"comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today facebook comes to our studios. they're called latin@ right here on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with fleet week, which has been in the bay area for all this week, this past week. garth langley is public affairs officer with fleet week, and with us also is miguel torres, a member of the united states marine corp. welcome to the show. garth langley: thanks you so much for having us. damian: we have some amazing video from years past of fleet week. talk about what we're seeing here and what can we expect to see this year. garth: well, you know, we're bringing back the 35th annual san francisco fleet week, a long-time san francisco maritime tradition, of course brought to you in 1981 by then-mayor diane feinstein.

you know, in the last decade or so, we really re-shaped fleet week. you know, it's not only a time to celebrate our armed forces, but it's an opportunity to train. and ongoing this week, we have a number of training opportunities, including, you know, helicopter demonstrations, working with civic agencies and how we would respond to a major earthquake or other natural disaster that we know is probably going to face this region soon. but of course, we have a lot of fun events, you know. military bands throughout the city, the service members are lining the streets. of course the air show will be back thursday for practice and a full air show friday, saturday, and sunday. you know, new this year we've got bark at the park in duboce park. we're going to showcase military canines on display and what they do. everybody seems to love dogs. and lastly, you know, we have fleet fest. it's a brand new event, a family friendly environment. we're actually going to have a 2 day music and food festival. we've partnered with off the grid and lyft to present this, and we hope that the folks come out and just enjoy their atmosphere, and of course the service members that are here visiting. damian: on the training aspect of it, i mean, you're kind of--we're giving you kind of an urban setting to kind of

do your practicing, right? i mean, it doesn't get any more urban than this. garth: right, you know, you look at the landscape here in the bay area, and we are, you know, very densely populated. you know, we had to figure out certain ways how we can use the military capabilities to augment what the civilian agencies are already doing. so you know, specifically we look to do things like urban search and rescue training. and we partner with the san francisco fire department to actually go to their facility on treasure island and work through some of the issues that, you know, we would actually face in the event of a disaster. and so, real training is happening, real celebration is happening, but a whole lot of learning and fun is happening at the same time. damian: very cool. mr. torres, tell us where you're from and why you decided to sign up with the marine corp. miguel torres: i'm raised--born and raised in houston, texas. decided to join because my brother was part of marine. and it's just something i've always wanted to do. damian: what the-- we saw the firepower that was demonstrated there, the blue angels and whatnot. talk about your experience with this type of machinery.

and a lot of us are in awe, but you as a member of the marine corp, your reaction when you see some of this activity there. miguel: i still think it's pretty cool, you know, like even though we--when we train, we see a lot of this all the time, but every time i see it, it's like the first time i'm seeing it. damian: what is it about the marine corps that made you say, "that's the one"? miguel: i've always heard they're the best, so, and i wanted a challenge. damian: this is a--this area has a tradition of military service, talking back to the presidio days when, you know, when there were--when we needed to house our military, this is one of those places where we did it. garth: absolutely, san francisco has such a long maritime and, you know, tradition of hosting our armed forces. you know, you look at all of the landscape now, there's military bases that, you know, are now converted to places where, you know, it seems--it's hard to believe that just yesterday that they were here. marines used to be on treasure island. you know, naval bases throughout the city. you know, and there's so many service members really just all

over the bay area. now we have an event really to showcase our military, which is fleet week, so it's a reminder that we are a military town. the bay area has had a long-standing military history and, you know, we're just happy we can celebrate once a year during this great event. damian: very cool. and now you're looking at the images there. there's going to be a lot of families there, some children, teenagers, and adults. mr. torres, what would you like those families to go home with, to experience at the end of fleet week? miguel: you know, have a good time and to understand that whatever any natural disasters, any humanitarian disasters really, i hope they go back home understanding that if anything like that happens, the armed forces, they'll be able to cover them. damian: and you'll be--i mean, this is--when you're talking about an entire week of activities, you're talking about a lot of displays. talk about the amount of--you know, we're talking about ships

and planes and everything that is based right here in the bay area for this. garth: right, we're talking 2,000 marines and sailors just from san diego alone that will be here, joining an additional 2,000 coast guard that are headquartered in san francisco. you know, we're expecting more than a million people over the week. you know, fleet week is not just the weekend, it's not just the airshow. it actually takes place over 7 days, and so there's a lot of events, a lot of interaction with the public. and of course, there's so many opportunities to meet your navy, meet your coast guard, meet your marines up close, personal, and of course maybe take a selfie or two because that's what it's all about. you know, it's about celebrating our armed forces and doing it as a part of time-honored tradition. damian: so it's safe to say that the bay area is pretty safe this week. garth: i think so. we're in good hands. damian: all right. again, fleet week has been happening all week. you can log on for more information. a lot of activities at pier 30. any final thoughts from either of you before i let you go? show up and go get them, huh? garth: we're excited. you know, we definitely want the folks to come out, enjoy all

these events, and obviously do it in a safe way. and of course, we look forward to a successful and safe event. damian: all right, thank you for coming. appreciate it, and thank you for your service. all right, and up next here on "comunidad del valle," neighborhood centers in the mission. stay with us.

