Mayor Vincent C. Gray Re-Establishes Advisory Commission on Caribbean Community Affairs

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray today signed an order re-establishing the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Caribbean Community Affairs and appointed 10 members, including a Chair and Vice-Chair, to the panel. It will advise Mayor Gray on issues affecting the District’s large Caribbean-American community.

“The District of Columbia is home to a large number of residents from the many diverse nations, cultures and ethnic groups found around the Caribbean region,” Mayor Gray said. “The re-established Mayor’s Commission on Caribbean Community Affairs will help my staff and me keep abreast of issues important to this community and help recommend ways – such as cultural festivals – to celebrate Caribbean culture in DC so that we can continue improving the quality of life for all District residents.”

The order names retired US Sentencing Commission analyst Margaret M.J. Forde as the commission’s chair and DC Assistant Attorney General/Trial Attorney for Mental Health Kevin Gardiner as vice chair.

“I would like to thank Mayor Gray for making this decisive move to establish the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Caribbean Affairs,” Forde, a Ward 7 resident, said. “We are pleased and excited by the Mayor’s recognition of our community and by the prospect of advising and sharing our views with him and his administration.”

“The Caribbean community has long been an integral part of Washington’s cultural, economic, and political fabric,” Gardiner, a Ward 4 resident, said. “I look forward to working with the Advisory Commission on Caribbean Community Affairs in an effort to strengthen the connection between the community, the city and all of its residents.”

The other commission members appointed by Mayor Gray are: Franklin Austin, Leopold C.M. Clarke, Rudolph Douglas, Lovell G. Saunders, Lilian Shepherd, Roxanne Smith-White, Thomas Smith and Jamila Thompson. A copy of the Mayor’s Order re-establishing the commission is attached to this release.