For some, it was family ties. For others, an opportunity to give back to the community.
A number of factors drew the members of the Carlisle Borough’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission to serve.
With the Carlisle Borough Council’s approval of a resolution accepting the commission’s recommendations Thursday, it seems that even with the expiration of the commission at the end of last year, the work will continue through the eventual formation of a standing committee.
While that committee may not necessarily consist of the same commissioners that presented the recommendations to the council, here is a look at some of the members who served on the commission along with the inspiration behind their involvement in its work:
Co-chair TaWanda Hunter Stallworth
Q: How many years have you lived in Carlisle?
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Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I’m the Antiracist Development Institute program manager at Penn State Dickinson Law.
Q: Why did you choose to get involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
A: I have been involved in racial justice matters inside the borough for pretty much as long as I can remember, and so the evolution of those activities, sort of, I would say maybe positioned me to have this interest in the commission.
Co-chair Emily Kelahan
Q: How many years have you lived in Carlisle?
A: I’ve lived in Carlisle since October of 2020.
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I’m a performance consultant for a firm that specializes in safety culture change with mostly heavy industry clients.
Q: Why did you choose to get involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
A: In addition to a long standing interest in racial justice, I served on a similar committee when I was living in the town Chapel Hill, North Carolina. My service on that committee was approximately 2008 to 2010 maybe, and when I relocated to Carlisle I was looking for a way to get engaged in the community and maybe bring some of my skills and experiences to bear in a positive way in my new community. I saw that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission had been formed and I thought well I do have this previous experience doing this work in Chapel Hill and this is a great way to get to know the new community that I moved in and maybe contribute positively.
Andrew Razanauskas
Q: How many years have you lived in Carlisle?
A: [I’ve] lived in Carlisle about 8.5 years.
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I work in sustainability for Carlisle Construction Materials.
Q: Why did you choose to get involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
A: The TRC coincided with a personal journey to understand systemic racism and injustice and address my own biases, both past and present. It also represented a perfect opportunity to connect to different voices around Carlisle and give a little back to a community I’ve come to adore.
Ronda Watts
Q: How many years have you lived in Carlisle?
A: I live[d] just down the road in Mechanicsburg, and I’ve been traveling here regularly since 2014, but I was able to move here permanently in November 2021.
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: I’ve been in government in some capacity for more than 15 years, and I actually recently retired from my role in Indigenous Environmental Public Health at the government of Canada. I’m currently working in a new role in human services for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania out of Harrisburg.
Q: Why did you choose to get involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
A: Carlisle Indian Industrial School was the blueprint for the destructive Indian residential school systems across this continent. To be able to speak truth about that history and the ongoing harms in the place where it took root allows me to fulfill my responsibilities to my children and to the coming generations: the people, the lands, the waters including the seen and unseen throughout creation.
Louis Werdebach
Q: How many years have you lived in Carlisle?
A: Graduated from Carlisle Senior High School in 1979; returned to Carlisle on May 14th, 2022
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: Retired after 36 years of service in the United States Force and the Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.
Q: Why did you choose to get involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
A: My family has resided in the borough for over 135 years. Some of the old construction, including Hunter’s Run and Slate Belt Railroad (Gettysburg and Harris Railway), Dickinson College and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, where my grandfather was the founding pastor, was performed by my grandfather and great-grandfather. My parents were long-time community activists in the borough in the struggle for human security, focusing their attention on our community’s downtrodden and marginalized residents. It was time to give back to the childhood community that has been instrumental to my career success. Serving on the TRC was a rewarding way to help Carlisle continue its fight against institutional racism and socio-economic inequities that weaken the community, local commerce, public safety, the commonwealth and the nation.
Dorene Wilbur
Q: How many years have you lived in Carlisle?
Q: What do you do for a living?
A: Former teacher at the Carlisle Area School District, currently, I am a diversity, equity and inclusion specialist.
Q: Why did you choose to get involved with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
A: My experience as a teacher as well as my role as a mom exposed me to inequities in many facets of life in Carlisle and beyond. I chose to join the commission to be a voice for the youth and share my insights and experiences. We have amazing children and teens of color in our borough. I aimed to advocate for them and ensure that they have access to opportunities and programs.
The Sentinel reached out to Commissioner Jerry Stirkey but did not receive a response in time for it to be included.
Commissioners Raff Donelson, Kendall Isaac and Tristan Milazzo served abbreviated terms on the commission and contributed to its work, the report said.
Maddie Seiler is a news reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com covering Carlisle and Newville. You can contact her at mseiler@cumberlink.com and follow her on Twitter at: @SeilerMadalyn