with me is the executive director and i'm presuming founder of it, sam ruiz, who spent over 30 years working in the community in san francisco. welcome to the show. santiago ruiz: well, thank you very much. damian: now, we have video from--that y'all sent us, but what a great endeavor. what was it that made you say we need to do something here in our neighborhoods? santiago: well, the reality is that we want to be able to prepare our children to succeed in school, to enter college, and to graduate from college. and in order to do that, we realize that there's a certain level of steps that we need to take in order to make sure that the child is ready to enter kindergarten. damian: you know, we talk about no child left behind, but you're not leaving anybody behind.

you're helping pre-k and head starters, you're helping youth, and you're helping seniors. santiago: that's correct, our organization is multi-purpose, multi-generational, and we operate out of multiple centers primarily because of our head start and early head start programs. damian: talk about that need and the demographics of the folks you're serving. santiago: the majority of children that we serve are latino children, obviously latino families. they are primarily from the mission community in san francisco, as well as the excelsior and bayview-hunters point community of san francisco. damian: what kind of needs are they coming in with, or what are you seeing demographic wise? santiago: you know, most of our parents demonstrate the need for full daycare, or early care and education services. damian: everybody's working full time, three, four jobs. santiago: yes. and they are, in essence, working poor parents. so, our head start program--as you know, head start is a part day-part year program, but we combine head start dollars with california department of education child care dollars to provide full early care and education services to over 400

children and their families. and so, primarily working poor parents have the opportunity to leave their child in good hands, qualified staff, healthy and safe facilities. and again, our goal is to prepare the child to enter kindergarten so that she or he can succeed in school and graduate from college. damian: now, obviously you're doing something right, otherwise you wouldn't be around for more than 30 years. santiago: we think we have--we think we're doing an excellent job, actually. and our goal with this, you know, because we are very excited to announce that we were granted an award from the kellogg foundation over a 3 year period. and in essence, you know, the way that we look at it and going along with a number of studies that have been conducted that demonstrate that a child will succeed in school and in college if both the child and the parent is ready. and so, with our kellogg grant, we will be able to provide family support services to the parent, leadership development

skills so the parent also is prepared to support their child as he or she going through school. damian: that's almost a million dollars, the grant that you got. how big of a victory is this for your effort? santiago: it's a significant victory for us, but it's more of a victory for our parents and those children who will benefit from the services that we will provide in the coming years. damian: is there a waiting list, or how do you recruit? i mean, you have 11 sites around san francisco. santiago: we're providing--currently, we're providing services to 415 children. we operate 10 different facilities. all of them are head start or early head start, a combination of. and again, are either part-day or full-day. we do have a waiting list. on the average, it's about 150 children that are on the waiting list. damian: do you--i know a lot of these successful programs, they have graduates who come back because it's been so successful, you helped them out. do you see that with your program, that folks who have gone through the program maybe come back and shake your hand and say gracias, or anything like that? santiago: we do, and we see it quite often. as a matter of fact, we employ former head start graduates. damian: is that right?

santiago: both teachers , as well as ir, for example. our it person is a former head start graduate. most of our--or a good number of our teachers are either head start parents or have had some experience with head start in one way or the other. damian: what does that say about the need maybe and the success of early childhood education? santiago: it says that there is definitely a need, but it is also a testament to the success of the program. and not just locally in san francisco, but nationwide. head start is one of the oldest federally funded program in the nation, and it is obviously attributed to its great track record. damian: we're going to have dr. bauer with us, the superintendent of the alum rock school district here. you're not sending your students to her per se, but talk about the quality of the students, as young as they might be, that you're sending off to kindergarten and to the elementary school levels. santiago: so, most of our children who enter kindergarten are 5 years or older. and you know, i'm proud to say that most of the feedback that

we receive from either charter schools or the public school system at large is that they can tell the difference between a head start child and a child who has not attended head start. there are a number of letters that we have received that identify that children who have attended head start come into the classroom knowing their numbers, knowing their letters, and bilingually. damian: maybe they can give a class to some of our producers here at nbc bay area. if you'd like more information on what's happening here, this is happening here in san francisco. any final thoughts that you might have for our viewers? santiago: the final thought, if they are interested in enrolling their child, please call 415-206-7752 in san francisco, or visit our website, mncsf.org. damian: all right, and any questions, you can just give us a ring here at nbc bay area. we'll put you in touch with sam here. thank you so much for the work that you're doing. santiago: thank you very much. damian: all right. thank you very much to sam, and up next here on "comunidad del

valle," the latinos of facebook. stay with us. thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real? of course...

