Human Relations director outlines 2024 work, ADA role and community programs

Anne Therese Ryan, director of the Terre Haute Human Relations Commission, presented the commission's 2024 annual report to the council on Dec. 5, highlighting outreach and organizational changes.

Ryan said the commission marked 25 years since its revival, added four commissioners, and completed a strategic-planning process that produced six goals for 2024–2026 and formal mission/vision statements. The office handled 323 calls during the year with 65 inquiries specifically about discrimination; 12 of those were formalized and referred to state or federal agencies for complaint processing.

Ryan also said the commission successfully worked with the council to modernize the city ordinance and that the commission director now serves as the city’s official ADA coordinator after completing more than 40 hours of training and an ADA-coordinator certification. The commission described community programming highlights including a second-grade diversity writing contest, Black History Month social-media outreach, a joint panel with the NAACP, and semester-long consulting projects by Indiana State University students.

Council members asked about funding sources; Ryan and the mayor clarified that the director position is funded from the city’s general fund, not federal or state grants.