good morning and welcome to mosaic. always a privilege to host mosaic on behalf of our producer. my cohost elizabeth a dale. especially excited today because we are speaking about youth. we always talk about youth is the futurebu it is the present. youth, with all of its possibilities -- all of its potentiality can become real with us in the present. i know that as a pastor for nearly 50 years, i am excited when there is youth involved in

the church and the community. i think that is true of all institutions and organizations from education to the government to, you name it. to politics. so i am excited. my guest this morning is regina jackson, the director of east oakland youth development center. and jade a white who was also an active person in that organization. i always like to start with the background. let's start with you, regina. your history and involvement. >> that is a long story. we will wrap it up. i have been in oakland for 50 years. oakland is my home. i graduated from u charlie cap -- uc berkeley. at the time, i did not know you

could have a career in that work. so i was very excited. i started in 1994. celebrating 24 years. they call it come in the peace corps, the toughest job you will ever love. it has been the toughest job i am in love with. young people like jada, i get to help mold and mentor and plant seeds. i have an extraordinarily capable staff. 58 is -- 58% of them are alums. so teaching this mentoring throughout all the leadership programs and the education and arts and re well. do service- oriented careers. maybe because of what we show them. >> you came from new york? >> i spent some time in new

york when i was married many years ago. my father was a retired major in the marine corps. when he decided to retire, he moved to oakland. >> i got the impression you loved new york? >> absolutely. i am a global traveler. i love travel period. anywhere where there is a lot of culture, you can find me very happy. >> jada, tell us about your background. >> i am 13. i have been based in east oakland all my life. my father and mother are from east oakland. i got lvith tha mutual friend and i fell in love with all the programs and book clubs. i consider myself an activist i

-- true thing to me. >> we got an invitation from the congresswoman to attend "march for our lives." we are from an urban community which is affected by gun violence. so it was a great opportunity to go on that journey. >> what inspired you to go? >> my personal background with gun violence. i have been affected firsthand by it. i lived in a community where there were holes in the walls. this affects me and so i wanted to shed light on that. we are affected by this every day. we have to go to school in this neighborhood. so it was a really golden opportunity, like i said. >> talking about the possibilities you bring as a young person, you are activating tright now.

very impressive. thank you for being with us. we will hear more from you. and thank you, regina, for all the work you are doing. you have been called into this. you have had a calling. >> so thank you for all that you do. and we will hear more about the program in the next segment. >> please join us here with regina jackson and jada wait for the east oakland youth development center.

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welcome back to mosaic. i'm run -- ron swisher. i mentioned earlier that my first ministry began in 1972 at elmhurst united methodist church down the street from the development center. when i read some of their history and to see they are still around going way back, i was so excited to see that. and she has been the director since 1994. tell us more about the program. >> we are building leadership capacity of young people. as long -- as young as kindergartners and into adulthood. one of the things we try to do is teach them in appreciation for education and taking risks.

these days, just learning to read is taking a risk. but literacy defines our lives. you are seeing prisons built a sun who can read at the 3rd grade level. we are trying to put the odds in their favor to succeed. when you get to see 13 -year-olds like jada who demonstrate real energy and passion for life, we want to help them protect that. we are located in a challenged area. but we keep trying to teach them through opportunity and exposure, to put the odds in their favor and prepare them for success. so we are getting ready to start another summer program. it is entirely youth led. young people like jada are in leadership positions. the young people are learning to write curriculum, teach classes and supervise young people. because you give them the opportunity to lead and the , then they understand the responsibility. that puts them ahead of the class every time. >> let's go back to the reading for a moment.

