"comunidad del valle." i'm damian trujillo, and today, we're talking diversity. vta and santa clara county are both in our studios here on your "comunidad del valle." male announcer: nbc bay area presents "comunidad del valle" with damian trujillo. damian: we begin today with a program called "cooking up change." with me from the oakland school district on "comunidad del valle" are david isenberg, a culinary teacher, and jaye poindexter is a student there at ralph brunche academy in oakland. welcome to the show. so, what are we talking about when we're talking about cooking up change, david? oh, do you know all about cooking up change? go ahead. go ahead, jaye. jaye poindexter: cooking up change is a culinary program that transforms regular school lunches into a healthy meal for students, with a budget of $1. damian: a dollar? jaye: yes. damian: can you do that, david? david: oh, it's not easy. it's not easy. damian: tell us about the program, the premise behind it.

david: the contest came to us several months ago. we started looking at this contest, cooking up change. the idea with this is to have students use school--use foods that are available at most high schools, but turn it into a healthy meal. they actually tried different things and we went through lots of different tests to see what works and what doesn't, and at the same time, one of the most difficult parts was keeping it nutritious and tasty, and make it so that other students would want to win this contest. damian: those don't always go hand-in-hand, nutritious and tasty. david: true. damian: talk about the challenges there, jaye, in making something that is tasty but it's also nutritious at the same--we do have some pictures and some images that y'all provided for us. jaye: some of the challenges that i faced was keeping the sodium, the salt levels, and the calories down, while trying to make it not as greasy as some schools.

damian: so, you have to be a little bit scientific as well when you're talking about cooking these kinds of items. jaye: yes. damian: and so, what is the trick? have you found out what the trick is to keeping it tasty at that point? jaye: the trick is green. damian: ah ha! leafy green or just green green? jaye: both. damian: so, what do you wanna--why did you decide that this is a competition that i wanna be involved in? jaye: i decided that this is a competition i wanna be in. i like competing, sports and non-sports, but food is just like--it's a worldwide thing. everybody needs to have some fun when cooking. damian: yeah, now the big question is, the winner, does that menu item get instilled into the menu item at the school? david: yes it does. if we win, the team that will win in oakland will go to washington d.c. and compete against other schools all over the country. at that time, the winning school district will put that item on their menu and serve it to all the students in all of their schools. so, hopefully we can bring it back to oakland,

and we would be serving hopefully jaye's and not her competition's meal. damian: so, are you still trying to create one dish that you think might win you the contest here? jaye: i feel like i mastered my dish that i made so far. damian: and is that a secret? is that what the competition is for? jaye: shh. damian: what's the message you think overall for the entire campus, not just those competing? david: well, i think it is to look at healthy alternatives that taste good so that we can start at the high school level and even younger teaching nutrition, teaching good nutrition that tastes good and is healthy for you. lots of research has shown that when students eat a healthy meal that that translates into better study habits. and i know i could've used that when i was going to school. damian: right? because, i mean, it's easy to slap a couple of buns over a burger and throw some tater tots on there. i mean, i guess that's what a lot of schools do.

but in essence, what are we doing to our students or our children, do you think, when we do, you know, slap 'em with a hamburger, and some tater tots, and dough dogs, and what not? jaye: i feel like we're increasing child obesity, like diabetes and really, really traumatic life changes. damian: and why is that important to you, addressing those types of issues? jaye: it's important to me because health is, like, the number one thing that's killing off human population, and healthy food is everywhere, just people don't know how to use it. damian: all right, is there a category you guys have everything set up for the competition? david: we do. the students, we all work together as a team and try to figure out what would be the best dish for each team to do. jaye's team is doing a thai chicken roll up with a dipping sauce. damian: it was a secret. no it wasn't, was it? ha ha ha. jaye: he split the beans. david: i spilled the beans. so, her dish is doing that with a dipping sauce.

and you should--what's your vegetable and-- damian: you don't have to. i mean, if it's a secret, it's a secret. you wanna win this competition. jaye: you can know the secret, just don't tell nobody. damian: all right, you got it. jaye: so, it's a thai chicken wrap with a dipping sauce, and steamed pepper broccoli with spiced apple sauce. damian: i can see students eating that, i mean, during lunch time. david: yeah, it's really a tasty dish. i like her dish a lot. she's got a little lime in there that really makes it pop and taste nice. it's a good job. they did a really good job. they came up with a dipping sauce that makes it very moist and real appetizing. damian: i tell you, citrus. citrus does the trick. if you'd like more information, this is a great competition. it's called cooking up change in the oakland school district. there is the web address for more information. up next here on "comunidad del valle," thank you so much and good luck to you. david: thanks, thanks for having us on. damian: all right, thank you. up next on "comunidad del valle," the silicon valley latino leadership conference. stay with us.