are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. yeah part of the complete breakfast

heritage month, as are we here on "comunidad del valle." and leading the way, nation-wide is also facebook and the facebook headquarters over on the peninsula. with me here on "comunidad del valle" are laura molera and jo padilla, who are with the latino group at facebook, latino employees called latin@. welcome to the show. laura molera: thank you so much. damian: let me ask you first jo. how big of a relief is it to have a huge corporation like facebook say you can go ahead and establish your latino employee group and have that be the face of the latino community there at facebook? jo padilla: it's pretty fantastic. and it really just ties into our mission of making the world more open and connected, and providing that resource to our employees and to our local communities. damian: now, when you walk around, because it's a huge campus, it's like a city within a city. it's like--i think it's like my first day of college when you say, "oh, there's a latino.

i think there's one over there." is that what it's like, the experience is like, or was like? jo: well, i think we kind of look past that. i mean, we're very much about, like, your authentic self and being who you are at work and we just foster such a family environment that i don't know if we really look at, like, heritage or race. it almost transcends all of that. i definitely haven't felt that way, but when you, like, consider actual, like, numbers and stuff, i mean, yeah, that would reflect something differently. but on campus, it's very communal. damian: and it's your job, laura, to go out and make sure that there is diversity within facebook. laura: yep, exactly, that's part of my job. i work in the recruiting department, and so diversity is a core part of my responsibilities at facebook. damian: now we have--you sent us a collage of pictures from your hispanic heritage month celebrations and the other things that you do. but it goes beyond--from what i'm seeing, it goes beyond just

celebrating there at facebook. you're integrating into the community. you're helping community groups and student groups. talk about the importance of that because that goes beyond what your job titles are. both of you can take that question. jo: yeah. so i feel like, for myself, i know that i wouldn't be where i am today without some development and mentors, and i think that's what we're trying to accomplish. we're trying to go back into the communities, and really be impactful and supportive to youth, and also to small business owners, and give them an opportunity to excel because we recognize that we wouldn't be where we are today without that. damian: and i know that in one of these pictures, it's going to come up, the huge sign in front of the headquarters, this one right here. i mean, nothing says hispanic heritage month more than that right there. jo: right. i actually designed that last year, and it's now featured on the like sign up front. i think it's incredible because facebook allows us to really reflect what they value, which is diversity and inclusion. and we have it up front, so that's pretty awesome.

damian: that's awesome. now, how easy or difficult is your job when you're talking about recruiting and making sure that it's a diverse you're looking at? laura: yeah. so, it is very difficult in the sense that we are hiring just the top talent in the world across every country. so, in that sense it's difficult because the bar is really, really high. and at the same time, i am very happy to say that facebook invests a lot on bringing the top talent, as i said, so we have a lot of resources to do our job. so, in that sense, it's really rewarding to see how much facebook cares about hiring diversity, and in that sense i felt like i am very privileged to work for facebook. damian: when i was on the campus and spoke there a year ago, i mean, i was surprised to know that there was a latino employee group there. and then when i posted it on twitter, my followers were surprised as well, and impressed and gratified that there was such a group. talk about where you want to take that group, and what do you

want to accomplish with it? jo: yeah, so the group has been around for about 4 years now. and it seems that with every month that passes, we have a bigger and bigger base. i remember out first few meetings, we had maybe like 10, 12 employees, and it was very much a social group. it's now evolved into have a greater focus on professional development, and impacting the community, as well as retaining the current hispanic and latino employee talent. my hopes are that we have, like, a national and global presence at some point. we're trying to involve our regional offices in texas, and new york, and dc, as well as some of our latam offices and our offices in europe to really make sure that we're affecting not just mpk and menlo park, but on a global scale. daman: all right, well they are at facebook and they are called latin@, the latino employee group there. there is their facebook page, of course, for more information. we'll be back and talk more about the hispanic heritage

month at facebook when we continue here on "comunidad del valle." stay with us. [music] thank you so much. did you say honey? hey, try some? mmm that is tasty. is it real? of course... are you? nope animated you know i'm always looking for real honey for honey nut cheerios well you've come to the right place. great, mind if i have another taste? not at all mmm you're all right bud? never better i don't know if he likes that. yeah part of the complete breakfast

