In the News: ‘New Human Rights Advisory Commission, With New Coordinator, Hits The Ground Running’
New Human Rights Advisory Commission, With New Coordinator, Hits The Ground Running
By KAREN B. HUNTER
In June of this year, Barnstable County passed an ordinance that created the new Human Rights Advisory Commission, which will have a different focus and function than its predecessor, the Barnstable County Human Rights Commission, established by the county in 2007.
Whereas the former Human Rights Commission would directly address human rights-related complaints, the new commission will guide a citizen with a complaint to the agency that can address the issue.
The new commission is focused on promoting and protecting the basic human rights of all Barnstable County residents through education and outreach, and it serves in an advisory capacity to the new human rights coordinator. Retired Mashpee resident Deborah A. Battles was in the midst of a cultural tour in France when she read about the opening for the new Human Rights Coordinator position in the Barnstable County newsletter. She applied and was hired in July.
Over a 30-year career, Ms. Battles put her Master of Education in Organizational Development degree with a focus on human service agencies to good use as coordinator of Child Care Services for the Cape Cod Development Program; coordinator for Education and Employment for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe; a founder and original director of the Cape Cod Dispute Resolution Center; and special programs coordinator for Career Training Initiatives at Cape Cod Community College, to name a few.[su_quote]I came out of a comfortable retirement and snowbird life to get back involved,” she said. “I couldn’t help myself, because I believe this new commission is so important.[/su_quote]
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