is back in silicon valley. frank carbajal is back to tell us all about it on "comunidad del valle." welcome back to the show. frank carbajal: good afternoon, damian. damian: thank you. well, i mean, you're doing something right, because this is the what annual summit that you're having here? frank: this is the 8th annual leadership summit at stanford university. the first one was on sand hill road at the quadrus conference center. but this being the 8th annual, it's very important, especially this year with things that are happening in the united states, in celebrating this 8th annual leadership summit, it's also very pivotal because it falls on cinco de mayo weekend. so, let's celebrate leadership. damian: what kind of ground are we breaking do you think when you put your summits together, what we've accomplished so far? frank: well, there's a couple of things, and this year's summit is executive and entrepreneurial leadership. so, the ground that we're breaking in the two areas, for example, in executive leadership,

we still have a long way to go. for example, less than 3% of men, latino men, sit on corporate boards, and less than 2% of women sit on these corporate boards. however, what i have paved are folks that attend the summit and the speakers at the summit to provide leadership and mentoring for these individuals that are attending the summit. so, it's breaking ground in terms of executive leadership and entrepreneurial leadership. we're starting to see more latino venture capitalists that are investing in small, innovative start-ups. damian: latino venture capitalists. frank: yes. damian: wow, i mean, we're looking at video of one of your past conferences here. i mean, but if you're not asking those kinds of questions and organizing these types of summits, who is, right? you have to--somebody has to take the lead, and you've been doing that. frank: yeah, you know, one of the things that i feel very fortunate, and it was 9 years ago,

i had my book, "building the latino future," published by wiley & sons, and it created a platform for latinos to not only have access to these stories, but to understand that es tiempo, it's time that things get done. so, i felt that it was my duty to create a leadership conference that folks can not only come together, but be challenged in terms of their ideas, and making sure that they're not feeling alone and feeling isolated, that they feel connected to leaders that attend the summit. so, in answering your question in terms of who attends, folks throughout the country come to the silicon valley to attend this conference. folks from new york, folks from los angeles, chicago, washington d.c. damian: you're not joking around. there's some heavy hitters who show up to the conference. frank: yes, yes. in fact, the lifetime awardees this conference will be solomon

trujillo, angelica perez, and rick najera. solomon trujillo is one of the first mexican-american billionaires, and he-- damian: god, i hope he's related. frank: yeah. oh, that's right! [both laughing] frank: he sat on target's board of directors and he sits on western union's board of directors. he sits on board of directors in saudi arabia, china, and he's very approachable, very humble, and he's a giant leader, and he's a lifetime awardee. mickey ibarra is closing it out and mickey ibarra worked for president clinton. and it's very important for me to bring these folks that are not only great leaders but have humility. humility is such an important ingredient in terms of pushing up. damian: absolutely. and is it kind of a round table? what--describe the day for us. is it a round table thing or is it a conference room

type of setting? what happens? frank: no, so, the opening keynote is guillermo diaz. guillermo diaz is the senior vice president and cio of cisco, just right around the corner. and the opening panel plenary is executive and entrepreneurial leadership. the moderator is jacqueline, who is the ceo at the latino community foundation, so she'll open it up with folks that are in executive leadership and folks that are entrepreneurial leaders. and the theme there is to really built coalitions, both in executive areas as well as entrepreneurial areas. and the lunch is going to be a fireside chat, led by jesse martinez, and the panelists will be lance rios, who is the founder of being latino, he has 17 million followers on facebook, and also javier sade, who worked under maria contreras-sweet, under the sba under president obama. and the lifetime awardee is sol trujillo,

and then angelica litwin-perez is the pioneer awardee, and visionary awardee is rick najera. and closing it out will be mickey ibarra. but one of the things that we're also doing for this 8th annual leadership summit is having an inaugural gala, where i'm partnering with all stars helping kids, which is ronnie lott's organization, and his executive director is mario vargas. and what we've created is an esteam concept, rolling out esteam. entrepreneurship, science, technology, engineering, arts, maintaining arts, and mathematics. in terms of working with these programs and this initiative, it really is to work with young adults, not only in east san jose, oakland, in overlooked communities that have been struck with poverty. and so, what all started as helping kids has done is

provided non-profit funding for these innovative start-ups. and so, we'll be having a gala that evening. damian: all right, well, it's--i mean, like i said, it takes someone to trailblaze and to break down walls and barriers, and i think you and your summit are doing just that. the summit actually is taking place, again, cinco de mayo. it's stanford university. there is a couple of ways to get ahold of the folks for more information. thank you so much, frank, for what you're doing, and good luck with your venture. frank: thank you, damian. appreciate it. damian: and up next here on "comunidad del valle," diversity in santa clara county and vta, a strong partnership. stay with us.