reading is a passion of mine. why do you think it is so important? >> reading starts everything. you are able to speak more flatly, more thoughtfully when you can read. you are able to write in that way as well. and it is really, really important that young people know how to think. that they are thoughtful in their thinking. it helps them to resolve conflict and problem solve. and these are not the kinds of curriculums that are being shared in schools these days. but when they walk out the door, they have to solve some problems. when they get to school, they have to resolve conflict. so literacy really provides dationfor that. the other stuff is that they can learn about themselves and about the world. they can travel through reading. when our young people don't get outside of their zip code, reading unlocks

the world for them. it teaches them their own history. it is just amazing. jada has been involved in one of the book clubs that has been supported by the alameda contra costa chapter. it has been so substantial and helping them create their own personal libraries. and for young people -- particularly middle school, sometimes they tend to drop off of those more disciplined activities. so to get them reengaged as they get ready for high school, it puts the odds of college and just being a lifelong learner in their favor. >> i love reading but i could never say it like that. jada, i understand you might want to be a journalist. where does that come from? >> i have always loved reading and writing. my family is literary based. i think the passion for journalism is bringing real news to real people to real communities. bringing a taste of culture to

somebody that does not have that culture or -- i want to bring that trustworthy news to people and journalism does that . >> what are your hopes in terms of school about that? >> i wish to go to a four year college right out of high school. preferably in new york. los angeles too. right now -- next year, i will be a freshman at the oakland's will for the arts, for literary arts. i want to major in journalism or english literature. >> so you want to go to some of the better schools in that field. you have done some homework on that? >> i have. >> to be so young such a vision, thank you for that. >> a goal without a plan is just a dream. >> 13 years old. >> can you imagine at 13?

>> i love with 13 looks like. >> you told me just came back from graduating someone from the program he just got the phd. >> yes. in 2003, i created the pathway to college and career. what we recognize is that we had -- in terms of education, afterschool programs. we had a ged program. we did not have anything that allowed people to access how to get into college or prep for it. so that was really, really important. a young woman by the name of doctor howard was on our very first college tour in 2005. so as an oakland high school student, i remembered that we use to raise to the post office to beat the midnight deadline to apply for colleges. and she got in. but she decided to go to uc berkeley which is still the number one public institution.

at the time, nobody and her family had even graduated from high school. so this was a big leap. we had gone to look at columbia where she also got in. she decided, i want to stay closer to home. after that, she did domestic exchange -- domestic exchange. she studied abroad. she decided to shift her goal from being a pediatric doctor to a phd focused in social welfare. she is -- numeral. >> so you put a lot of emphasis on service? >> yes. she is the quintessential example of what we try to do. she has graduated with her phd from the university of wisconsin madison. she took two years off to work with the obama administration. she is a fantastic young woman. now she is working in alameda county. >> thank you for that. we will come back to hear more

great stories from both of you. please join us with mosaic .

welcome back to mosaic. during the break, i mentioned -- before the break, jada mentioned a number of schools. i mentioned that i want to usf which is a pretty good school. regina jackson mentioned that she got an honorary doctorate from the school. phomenal opportunity. some folks with me and said, i think you have an extraordinary body of work. and i would like for us to try to put your name in. and i said, okay. so i put together a binder of

all of the things i have done over the last 20 years. and i was told -- around february of 2016 that i would receive the honorary doctorate and i would be able to deliver the commencement address. >> what an honor. >> i was so excited and honored. it turns out that one of my own kids from previous would be in the class. dr. joseph marshall on the board of trustees is a respected colleague. he was also very excited for me. it was one of the top 10 experiences of my life. to have my parents and the comm it has been amazing. and we have had ki so it was just a turning point.

>> do you remember what you focused on in the commencement address? >> service. i talked about taking risks. i talked about following my pathway -- the calling. i talked about some of the success stories and many of the responsibilities. because usf says they are building the future from there. i may be misdirecting the theme. but the whole point is that you have to get ready for what it is you are going to do and who it is you are going to be. i wanted to talk to them about real-life examples where they can make change. i did not know that i could actually go into this field when i was in college. and it has been the most incredible sustaining and and passion to work i could ever imagine. and it is the only reason i have been in it so long. my job -- i would usually leave after

