The Oshkosh City DEI Committee met on Nov. 24, 2025, approved the Oct. 27 minutes by voice vote and spent much of the session outlining plans to emphasize data, transparency and an equity-reporting approach across city departments.

During opening remarks Speaker 1 led routine business, called for the roll and asked Speaker 4 to read a land acknowledgment recognizing the Menominee and Ho‑Chunk Nations. Speaker 3 read the committee’s mission: to create a more welcoming, connected and equitable Oshkosh by including marginalized voices in planning and function.

The committee heard community updates: Speaker 1 celebrated that SAPO acquired a 13‑passenger van to transport children more efficiently and pointed to community videos of a SAPO member preparing a Zambian beef stew for program participants. Speaker 2 summarized upcoming events, including the Ubuntu Holiday Meal in Menasha on Dec. 13 (free and all ages), a Hmong networking event on Dec. 4 from 5–8 p.m., and the Oshkosh Museum’s “Sounds of the Season” on Dec. 16. “Ubuntu means I am because we are,” Speaker 1 said when describing the holiday‑meal concept.

On council business, Speaker 1 noted the council intends to continue evaluating ways to help residents with special assessments — funded in part by the vehicle registration fee used for street and sidewalk repairs — and flagged that the council would interview 14 candidates the following night to fill a council vacancy.

The lengthiest discussion focused on DEI program design for the coming year. Speaker 3 and others pushed for more data collection and transparency: tracking departmental key performance indicators related to equity, publicizing existing statistics the city already collects, and exploring an annual equity “report card” to identify gaps and celebrate progress. Speaker 2 described the city’s participation in the MEI index (referred to in discussion as the municipal equity index) and suggested that index could serve as a template to broaden measurement beyond LGBTQIA+ topics.

Committee members also raised procurement and contracting practices as a DEI lever, asking whether the city’s outreach, advertising and bid processes could be adjusted to create more equitable access for diverse vendors. Ideas included specifying data departments should track and considering policy language to require or encourage equity metrics in departmental work.

A scheduled presentation by Bob Peschel of NAMI Oshkosh did not occur; Speaker 1 said Peschel could not join and the committee discussed rescheduling him for January or February. Speaker 2 reminded members the committee’s December meeting had been canceled and the group will reconvene in mid‑January.

The meeting closed after a motion and voice vote to adjourn; no opposition was recorded in the transcript. Members exchanged Thanksgiving greetings before ending the session.

What comes next: the committee plans to identify specific data items for future agendas, consider an equity report concept, and finalize scheduling for the Peschel presentation and regular meeting cadence in January.