Buffalo, NY - As first announced in his February 2019 State of the City Address, Mayor Byron W. Brown is today launching Buffalo Count Us In 2020 by naming the senior members of his Administration who will help organize Buffalo’s preparations for the United States 2020 Census. The Buffalo Count Us In 2020 Steering Committee has been established to ensure that no resident in the City of Buffalo goes uncounted.
“Everyone counts, and every person needs to be counted,” said Mayor Brown. “There’s a lot at stake for Buffalo in this next Census, and the Buffalo Count Us In 2020 Steering Committee will work to ensure that in our growing and inclusive City of opportunity, all of our residents have the resources and information they need to be counted in the 2020 Census. Our team will use its networks and expertise to make sure we reach every person living in Buffalo.”
The Buffalo Count Us In 2020 Steering Committee is chaired by Mayor Brown and co-chaired by Jessica Lazarin, Director of the City of Buffalo Office of New Americans and Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Buffalo Law Department. The Steering Committee, announced today, will work directly with Buffalo’s philanthropic, not-profit, neighborhood and immigrant communities to inform residents about the purpose, content and various opportunities to completing the Census. The City of Buffalo is working in collaboration with Erie County and the State of New York to ensure there is a full, fair, and informed census count. A list of members of the Buffalo Count Us In 2020 Steering Committee is below.
Director Lazarin stated, “The growth of population that Buffalo has seen in the past few years is centered in the City’s youth. The 2016 American Community Survey reports that Buffalo has outpaced the national average in our young adult population and the New York State Education Department shows that our school district has the third largest English Language Learner population in the State. As a result, the growth of our young adult, student and immigrant populations must be recognized as vital to Buffalo’s continued growth and bright future. Our collaborative outreach efforts will ensure that Buffalo has the resources it needs, moving forward, to support the wellbeing of our entire community, including young adults, students, immigrants and our most vulnerable populations.”
A fair and complete Census count will help ensure Buffalo receives its fair share of federal resources. Certain federal funds are dispersed by population. The Buffalo Count Us In 2020 Steering Committee
includes:
- Otis Barker, Sr., Commissioner, Office of Community Services and Recreational Programming
- Shatorah Donovan, Chief Diversity Officer, City of Buffalo
- Nicole Drye, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Community Services and Recreational Programming
- Jessica Lazarin, Director, Office of New Americans and Deputy Corporation Counsel
- Michael Marcy, Director, Office of Legislative Affairs
- Nadine Marrero, Director of Planning, Office of Strategic Planning
- Rob Mayer, Director, Office of Policy
- Oswaldo Mestre, Director, Office of Citizen Services
- Captain Steven Nichols, Buffalo Police Department
- Douglas Ruffin, Director, Division of Senior Services
- Lorey Schultz, Deputy Director, Office of Communications
The Committee will be expanded and other committee members will be announced in the coming weeks.