Committee Against Hate/Violence
About the Committee
The County Executive must appoint members to the Committee on Hate/Violence (COHV), subject to confirmation by the County Council. The Committee consists of 15 voting members and six ex-officio, non-voting members. Each voting member must reside in the County. The voting members must broadly reflect the geographic, economic, and social diversity of the County. At least nine voting members should be identified with ethnic or other groups frequently subjected to acts of hate/violence in the County. At least two voting members should be parents of school-age children. At least one voting member should be identified with the County business community. The County Council, Office of the County Executive, Department of Police, Office of Human Rights, Montgomery County Public Schools, and Montgomery College, should each designate a representative to serve as an ex-officio non-voting member of the Committee. Each voting member serves a three-year term. A voting member must not serve more than two consecutive full terms. A member appointed to fill a vacancy serves the rest of the term. Members continue in office until their successors are appointed and qualified. Voting members receive no compensation for their services.
The duties of the COHV are to develop and distribute information about hate/violence, promote educational activities that demonstrate the positive value of ethnic and social diversity; advise the County Council, the County Executive, and County agencies about hate/violence in the County, and recommend such policies, programs, legislation, or regulations as it finds necessary to reduce the incidences of acts of hate/violence.
Committee Administration
Loretta Garcia: loretta.garcia@montgomerycountymd.gov
Anis Ahmed: Anis.Ahmed@montgomerycountymd.gov
Committee Meeting Dates and Times
Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of each month. The meetings generally commence at 7:00 p.m. and adjourn at 9:00 p.m. Committee members are sent an agenda along with the minutes from the prior month's meeting. Meetings are open to the public. Dates and times of each meeting are published on the Office of Human Rights Calendar and the County Master Calendar. In addition to the monthly meeting, a retreat is held each year.
Officers and Members
Voting Members
Lisa Taylor, Chair
Craig Simon, Vice Chair
Femi Richards
Maria Herrera
Pablo Blank
Sanjeet Sam Dey
Stephanie Troyer
Richard Allen
Tony Jia
Sheik Hassan
Leah Michaels
Vanessa Morris
Gabrielle Zwi
Susan Stolov
Kelly Cooper
Non-Voting Members
Council Member Kristin Mink, Montgomery County Council,
Wesley Darden, Montgomery County Council
Gregory Edmundson, MC Public Schools
Anica Perez, Montgomery County Public Schools
Katherine Chance, Faith Liaison, County Executive Office
Rachel Breslin, MC Human Rights Commission
Sharon Bland, Montgomery College