Michelle Diffenderfer, Patrick Franklin, Named Co-Chairs Of WPB Task Force For Racial And Ethnic Equality

From City of West Palm Beach:

August 11, 2020

West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James today named Michelle Diffenderfer and Patrick Franklin co-chairs of the newly created Mayor’s Task Force for Racial and Ethnic Equality (“Task Force”). The task force, which will be composed of members of the West Palm Beach community, will focus on identifying and helping address issues of racial and ethnic equality through education about racial and ethnic inequities, research of best practices, and issuance of policy/funding recommendations to address racial and ethnic inequity in the City of West Palm Beach. The Task Force will take a historical look at our city, look to other cities for best practices for policies, and present to the Commission and me their policy recommendations to help promote racial and ethnic equality throughout our city.

This Task Force will be driven by the West Palm Beach community with input from the West Palm Beach community. The composition of the task force will be made of up to 17 members of the public including the two co-chairs. Additionally, there will be five subcommittees consisting of up to seven members. The subcommittees will be fact-finding committees assigned to five topic areas of:

• Criminal justice,
• Health,
• Real estate and housing,
• Finance, banking and industry, and
• Education (including workforce development).

“I want to thank Michelle Diffenderfer and Patrick Franklin for agreeing to co-chair the Mayor’s Task Force for Racial and Ethnic Equality,” said West Palm Beach Mayor Keith A. James. “This Task Force has the ability to create lasting, transformative change in our community today and also for future generations to come. To realize the Task Force’s true potential for future impact, it was important to me to ensure that we had the right leadership at the helm of the task force, and with the help and service of Michelle and Patrick, I believe that we achieved that.”

“I strongly believe that as community members and business leaders, it is our duty to assist the City in its effort to learn and raise awareness about the history of systemic barriers to racial and ethnic equality in our community,” said Michelle Diffenderfer. “As we embark on this undertaking, my objective is to first listen and learn about West Palm Beach’s history of racial and ethnic inequality. Once we have gathered this information, our goal for the task force is to then identify the City’s current practices, identify areas that need change and then help the task force propose solutions for that change.”

“We are currently living in a critical opportunity for change across this country and we have a tremendous opportunity to start change here in the City of West Palm Beach,” said Patrick Franklin. “As a result of these current events, Mayor James has taken an active approach to identify racial issues and bring equitable resolutions forward for review and implementation. I look forward to seeing how this task force identifies significant areas where change needs to occur and provides resolutions for positive change.”

The kickoff meeting for the 17-member Task Force will occur within the next two weeks. The Task Force shall meet as needed and at least monthly. Meetings of the Task Force will be public and shall be held virtually for the duration of the COVID-19 related state of emergency and for so long thereafter as the Task Force deems practicable. The Task Force shall ensure notice of the meetings is received in all districts of the City in order to encourage public participation.

The task force shall provide status reports to Mayor James and submit their first status report on or before October 15. The status reports shall be presented to Mayor on or before the sixth week following submission of the previous report. The reports shall continue until either the Task Force has completed projects or on expiration of the Executive Order, whichever occurs first.

About the Mayor’s Task Force for Racial and Ethnic Equality Co-Chairs:

Michelle Diffenderfer
President/Shareholder, Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A.

As an attorney, Michelle Diffenderfer assists landowners, businesses and governments with local, state, federal, environmental, natural resource and land development legal requirements.

It is her belief that, as community members and businesses leaders, she and her peers have a duty to assist the City in its efforts to learn and raise awareness about the history of systemic barriers to racial and ethnic equity in our community.

As a co-chair of the Mayor’s Task Force for Racial and Ethnic Equity, Ms. Diffenderfer hopes to first listen and learn more about West Palm Beach’s history of racial and ethnic inequity. Once this information is gathered, her goal for this task force is to identify current processes in place to offset this imbalance, and then propose solutions for the areas that need changing.

Ms. Diffenderfer earned her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in Providence, RI. She then earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Miami’s School of Law.

Patrick Franklin
President and CEO, Urban League of Palm Beach County

Patrick Franklin has been the president and CEO of the Urban League of Palm Beach County for nearly two decades. As such, he has helped countless residents of color achieve social and economic equality.

In this new role as co-chair of the Mayor’s Task for Racial and Ethnic Equity, Mr. Franklin hopes to identify significant areas where change is needed and provide resolutions for positive reform. Through this task force, he intends to provide a blueprint of proactive actions that other organizations are welcome to use in the future to continue the work of eradicating racism.

Mr. Franklin earned his Bachelor of Science in physics from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. Later, he earned his Master of Business Administration from Florida International University in Miami, FL.

To learn more about the Mayor’s Task Force, please visit: https://www.wpb.org/our-city/mayor-s-office/mayor-s-task-force-on-racial-and-ethic-equality.

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.