruz Reyes led the discussion on whether to have a CHR newsletter. The Visibility Project collects data, and they reimagined the project to not just be about collecting data, but to display the data to the public. The newsletter is to elevate CHR visibility project results, but also a collaborative newsletter from all Commissioners, youth Commissioners, community partners info, and much more. Some concerns are Commissioners’ capacity, the frequency of the newsletter and the outreach. The Visibility Project ad hoc mentioned that they will take the lead on content. They will also work with the BOS to distribute it on their newsletter for outreach, and they might do quarterly newsletters for sustainability. Motion to approve the newsletter in the curation of that under the auspices of the Visibility Project Ad hoc and the commissioners therein, and the monthly review before publication by the officers.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Warwick Ayes: 7 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Sofranko Absent: 3 Abstained: 1
Commissioners Sohn, Avalos Cendejas, and Benson were absent. Chair Phillips abstained as Chair. Motion passed.

3. Commissioner Cruz Reyes read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Resolution as Commissioner Sohn was absent. The Board of Supervisors will present the resolution on Tuesday, December 9th at 1:30pm. Chair Phillips raised concerns about one of the whereas due to the current immigration situation : “whereas Sonoma County remains steadfast in its dedication to fostering a community that upholds human dignity, advances equity, and combats discrimination” The Commission suggested to change it to “whereas Sonoma County must remain steadfast…” and add transphobia at the end. They also added ad hoc projects to the fifth whereas to include CHR work. Motion to approve the resolution with the above edits.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Burcina    Ayes: 7    Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Sofranko    Absent: 3    Abstained: 1
Commissioners Sohn, Avalos Cendejas, and Benson were absent. Chair Phillips abstained as Chair. Motion passed.

4. The Commission only reviewed the 2025-2026 Youth Commission on Human Rights work plan and budget. Commissioner Cruz Reyes reviewed the work plan and budget for the 2025-2026 Youth Commission on Human Rights. Last year, they used a budget of $7,350, most of that going towards food and transportation costs. This year, they are asking for a budget of $7,530 for 30 incoming students. The budget will go towards supporting a human rights club at Cardinal Newman, and then Blue Zones might help us run the Petaluma High School Club, Youth Commission mentors background check, orientation, transportation, 5-6 ad hoc projects: labor justice, healthcare, environmental justice, education justice and systemic justice. They might apply for the community investment grant again to increase their budget. Motion to approve the work plan and budget.

No Public Comment

Motion: Commissioner Cruz Reyes Ayes: 7 Noes: 0
Second: Commissioner Sapper Absent: 3 Abstained: 1
Commissioners Sohn, Avalos Cendejas, and Benson were absent. Chair Phillips abstained as Chair. Motion passed.

VII. Additional Agenda Items for The Next Commission Meeting
The Commission mentioned that they would like to call a special meeting to approve a food insecurity statement to address the issue of the SNAP benefits. They agreed to have a special meeting on November 6, 2025 at 5:30pm.

VIII. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:06 p.m.