"comunidad del valle" with the good people over at facebook. now, i remember it was, i don't know, maybe 10, 12 years ago when i was a reporter here at nbc bay area still, and an intern said, as a resource for one of my stories, "why don't you try calling facebook?" and i said, "what's facebook?" and she started talking about how it's a social site for college students, and so that's how it started and evolved. the small office in palo alto, about 13 employees i think. and lo and behold, you're up the peninsula now with hundreds and thousands of employees. did you--well, let me start with you. did you ever imagine that facebook at that time would be growing to something like this? laura: no, not really. so, when i started working at facebook, that was in 2010 and i was in ireland.

so, i started working for facebook in our international headquarters in europe. and over there, i recruited for europe, middle east, and africa. and facebook was much smaller, so i remember that one month after i joined facebook, we reach 500 million user. now we are 1.4 billion. so, no, at that time, i couldn't imagine that facebook was also going to bring me here to the states to live this international experience. damian: and jo, i mean, we're talking about media, a social media site for college students. now you have comadres talking about compadre left his wife, y quién sabe qué, now it's a chisme page for those of us who want to stay in the know. jo: yeah, absolutely. i think that a lot of people utilize the website just to stay connected on things that matter to them. and for many people, that's what matters to them. for young professionals like myself, i like to use the group features and like to plan different events, parties, or get togethers. and then for others, it's just like loading pictures of their friends and family, their babies, life events.

so, everybody has a different utilization for the page, and it's what you make of it. damian: and to be honest with you, maybe one or two story ideas that i gathered during the month, maybe three or four during the month here at nbc bay area, they come from facebook. a post that somebody makes, to them it's kind of a--it's nothing big, but to me it kind of rings the bell for my news bind. talk about maybe some of the activities that you are undertaking right now to attract more latinos. laura: yeah, so we are doing a lot of things. as i say, we are very committed to increase our latino population, so there are a lot of activities that we are doing at the moment. one of them, for example, is that we are partnering really closely with institutions like the society of hispanic professional engineers. also with universities like san jose state university, or university of florida, universities that we know have a large latino population.

we also host a lot of events on campus because we know that one of the reasons why latinos or hispanic have more difficulties in getting into the tech industry is because they don't have the network. so, we are helping them building that network by hosting these events. and then of course, something that we do is that we source and recruit directly from geographic areas within the states that we also know have a larger latino population. like, not only the bay area, but the los angeles, or miami, chicago, washington dc, those areas. damian: now, i have a fifth grader and she's in what's called the mouse squad at her school. and of course, they want a tour of facebook. what do you want young latinas who might be watching there about maybe how it is possible for them to work at a place like facebook? laura: well, absolutely it's possible. and there is something that i will tell them, and is that one of the main challenges that the tech industry has at the moment

is that there is a shortage of coders and engineers. there aren't enough and the demand is just growing. and so, this is a challenge for the tech industry, but at the same time, it's a great opportunity for people who are thinking of their professional career. damian: same question to you as president of latin@, jo. jo: yeah, i think laura raised a wonderful point. it gives our youth, hispanic and not hispanic, an opportunity to seize the opportunity that's in front of them. since there is such a shortage of engineers, they should capitalize on that and study the stem related subjects. yeah, that's the advice that i would give as well. damian: you know, and sometimes corporations, they'll reach outside of their own headquarters when they need advice. and how do we target the african-american community? how do we target the latino community? is the focus of your group maybe to be that resource for your administration to say, "well, we don't have to go outside. we can go to latin@ and see what we need to do to maybe

strategize and improve things"? jo: yeah, there's been a ton of strategic planning with our diversity and recruiting teams where we support them. they ask us, "well, you know, what groups did you guys use as resources? what did you guys do to get to the position that you're in today?" and we like to vocalize to our leadership team what we've done in the past and what we've seen has driven results, so we often do meet with them to discuss that. damian: that's pretty good. well, they're latin@. latin@fb, latin@facebook. there is their facebook page for more information. any final thoughts from either of you? jo: no, just we hope that we continue to inspire and connect the world. and we're excited to be, you know, leaders at facebook. and yeah, thank you so much for having us. damian: thank you. laura, you as well, any final thoughts? laura: yeah, for me, it's just thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to be here and to talk directly to our latino and hispanic community here because we are looking for them, so we are very happy to have this opportunity to let

them know directly. damian: all right, job opportunities at facebook, you heard it here first, or second, or third. thank you so much for what you're doing. jo: thanks, damian. damian: and now, here's what's happening in your comunidad on que pasa. [music] [singing in spanish] [singing in spanish]

[music] damian: saludos to those celebrating a special day. felicidades. [music] damian: and here's our address for next week's saludos. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. also, pick up a copy of el observador newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. you can also watch us on telemundo channel 48 every saturday at 5:30 p.m., "comunidad del valle." we thank you so much for sharing a part of your sunday with us. we'll see you again here next week on tuesday. gracias. [music]

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