that's our topic here on "comunidad del valle." cindy chavez is with the board of supervisors of santa clara county and alberto lara is on the board of the valley transportation authority. welcome to the show. what are we talking about--well, describe this venture that now the county, the board of supervisors, has established with vta. cindy chavez: so, it's actually very exciting.

so, the county of santa clara spends about $2 billion a year in contracts, and the valley transportation authority spends a little over $200 million a year in contracts. and what that means is that when we spend our common wealth, there's an opportunity to spend it locally with small businesses, with minority-owned businesses, with lgbtq businesses, with veteran-owned businesses. and so, vta, under the leadership of that board, did a great job of putting together a program to certify businesses and help small businesses be ready to apply for these big contracts. damian: so, those businesses are there, right? they're ready to do business, but are they just being overlooked, do you know? or why is it that not many are being contracted to these types of jobs, if they aren't? alberto lara: well, unfortunately that is the case, that smaller businesses tend to be overlooked because they don't have the big department for marketing, the big capacity. so, that's exactly what our program is targeting is helping them get a piece of that pie and partner with prime contractors

that are working on exciting projects, such as the bart extension project into santa clara county. that project alone, we've awarded $141 million to small businesses and disadvantaged businesses as well. so, it's pretty exciting. and now, as supervisor chavez just mentioned, with the expansion of the program and the partnership, we believe we're gonna be able to reach out to a lot more local communities, local businesses that wanna take part in our procurement process. damian: now, i know everybody wants to stay local. is it difficult finding those qualified? 'cause you have to be qualified if you're gonna give them this contract. how difficult is it to find these qualified, local companies that exemplify diversity? alberto: well, we've added about 79 firms, local firms to our program, so it is difficult, but that's exactly why, and we appreciate the opportunity to come on shows like yours, to say to the community, "come if you have a business. meet with us. go through the website.

get educated as to what it takes to become one of our contractors, and we're there to help you." damian: and cindy, we're not just dishing out these contracts free willy, right? i mean, they have to be qualified. cindy: you bet they have to be qualified. we're spending public dollars. but what's really exciting about this partnership is that vta will certify the companies and these small businesses, and that way they can apply either to vta or the county of santa clara. and combined, we have a lot of local resources. so, we're looking for the best, we're looking for the brightest, and really what we think is that if we make it easier and explain how to have access that we're gonna get better local, quality companies, and we recognize it. a core component of our economy here really rests on small businesses. we celebrate the large companies here, but the small businesses employ thousands and thousands of people, and we wanna make sure we can help them grow. damian: do you think that a lot of these businesses think, "well, i'm not going to bid on this project because i can't

compete against the big--" cindy: i think that's part of it, and i also think they think the certification process is gonna be cumbersome. but the partnership that we have with vta really does make it easy for businesses to do that and to be able to work with government. i think some of it is just what people--what their beliefs are that maybe don't bear out anymore, and i think the point that alberto raised, about 79 small businesses in our area now have the ability to apply, not just to vta, but also to the county of santa clara, is the beginning of a great opportunity for our local companies. damian: basically, you want to spread the wealth, right? you wanna make sure that everybody has at least the opportunity or the access to get a piece of what you're offering. alberto: exactly, and that is the vision of our director, general manager nuria fernandez, is let's level the playing field for these small businesses to compete for a lot of the contracts that we have available. in fact, one of our networking opportunities is coming up, may 11. we're gonna be partnering with the county at the auditorium on

berger street, i believe it is. damian: we're gonna have the information in just a bit. i mean, you're not lowering the expectations, you're just leveling, as you mentioned, the playing field. alberto: exactly. cindy: that's exactly right. and just one last thing i would like to say about that is that i think the small businesses in our community can do so much. you know, printing, pre-employment screening, data entry, information systems, construction. i mean, the county--just between the county and vta, we're like small cities. so, we have one of the largest hospitals in the area. there's so many things that we contract and bid for that this is just a great opportunity for people to really reinvest in our local businesses, using, again, our common wealth, and doing it in a way that really encourages the best and the brightest to apply. damian: all right, we do have some information for you. again, they're having this grand opening, if you will, or this great presentation to kick off this event. it's on may 11. there is the address.

it's at berger drive where the registrar of voters is located. and there is the web address for more information. we'll be back and talk more about this project to diversify the local contractors. stay with us. [music] someday, gus will invent this thing and change the world. this is the thing that could change gus' world. and this is the doctor that could cure that thing so he can grow up to invent this thing. sutter health. proudly caring for northern california, birthplace of pioneers.

