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Disability Commission Meeting Minutes
April 9, 2026
Attendance:
This meeting included remote participation. Some members of the Disability Commission participated in the meeting remotely per the Governor's legislation of March 28, 2025, suspending certain provisions of the open meeting law. A Microsoft Teams link was also provided for members of the public who wished to attend remotely.
This meeting was also recorded through Microsoft Teams and called to order at 6:05PM.
- √ Marilyn Andrews
- √ Shanti Chilukuri
- Kate Doyle
- √ Chukwuka Ezewuzie, Chair
- √ Kathleen Higgins
- Ralph Long
- √ Lisa Picardi
- √ Maria Luise (ADA Compliance Officer) (in person)
1. Roll call of Committee Members
Chuks started the meeting and mentioned that it would be recorded via Microsoft Teams. He then called attendance as indicated in the chart above and a quorum was present to conduct business. Each member gave a self-description when responding to roll call.
2. Approval of Meeting Minutes
Maria informed the Commission that she was not able to complete the March meeting minutes this past month, and she requested that they be tabled to the May meeting. Upon motion of Marilyn to table the March 2026 minutes, seconded by Kate H., the Commission voted unanimously by roll call vote to table the minutes.
3. Updates or Action Items that need to be Addressed from Previous Meetings
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Lions Club Collaboration: Chuks provided an update on the ongoing collaboration with the Lions Club. He noted that they were in the process of scheduling a meeting with the library director. He was connecting with Michelle from the Lions Club to follow-up. Chuks is also planning to attend the Lions Club meeting in May.
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MOD Grant: Maria reported on the progress of the grant-funded project at the High School. Public Facilities Director, Eric Rubin, has secured a vendor and the plan is to install the accessible sinks in four of the high school bathrooms during April vacation. Once the project is complete, Maria will organize a press photo with the Commission. Maria will also include the Superintendent and the school's communication outlets.
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Vision 2026: Commission members provided updates on their respective Vision 2026 focus areas:
Transportation and Infrastructure: Lisa reported that she continues working on tracking infrastructure issues. She also discussed the possibility of a Disability Card Initiative. This would be a card that offers assistance for police interactions. Maria mentioned that we did collaborate with Police and Fire in the past to provide a communication card for first responders. Lisa will send the information to Maria for inclusion in the next meeting agenda.
Education Initiatives: Marilyn reported on SEPAC's seminar that is coming up in April focused on "Basic Rights." She will share the flyer with the Commission. Marilyn then discussed an audit that was completed by the Malden Public Schools on Special Education and she also promoted the upcoming Bright Minds, Quiet Spaces event which is scheduled for May 3rd. Marilyn detailed the various activities that will be going on throughout that event. The Commission agreed to host a table and discussed possibly displaying the Junior Grit Freedom Chair.
Employment Activities: Maria reported that she is still trying to connect with representatives from Project Triangle and Mass Ability. She hopes to have an update at the next meeting.
Kate H. shared her concern that the area of policy research may not be the most actionable topic. She suggested meeting offline with Chuks and Maria to discuss further. Also, Shanti did not yet have an assigned topic area so she will review the minutes from the past meetings to see which area she would like to focus on.
5. New Business
Marilyn reported on the Mass Commission on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and Mass Ability Event which stated was informative and allowed for networking. The focus was on sharing insights on adult disability services and resources.
No further business discussed.
6. Public Comment
No one spoke for public comment.
7. Scheduling of next meeting and adjournment
The next meeting was scheduled for Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 6:00PM. Upon the motion of Maria to adjourn, which was seconded by Lisa, the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting.