Sixteen members, including six new members, were selected today to join the Wayne County Women’s Commission for its 2023-24 session.
Wayne County commissioners approved appointments and reappointments during the regularly scheduled county commission meeting.
“These are all outstanding women who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to the commission,” Wayne County Commission Chair Alisha Bell (D-7th District) said.
Members are appointed to represent each county commission district, with others appointed at large by Bell.
Bell formed the women’s commission in 2021 to address issues of concern for women living in Wayne County, with emphasis on issues involving health care and employment opportunities.
Members for the 2023-24 session are:
At large – Soummer Crawford, Latanya Gater and Sarah Roberts.
District 1 – Alease Moore, appointed by Commissioner Tim Killeen (D-Detroit).
District 2 – Rian English-Barnhill, appointed by Commissioner Jonathan C. Kinloch (D-Detroit).
District 3 – Kathryn Joyner appointed by Commissioner Martha G. Scott (D-Highland Park).
District 5 – Yvonne Cash, appointed by Commissioner Irma Clark-Coleman (D-Detroit).
District 6 – Tennita Wilson, appointed by Commissioner Monique Baker McCormick (D-Detroit).
District 7 – Jenise E. Collins, appointed by Commission Chair Alisha Bell (D-Detroit).
District 8 – Lindsay Scott, appointed by Commissioner David M. Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights).
District 9 – Mary Starr, appointed by Commissioner Terry Marecki (R-Livonia).
District 10 – Leigh Moroz, appointed by Commissioner Melissa Daub (D-Canton Township).
District 11 – Tina Talley, appointed by Commissioner Al Haidous (D-Wayne).
District 13 – Maali Luqman, appointed by Commissioner Sam Baydoun (D-Dearborn).
District 14 – Sherry Berecz, appointed by Commissioner Raymond Basham (D-Brownstown Township).
District 15 – Chelsea Lantto, appointed by Commissioner Joseph Palamara (D-Grosse Ile Township).
The new women’s commission members are Moore, Wilson, Collins, Scott, Moroz and Berecz.
Additional appointments need to be made for District 4 — Commissioner Cara Clemente (D-Lincoln Park) — and District 12 — Commissioner Glenn S. Anderson (D-Westland).
Last month, the women’s commission held its first Women’s Resource Fair at the Wayne County Community College District campus on Outer Drive in Detroit.
The women’s commission is involved in an advocacy project aimed at reducing the number of birth-related fatalities among county women and reducing gaps in maternity care between white and non-white women.
Appointees serve two-year terms on the women’s commission, which meets once-a-month throughout each year. Meetings are open to the public under the state’s Open Meetings Act.