proudly caring for northern california, alberto is actually a staff member at vta, you're not a board member. alberto: correct. damian: all right, well, now also included in your program is the disabled veterans and the lgbt community. so, tell us about your pitch and your effort with that. alberto: so, thank you again. last year, the board of directors of the vta expanded the program to include the lgbt community, as well as disabled vets. so, all these business enterprises that want to be part of our program, we're inviting them to come and talk to us at these events, like the one that you just mentioned before the commercial break, so that they really understand what the process is. so, that would be--i lost it. cindy: ha ha, well, what i was just gonna--let me just

follow up and say that i think what's really critical to know is we didn't know at the time that we were doing this that we were the first in the country. and what's important about that is, of course, the first comes from silicon valley, so we're really proud of that, but we also recognize by blazing trails at a local level, we're really making it possible for other agencies across the country to adopt these same sorts of policies, which i think is very exciting. and i think that's particularly important, both as it relates to the lgbt community, but really if you think about it, one of the biggest challenges in our country has been making sure that we are doing what we can for veterans, not just in housing, but also in terms of entrepreneurship. so, we're creating opportunities for businesses that may not have had opportunities otherwise. damian: i mean, it's great that we're reaching out to minority-owned, lgbt, and disabled veterans, so that's great, but isn't it at the same time unfortunate that we have to reach out, because they're just not at the table yet? cindy: no, that's right. and i--here's the great thing about this program. i think vta's learned something that we at the county get to follow and we're gonna hook into that program so we're not

reinventing the wheel. we're making it much easier for businesses to have a one-stop shop, which is tremendous. and i think your point is well taken that i think once we learn this, it's something we're gonna be able to share across the country, because it shouldn't be difficult. it should be easy, transparent, and accessible, irrespective of what size your businesses are. and i think frankly, the more small businesses that we engage, the more demand they're gonna make on us to change procedures and protocols, and i think that's all to the good for the public. damian: and you're not--you're not just coming here, alberto, to talk about it. you're actually right now with the bart project. you're hands-on with the minority-owned contractors. alberto: we are, and we've awarded to some local firms, latino firms, several contracts for landscaping, trucking, asphalt work. so, that is happening right now. damian: then talk about the importance of the outreach that you're doing? i mean, this is part of the outreach, of course, but you know, there are maybe those small companies that aren't aware, or again, they feel like maybe they don't have a chance. but there is an outreach effort to make sure that they understand that they do.

alberto: several times a year we actually connect the small businesses with the prime contractors, those big firms. we bring them together, we have a coffee hour, we get them to talk to each other, so that the small business-- cindy: it's speed dating. alberto: something like that, exactly, yeah, and it's been very successful. so, we hold those about two or three times a year. damian: oh, all right. how much stronger, cindy, do you think we are making this community by reaching out this way and making sure that everybody is at the table? cindy: well, you know, it makes complete sense to invest in our local community with our tax dollars. not only do we wanna build bart and bring bart to san jose or have one of the strongest hospitals, not just in the region, but in the country, but we wanna be able to spend that dollar multiple times. so, by spending it with a local business, we're strengthening our local economy and we're making it more and more possible for those people to reinvest in jobs in our local community. and i think one challenge that these small businesses have, really, is that sometimes they are two or three person shops. so, doing the research to determine what you can apply for can be overwhelming.

we're trying to make it easy because we want that 3-person shop to become a 10-person shop to become a 20-person shop, and have that success in our community. damian: are these mostly--ones you're contracting with or subcontracting with, are they national, small, minority-owned businesses or are they all local, the ones that you-- alberto: the majority are local, yes. damian: what message does that send, i guess, to those who want a piece of the pie here locally? alberto: that they're all welcome and that they should all make their presence known because we wanna do business with them. damian: that's awesome. well, it's a great message. if you'd like more information, again, the kick-off is happening may 11 there on berger drive in san jose. there's the web address for more information. any final thoughts, cindy? cindy: you know, i would just say the welcome mat is open, and we are open for business, and we're open for business in the public sector, and we want you to come. damian: there's a lot of money in it. cindy: there is, don't pass it up. damian: alberto, any final thoughts? alberto: check us out on the website, and you know, call us. we'll be there to help you. damian: all right, well, thank you so much for coming on the show. cindy: thank you for having us.

damian: and now, here's what's happening in your comunidad on "que pasa." [music] [music] [music] [music] damian: and our saludos for those celebrating a special day. felicidades. [music]

[music] damian: and here is our contact information. you can follow me on twitter. my handle is @newsdamian. you can also pick up a copy of "el observador" newspaper and support your bilingual weeklies all across the bay area. you can also watch us in espanol in 1 hour on telemundo canal 48. your "comunidad del valle" in spanish every sunday at 11 a.m. on telemundo canal 48. we thank you once again for sharing a part of your sunday with us here on "comunidad del valle." we will have another great show for you next week. pase usted. [music]

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