two and a half years. so it speaks for itself. >> somebody says you have to have fire and some glue. and you seem to bring that. >> i am a little stick of dynamite. >> fantastic. >> tell us more about the march. i understand that you spoke. >> i had written a speech about my experience with gun violence. and i had a reflection about the march. i remember including how crowded and cold it was. and the feeling of empowerment and involvement. we were the only group of black teenagers that we saw at the march. >> thousands of >> it is so rare to see that crowd. we were the only big group of black teenagers that i saw

during the march, which i felt was empowering in a way but i wish we were more involved and more driven to end this gun violence. and it brings that brotherhood that we lack in urban communities. i feel like that alone can -- >> how many were in your delegation? >> nine. >> that is good. i understand that you introduced everyone to michelle obama. >> one of my biggest accomplishments. we were invited by a congresswoman to go to a moderator conversation with michelle obama. while we were taking the picture -- we were a big --whre ing men and people o ch obama. t and , we at the east oakland youth development center and recently a delegation was taken on to "march for our lives." she was like, tell me more. so it went off of that.

i was the youngest one. but that was a very powerful moment for me. >> that is great. >> thank you. >> you put a lot of emphasis on leadership development. >> yes. i remember that a young person told me that, because i expected her to succeed, she did. nobody had ever communicated that to her. so we provide exposure so they can see a world outside of what they know. and give them opportunities that make them both thirsty and hungry for these empowering experiences. we give them the opportunity to write what they like and draw what they like. do whatever it is they like so they can feel empowered. >> and you travel? >> we travel. in my opinion, that is the best way to learn about yourself as well as others. so when we talk about colleges

-- which one will be the right one for you? i want people to come outside of their comfort zone. that is where i feel the biggest growth is. so i dare them to go outside of their geographic area. across the country to the south, east, north, so they can understand how to navigate. how to make new friends. our young people are so busy on their phones with texting that they don't even talk to each other. >> so you are going to mexico? >> we are leading a service mission to mexico in august thanks to the benevolence of southwest airlines who sponsors all of our college tours. i thought it was important, in the midst of the challenges we are having today and the lack of support for mexico and immigrants, for young people -- rtyoung learn thlandscape and do

service. they are still deciding what it is they want to do. whether it is dances or making food -- coming together -- everything that we do at the center, we like to lift up. they will be designing t- shirts. the roof is the limit. >> the last segment coming up. i want to come back to where you are located and some of that background. >> thank you and the sky is the limit. i said the roof. >> join us for the last segment with regina and jada.

east oakland youth development center is celebrating their 40th anniversary and we have been blessed to have the director here, regina jackson and one of website >> ourebsite is eorg.org. international boulevard, hollywood, california. >> you live pretty close to

it? >> yes. i am always in east oakland. >> in our conversation, you mentioned that not only are you a warriors fan -- but what has steph curry done for you? >> steph curry has done so many things for the organization and the families. when he got his first mvp award in 2015, he gave us his kia. we used the car to go to the meetings. he has invited our families to brrilast month, day. was shootiar w of course tha tlives.>> d uch baith m or himith you? >> we have been -- fortunately, receiving donations from rs for many years. i believe that he learned about

our work because of our character building curriculum. our entire organization -- every curriculum we have is really about building character. we know that he aligns with that, both from a religious base as well as a personal base. i think that is how we made it to the top of the list and he was able to select from that list. >> do you have a last word for us, jada? >> oakland youth development center is the best center. >> [ laughter ] fantastic. >> both of you have been great to be on the program. ma tthe o beltofo opportunity. have us back again. >> we sure will. thank you for joining us this morning. i know you have been inspired and enlightened by these two young women for all the work that they do. continue to keep work and keep the faith. see you next month.

thank you for being with us on mosaic!

live from the cbs bay area studios, this is clear lake oaks -- kpix news. the fire danger is rising along with the temperatures this weekend and we have already seen a couple of close calls. plus, the heat is not stopping tens of thousands of people from celebrating pride weekend in san francisco. i had, a live report on what to expect. good morning, i am melissa came. >> let's start this morning off with air -- with our forecast. we are looking at a cooldown but we do still have a red flag warning in effect through 8 o'cloc