United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service		 Pacific Islands Area Go to Accessibility Information
Skip to Page Content


Committee Meeting Minutes

Subject: EOP - Civil Rights Action Committee Teleconference Date: September 19, 2007
To: Pacific Islands Civil Rights Action Committee
Lawrence T. Yamamoto, DEOO		File Code: EOP 230
 
Meeting called to order 1:15 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time
Attendees:
  Title Name
1) CRAC Chairperson Kurencio B. Ngowakl
2) Asian American/Pacific Islander Emphasis Program Cheryl Morton
3) Disability Emphasis Program Michael Hashimoto
4) American Indian/Alaska Native Emphasis Program Athena Pratt
5) Black Emphasis Program Sherman White
6) Acting Ethics Advisor Eileen Winkle
7) Management Analyst, acting as Advisor to the Committee Camille Kimbrough
Non Attendees:
  Title Name
1) Veterans Emphasis Program / Active Duty Sam Taylor
2) Federal Women’s Program Katina Hanson
3) Ethics Advisor Keith Harada
Old Business
  • Meeting minutes from May 17, 2007
    • Read by Chairperson
    • Chair asked committee to either comment on; or approve minutes from last meeting. Minutes were approved.
  • FY 08 Business Plan updates
    • See attached Business Plan; to save time, the Group agreed to forward updates by line items as assigned for the minutes.
  •  PI Civil Rights Awards-Athena Pratt
    • Athena brought to the attention of the Committee that in order for an individual to receive a National Civil Rights Award, that individual must have received a local or State Civil Rights award during that appraisal period
    • The group agrees to develop Criteria such as, who can receive awards, what kind of awards are commonly given by other States, what type of work is usually considered awardable
    • Deadline for contribution of information is by the Committee’s October teleconference.
Planner update-Athena Pratt
  • Larry would prefer the committee create a planner that is useful for more than one year
  • Committee decided to take this project off the list.
Items for Committee Vote
  • Need to fill Vacant Program positions
    • Cheryl presented the idea for existing program managers to fill the minimum requirements for empty positions until they are re-advertised and filled
      • Athena agreed/The Committee voted in concurrence
      • Athena/Hispanic; Cheryl/Federal Women’s Program and Eileen for the Veterans Emphasis Program.
  • National Civil Rights Committee attendance. Las Vegas; Dec. 10-14
    • Michael nominated Kurencio/Cheryl seconded the nomination
      •  Unanimous concurrence from the Committee for Kurencio to go
      • Both Athena and Cheryl agree to serve as backup per supervisor permission.
Status of Mentoring Program
  • Still in Draft, will be posted upon approval
    • Committee contributed discussion topics for review regarding mentoring topics of requirement
      • IDP’s
      • NRCS specific software
      • Educational requirements, specific to career goals
      •  Supervisor vs./mentor roles to be clearly defined
      • The Mentor should match the mentee
        • Part of the application process
          • Federal process
          • NRCS organizational training
          • Ethics-pertaining specifically to confidentiality.
Civil Rights Conference’s FY08
Name Training Date
Kurencio B. Ngowakl Civil Rights Committee/Las Vegas, NV Dec. 10-14, 2007
Athena Pratt American Indian/Traverse City, MI June 2-5, 2008
Sherman White Black/New Orleans, LA Dec. 10-13, 2007
Cheryl Morton Asian American-Pacific Islander/Washington State Aug. 11-15, 2008
Michael Hashimoto Disability/Bethesda, MD Dec. 3-7, 2007
Vacant Hispanic/Alaska Sept. /no other info.
Vacant Federal Women’s/Anaheim, CA July 14-18, 2008
Vacant Veteran’s/Same as Disability Same as Disability
Outreach: Career Fair updates
  • Eileen Winkle has been actively putting Human Resources Packets together for the Career Fair Booths
  • Jolene Lau is contributing materials for giveaways
  • Cheryl Morton and Michael Hashimoto have accumulated information to local Career Fairs. Details such as registration information, fee’s, and locations
  • Booth handouts such as STEP, SCEP, and Tri-fold on Civil Rights Committee in the Pacific Islands are being put together
  • Eileen and Cheryl, will exhibit for USDA-NRCS Pacific Islands at Brigham Young University’s annual fall Career fair on October16th, 2007
  • Kurencio will exhibit for USDA-NRCS Pacific Islands at the University of Guam for the semi-annual Career/Job Fair for Fall Semester 07, on Nov. 1, 07
  • Eileen is exhibiting at the University of New Mexico’s Career Fair in Las Cruses, NM on Oct. 22-23, 2007
  • Details for other Career/Job Fair’s will be ready and distributed for a variety of local areas.
Other Outreach efforts
  • Cheryl and Chad (D.C. Aiea Service Center) will be attending the Outreach Program for Minority Farmers of Hawaii on Sept. 27, 2007 at the Waialua District Court in Haleiwa.

Meeting Adjourned at 2:15 Hawaii Time

< Back to Civil Rights