COUNCIL PURPOSE
Advise the Mayor in regard to current procurement and employment processes by providing best practice recommendations designed to continuously promote and strengthen the City's diversity policies and procedures within the organization to effectively reflect and serve the community.
COUNCIL MISSION
The Council is committed to researching best practices and benchmarking industry leaders in regard to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of City procurement and City employment. The Council is further committed to the development of recommendations for presentation to the Mayor regarding equitable, innovative, and effective process improvements
and program initiatives that celebrate diversity and are designed to sustain a community that is welcoming, culturally inclusive, reflective of the community it serves, and a model for other municipalities.
COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP
Members represent public, private, and low-income sectors and reflect the special interest organizations and ethnic composition of the city's population. The Council consists of eleven voting members to be appointed by the Mayor—5 members on each subcommittee; 1 member as a Diversity & Inclusion Advisor.
Application for Appointment
MEET THE COUNCIL
Dr. Audrey Frison-Robinson
Audrey is the retired Associate Director Patient Cares Services/Chief Nursing Officer at Veterans Administration Northern Indiana Healthcare System with 40 years of service to the government. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Hospital Administration and a Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Management.
Audrey is an active Fort Wayne community steward serving as a Board member of Believe In A Dream, Inc., Volunteer for Fort Wayne Goes Red, Mayors Opportunity Advisory Council and a member of the Advancing Voices of Women. She is a Member of Fort Wayne Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and serves on the sorority’s National Emergency Response Team, Washington, D.C. Audrey is also a Board member of Gaffney Athletic Preparatory School Cleveland, Tennessee, and Board member of The National Veterans Affairs History Museum Dayton, Ohio. She is also a member of Union Baptist Church.
Audrey is married to Earl S. Robinson, and they have 5 children, 13 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. She enjoys spending time with family, especially the great grandchildren.
Lisa Givan
As Vice President for Culture, Community & Impact, Lisa leads institutional strategies that promote a cohesive, engaged campus culture aligned with the university's mission, vision, and values. She drives initiatives that strengthen community, foster belonging, and enhance the student and employee experience. Outside the campus, she forges strategic partnerships with local organizations, businesses, and educational institutions to address broader societal challenges and amplify the university's impact.
Brad Stiles
Brad is a dedicated and passionate individual with a deep-seated commitment to philanthropy and community service. With a background in financial services, Brad has always been driven by a desire to make a positive impact in the community. Throughout his career, he has consistently sought opportunities to volunteer and to give back to the community and support causes that align with his values.
Inspired by the belief that everyone has the power to create change, Brad has been actively involved in various charitable organizations and community initiatives. His efforts have spanned across youth mentoring, education, addiction prevention, and homelessness, where he has contributed his time, skills, and resources to make a meaningful difference.
Brad is committed to community service. He believes in the importance of civic engagement. As a member of the Mayor’s Opportunity Advisory Council (MOAC), he strives to be a voice for those who are often unheard. Through his efforts, Brad aims to foster a more inclusive and equitable community. As a servant leader, Brad aspires to expand his impact by supporting and contributing to organizations and projects that serve and benefit our veterans and youth. He is devoted to creating and growing opportunity to empower individuals to reach their full potential.
In his personal life, Brad enjoys reading, exercising, spending time with family, and making friends. He abides by the belief, once a Marine always a Marine, which further drives his dedication to serve. He is always eager to learn and grow, believing that continuous self-improvement is key to effective leadership and service.
Daysha Jackson-Sanchez
Daysa brings over 18 years of leadership experience in higher education, equity-centered innovation, and organizational development. As Vice President of Equity and Impact at Lumen Learning, she leads initiatives to embed equity principles into product design, improving outcomes for students and educators nationwide. A passionate advocate for underserved communities, she also empowers leaders through her coaching practice and serves on local non-profit boards like Vincent Village, championing initiatives to eliminate generational homelessness. Through her work on the council, Daysha amplifies diverse voices and fosters a thriving, inclusive Fort Wayne.
Dr. Zubair Khan
Dr. Khan was born and raised in Chicago and went to college at Loyola University of Chicago and went to Optometry school at the Illinois College of Optometry graduating in 2002.
He was honored in 2014 by Business Weekly as a 40 under 40 award winner and appeared on 5 segments of Wane TV’s “Voices of the Future”. In 2015 Dr. Khan was selected and graduated from the FBI’s Citizen Academy.
Dr. Khan has worked since 2004 at his sublease practice and has now opened the first boutique optical in the growing downtown Fort Wayne area. Along with his current eye practice, Dr. Khan and his wife Hajira own two Kiddie Academy locations that provide childcare education through learning and play. Dr. Khan is married with four children and loves to travel, play basketball, run, and hang out with family and friends.
Dr. Khan is a member of the American Optometric Association and Indiana Optometric Association and is passionate about contact lenses and providing the latest eyeglass lens technology to his patients.
Audrey Davis
Audrey is a Transformational Life and Leadership Coach who helps non-profit, neighborhood and business entrepreneurs create intentional social impact from the inside out.
As a former community organizer, candidate for public office, co-founder of a statewide power organization, and military veteran, Audrey brings nearly 2 decades of experience in developing transformational leaders and teams that take on big issues and deliver new collective wins. She contributes to number of community initiatives throughout NE Indiana, and most recently helped Fort Wayne get on the map by being nominated a national fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s “Cultures of Health Leadership Institute for Racial Healing” (2023-2024). She holds degrees in Political Science and History (BA), has certifications in Embodied Anti-Racism, Art Therapy Practice, and Positive Intelligence Coaching. She and her husband Chris Davis have a 3-year-old daughter and live in SW Fort Wayne.
Lewis A. King
Lewis is a progressive thinker that serves local and national communities. He is a Pastor, Speaker, Consultant, Coach and Author of The Reinvented Man: A Journey of Raising Kings. He is a graduate of Concordia Theological Seminary and gifted with unique skills for bridging the gap between the fortunate and the less fortunate through excellent skills in communication and collaboration.
Lewis is well known as a “Master Barber,” owning King’s Barbershop for nearly 30 years. Within the barbershop, he founded King’s Global Outreach in 2012, “a Christ-centered organization that spreads the Gospel weekly by fellowship and feeding outside of the four walls of the church.” Annually, Lewis oversees the collection and distribution of over 500 back-to-school bags and over 600 Christmas baskets for families that are in need.
Lewis is a Campus Director for an accredited barber college. In his most recent role, he served as a Director of the Mayoral initiative, Fort Wayne UNITED’s Ten Point Coalition. Under his leadership, there was a 75% reduction in crime in the Ten Point Coalition’s service area. Lewis serves on several boards, which include the Fort Wayne Mayor’s Opportunity Advisory Council and Safe Housing.
Antonette Payne
Antonette was born and raised in Fort Wayne. She attended college at Ball State University and later attended law school at New York Law School. Due to strong community and family connections with Fort Wayne, she returned after living in other cities. Antonette has been a member of the Mayor's Opportunity Advisory Council (MOAC) since 2018. Since joining MOAC, she has served as the Employment Subcommittee co-chair and now Chair of MOAC.
In addition to her work with MOAC, Antonette serves as trustee on the Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) school board. Her community service involvement also includes participation on several other community boards.
Professionally, Antonette is a lawyer and educator. She works at Ivy Tech as the program chair of Legal Studies. She also practices as an attorney, focusing on social security disability, employment law, and immigration.
Antonette’s primary goal is to contribute to making Fort Wayne a welcoming and accessible city for all its citizens.
