July 6, 2026

Items Recommended for Full Council

13 Appointments to the Climate Action Commission – Recommended 4-0

The committee recommended approval of all 13 appointees to the newly reconstituted Climate Action Commission (CAC): Alexis Washburn, Corey Donahue, Courtney Koslow, Kenzie Ballard, Zahra Atti, Lauren Gunther, Ritika Philip, Paxti Martinez, Larry Yu, Monte Allen, Sierra Moll, Bhavika Kalia, and Rio Hunter Black.

Director of Sustainability & Environment Steven Nutter explained that the CAC replaces the long-standing Commission on Energy Use and Climate Change (created in 2001) via a new ordinance passed in April 2025, with an expanded scope and larger membership. The city received 49 applications for 13 seats. Environmental Policy Manager Kate Bossingham noted the commission's mandate: advising the mayor and staff, mobilizing residents through outreach and education, and advancing the city's 77 climate action goals.

The appointees introduced themselves and highlighted priorities including:

• School building decarbonization and climate education (Koslow, Kalia, Philip, Donahue)

• Building retrofits and persuading owners to decarbonize existing building stock, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the city's greenhouse gas emissions (Allen, Yu, Gunther)

• Clean energy access, Mass Save participation, and heat pump adoption (Moll)

• Climate resilience and extreme heat/cold preparedness (Gunther, Hunter Black)

• Youth engagement and climate justice advocacy (Ballard, Kalia, Atti, Hunter Black)

Notably, the slate includes two rising Somerville High School seniors (Kalia and Atti) and several returning members of the predecessor commission (Washburn, Yu, Koslow).

Taylor Perkins – Fair Housing Commission – Recommended 4-0

Housing Director Lisa Davidson introduced Perkins, a Boston College professor with expertise in fair housing policy and urban planning. He emphasized expanding outreach to immigrant and student communities and building a network of community "champions" who can help neighbors recognize when their housing rights are being violated.

Calli Masters – Fair Housing Commission – Recommended 4-0

Masters, a six-year Somerville renter in Ward 3, works in government affairs with fair housing organizations including Mass Fair Housing Center and South Coast Fair Housing. She proposed outreach to students, seniors, and people with disabilities, and leveraging relationships with state lawmakers' offices to better connect residents with fair housing resources.

Jurett Mooltrey-Weathers – Affordable Housing Trust – Recommended 4-0

Mooltrey-Weathers was unable to attend due to a family emergency, but the committee approved her appointment to the city resident representative seat (reserved for income-eligible residents). Housing Coordinator Sheniqua Roper stressed urgency: the nine-member trust currently has only six active trustees, two of whom wish to step down, and funding requests requiring formal votes are coming in the next few months. Mooltrey-Weathers has advocacy experience with Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services, Greater Boston Legal Services, and the city's Anti-Displacement Task Force. Councilor Ewen-Campen, a former trust member, noted the trust takes binding funding votes and voiced strong support.

Wage Theft Advisory Committee Appointments – Recommended 4-0 with staggered terms

The committee recommended appointing Rodrigo Badaro, Bea Gomez-Mouakad, Marianne Walles, Martin Sanchez, Yesenia Alfaro, and Marcy Goldstein-Gelb to the new Wage Theft Advisory Committee. Unlike the other items, these are City Council appointments (submitted via Councilor Davis), not mayoral ones.

The ordinance requires staggered initial terms. Since the appointees preferred the council make that determination, the committee adopted Councilor Ewen-Campen's motion to assign terms in list order:

• One year: Badaro and Gomez-Mouakad

• Two years: Walles and Sanchez

• Three years: Alfaro and Goldstein-Gelb

Ewen-Campen clarified this is only to stagger reappointment cycles—members can be reappointed after their terms expire.

Items Referred to Committee

City Clerk Hiring Practices – Kept in committee

An order that the City Clerk implement specified hiring practices for City Council and City Clerk Department positions. Chair Mbah reported the Clerk is consulting with HR and will return with substantive information at a later meeting.

Committee Discussion

• Confirmation process changes coming: Chair Mbah noted he has submitted a revised protocol for confirmation of appointments that will come before the full council, potentially changing how appointees appear before the committee. After hearing from the Climate Action Commission candidates, he said he may amend it to preserve some form of face-to-face acknowledgment of volunteers.

• Councilor Ewen-Campen stated at the outset that he had reviewed all candidates' materials, was "incredibly impressed" by all of them, and would support everyone on the agenda without individual questioning. Councilor Hardt echoed this.

• Wage Theft Committee composition: Councilor Hardt asked about the ordinance's membership requirements; Mbah confirmed it calls for four union representatives, two nonprofit representatives, and one local business representative. Councilor Link asked whether appointees had expressed term-length preferences; none had, leading to the list-order assignment.

• Councilor McLaughlin left the meeting at 7:04 PM, before the final votes.

What's Next

• All recommended appointments head to the full City Council for confirmation.

• The Wage Theft Advisory Committee still has vacancies relative to the nine-member structure described in the ordinance.

• Two nonprofit representative vacancies on the Affordable Housing Trust will come forward at a future meeting; staff had hoped to bring them before council recess but faced scheduling constraints.

• The City Clerk hiring practices order remains in committee pending the Clerk's consultation with HR.

• Chair Mbah's revised confirmation-of-appointments protocol is expected on a future full council agenda.