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CityDance Dream Hosts Tommy |
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Written by Charles Allen
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Thursday, 26 April 2007 |
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A few weeks ago, Tommy was a guest of the CityDance Dream program at a Washington Wizards game (a nail biter that they won). CityDance is a program with a lot of Ward 6 kids participating. In particular, students from J.O. Wilson have been participating and learning how to dance for several years (along with many other DC public schools). The program offers free after school dance instruction that brings young people together to exercise, learn about the arts, and build new relationships with each other. The program culminates with a 6-minute half-time show at center court with the Wizards. Tommy was court-side for their amazing performance and these kids did a fantastic job. Yesterday, NBC4 highlighted the program and their performance. You can view the video clip by clicking here. | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 26 April 2007 )
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Introducing Charles Allen |
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Written by Charles Allen
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Tuesday, 24 April 2007 |
 Hi, my name is Charles Allen. I’m Councilmember Wells’ Chief of Staff. In this role, I’m responsible for managing the office and our staff, developing and implementing a legislative and policy strategy, keeping Tommy up to speed with all the different demands on his time, and making the connections between each staff person’s work to tie in to Tommy’s overall vision for the Ward and District.
Every day brings a different challenge and this job keeps you on your toes at all times. On any given day, I might spend some time drafting legislation for Tommy to introduce, work with an ANC Commissioner to solve a local problem, set up and schedule one of Tommy’s Community Walk Through’s, work with the Mayor’s staff to get a constituent’s concern addressed, and work with our committee staff to make sure services are delivered to vulnerable residents. And that’s usually before I can finish the first cup of coffee… Since Tommy has directed that every staff person in our office to make constituent services a part of our job, I am also always looking to pick up on trends and concerns in those requests for assistance to see how we can help change the big picture and solve more systemic problems.
Before joining Tommy’s team, I spent the last several years working for a group called the DC Primary Care Association as their Director of Public Policy. At that job, I worked with many partners throughout the city to focus on expanding health care access for low-income residents. That also gave me a lot of exposure to the Council, working on legislative and budget issues.
I am very proud to be part of a great team that Tommy has assembled to serve Ward 6. Every member of our staff brings a different skill to the table and part of my challenge is to make sure we are firing on all pistons to help Tommy succeed and to serve you as best we can. | | This item includes 1 comment |
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Introducing Naomi Mitchell |
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Written by Naomi Mitchell
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Monday, 23 April 2007 |
 Hello all, my name is Naomi Mitchell. I work as the Community Liaison for the Office of Councilmember Wells. I function as eyes and ears in the community for issues and concerns that should be brought to Councilmember Wells’ attention and possible actions Under the direction and priorities of the Council member, I engage with community residents, organizations, governmental agencies and others in support of community-based strategies that address important community needs or opportunities for enhancing quality of community life. Specifically, I regularly attend meetings of Ward 6 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, civic associations, resident councils, nonprofit community organizations, community developer and business entities, parent and educational interests and other existing and emerging community structures.
I arrived in Washington DC in 1972 from the San Francisco Bay Area to work as a manager for the U. S. Office of Management and Budget and later for the Office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. While at DoD, I enjoyed a year as a Legis Fellow on the Hill, working as a Congressional staffer, first for Congressman Charles Rangel, (D) N.Y., and then the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Operations, under the Chairmanship of Carl Levin, (D) Detroit, MI.
I have lived in the eastern part of Capitol Hill since 1986, having spent the previous years in Wards 3 and 4 while my two children were attending public schools in those areas.
After an early retirement in 1995, I became a community volunteer in my neighborhood of near SE and the adjacent area of near SW, resuming work on behalf of the passions of my California upbringing: concerns with social justice, community organization and community advocacy.
I met Tommy during those years, through my involvement with the Healthy Families Thriving Communities Collaboratives movement, formed under his leadership, to prevent child abuse and neglect and to build strong communities and strong families. I joined Tommy's team in the fall of 2006 because I wanted to work with a leader that would be responsive to the community values I had worked to support as a volunteer in the ward. In his first 100 days in office, I have not been disappointed and have seen first hand his commitment to making life better for Ward 6 residents. | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 24 April 2007 )
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Recap of Last Night's Walk Through in Northeast |
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Written by Charles Allen
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Friday, 20 April 2007 |
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 Last night's Community Walk Through was a great event. About 50 residents joined in the walk that lasted about an hour and a half. We met at the corner of 14th and Maryland, NE, right outside the Checkers. The walk wound around the alleys near H Street, NE, Linden Place, 14th Street, and Emerald Street. ANC Commissioner Bill Schultheiss, Ward 6 Neighborhood Services Coordinator Hiram Brewton, and MPD 1st District Commander Groomes also joined us.
Tommy began the walk by discussing the shared condemnation the neighborhood and community feels for the recent sexual assault that took place in the alley behind 1300 G Street, NE. He also talked about how he tries to use these walks to get the community to come together to address public safety and quality of life issues - unsafe alleys, poor lighting, broken sidewalks, abandoned houses, etc. By including MPD and representatives from the Mayor's agencies, these walks help deliver immediate responses to resident's concerns. As we walked, I made a list of the items that Tommy and residents pointed out as concerns and we will now take that list and get to work on fixing the problems.  The group gathered again for a productive and long conversation about public safety when we stopped in the alley off Linden Court. This is roughly where the assualt took place and Commander Groomes and detectives working on the case shared the latest information they could make public and also gave advice and answered questions about how everyone can work to improve their personal safety habits and look out for others. One neighbor asked that MPD be sure to let the victim know that her neighbors were out in force on this walk and officers agreed to make sure that she knew.
The walk continued and we spotted more problems in the alleys like illegal dumping, graffiti and several abandoned houses. We will be following up with Mr. Brewon from the Mayor's office and work to fix each of these concerns. Some will be faster fixes than others, but it was great to see so many neighbors coming out to work together on their communities. One of the things I was struck by most during this walk was the number of neighbors that met each other for the first time last night. Several times I heard people say things like "Oh, I've seen you walking your dog" or "I see you jogging in the mornings" and then make their first introductions. As Tommy talked about during the walk, one of the greatest things we can do to improve public safety and our communities, is for neighbors to get to know one another and create stronger bonds. It's a fantastic by-product of these Community Walk Throughs that those connections are being made and people are getting to know the neighbors that live around them. Charles Allen | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 23 April 2007 )
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Tommy Blog 
Hello, my name is Bob Guttman and I am on the Senior Advisor for the Committee on Human Services. I had been retired for about 15 years when Tommy surprised me by suggesting that I should come to work for him. When I retired, I looked around for volunteer oportunities and Tommy suggested that I take on a project to find volunteer lawyers for foster parents who wanted to adopt their kids. That project got me involved in broad range of activites to reform the child welafre system, including the development of the Family Court legislation.