this is "news 4 your sunday." >> hello,'m pat lawsomuse. today we celebrate powerhouse women. women making a huge impact on the world around them. in honor of black history month nbc black which is a division of nbc news is sponsoring a project called she thrives. it's a series of interviews with ten powerhouse women making today.y three of the ten live right here in the dmv and one of them is vita woods, she is the founder of protect us kids forgdation, anization dedicated to protecting children from online sexual abuse and tiexploi. welcome to "news 4 your sunday." >> thank you. >> tell us about protect us kids and what motivated to you start the foundation.

>> protect u ks is a nonprofit focused on undersurved and communities worldwide, specifically on youth that may be impacted or have been impacted by commercial online sex trafficking. this is an organization i started in 2008 based on my own personal experience of growing up on the south side of chicago and just being privy to a lot of activities, nefarious type of activities in the vironment. as i escalated within my reademic , we became more knowledgeable of technology and how technology is being used to enable people to have opportunities and more flexibility in what they need to do, but it's als an enabler for people who want to committs nefarious of course, youth tend to be the most focused vulnerable population. >> of course. there are three components to your program. >> yes, thr components. outreach, e academic we seek for partnerships with

ulademia, specifically the graduate pion so they can conduct the research that we can use to leverage statistics and data. in trafficking there is not really a lot of tangible credible data right now, specifically towards rural and underserved communities. so those type of partnerships are very helpful to us. the other arm of that is our partnership with mental and behavioral health. cyber in general, cybersecurity is a human issue a so it's important for us to partner with social services a mental behavioral health so we can actually understand the population that we seek to serve as well as create specific tailored curriculum for them. theres a third arm that's the technology, innovation and partnerships, wre we partner with other tech companies and ng s developing technologies towards identifying ppetrators on the with ebb. >> how small is your group. >> 10 to 15 people. we have numerousolunteers and a board of about six.

>> your story is fascinating. you came from the south side of chicago to a 22-year career in cyberss.urity. >> >> you are familiar, then, of course, with the issues that make children vulnerable to exploitation. >> absolutely. >> do you have kids of your own? >> yes. yes. i have one daughter. why he. >> so what's the main thing a parent needs to know to try to steer a child away from the risk,way from the danger? >> i think it's important for parents to really understand that social media and the internet is not bad.ha i thinks first and foremost. i think thenejerk reaction is to completely isolate the child. >> k kp them off. p them off of the cell phones. what i've learned with many young people is that when you try to restrict them from mething that they don't understand they seek knowledge of that andhey ten to find ways to actually gain access. so what wes found by having

conversations and being very forthright and up front about the reality in terms of how young people are utilizing the ternet, it's best to provide them tools so that they can protect themselves. so young people are very resilient,ery smart and they like to and crave knowledge. if you tive them thels and resources they can make key decisions when they are on the internet which can protect themselves. >> and you work with schools to help do that. >> absolutely. >> schools are you, partne who are some of the others? >> schools as well as working with social services groups as well. we work with certain type of social services that may not necessarily focus on human trafficking, domestic violence is an example of that. h they me a youth center where they have a population of young people walhin r underserved communities, but because human trafficking was a become suc focus and because young people tend to use social media and thnology continuously, the schools as well as the social services s a definite need for the services that we provide. >> all right. we're talking with veda woods

who is the founding of the protect us kids foundation. we will continue talking with onf the women in she thrives, when we come back. live fm the starlite lounge. ♪ one plus one equals too little too late ♪ ♪ a sock-a-bam-boom ♪ who's in the room? ♪ love is dangerous ♪ but driving safe means you pay less ♪ ♪ switch and save ♪ yes, ma'am excuse me, miss. ♪ does this heart belong to you? ♪ ♪ would you like it anyway? [ scatting ]

welcome back. we're talk you g today with veda woods, one of ten women making historys part of the nbc black project called she thrives. she's super woman. that's why you're making history. not oy as the founder of protect us kids, you are working to support women and minorities and to support them in stem and s.t.e.a.m. careers. tell us about your work in that area. >> because i tend to be one of the few --hen i first started over 22 years ago it was very rare to see a man, let alone a minority woman within technology, specifically anything dealing withcyber.

i understood that the pressures and the challenges of trying to excel in a career that really doesn't have a set pathway, but then not really having someone that looked like me or someone that i could actuallydentify with to kind of talk about some of those challenges. as i progressed throughout my career taking on things that other people don't want to do and taking on challenging endeavors i began to see opportunities to make sure that i have an open door type of policy ando i reach out to a lot of young people, other and minorities in stem as well. i've been on numerous panels. i was a political appointee or a federal agency in the obama administration so that opened the doors in terms of me being able to have more of an outreach. i feel it's very important to no t justk about the stem s.t.e.a.m. type of initiatives, but actually be actionable and do something. because o t thatt is what propelled me to really become focused on one protect us kids

and the community that we serve. >> so what would your advice be for someone who wants to have a career in cybersecurity or another stem discipline? >> to passionate about it and to not lose focus. it can be very challenging to be within an environment where you have a lot of engaging ideas or innovative ideasnd you may not necessarily have the choice of ny. your voi may be very unique and different. not being discouraged by that. making sure that you understand that there's plenty of opportunities forou to pursue whatever it is that you want to pursue,ut most importantly ensuring that you have a voice and ask questions. i think that's something that a lot of us tend h toe challenges with is speak up. if there is an you want to leverage, please ensure that you ask the right person. just reask. ften than not they're more than happy to give you an opportity. if you tend to have ideas within cyber and it's a pathway that

you want to take and you don't really understand the depth of the eld, askquestions. there's plenty of resources online, there's plenty of working groups, there's plenty of social media platforms like linkedin and others that are give you core competencies and a lot of the information that you actually need is publicly available. o it there and you can really learn a lot of basic things without having to invest a lot of money, it's just insting time within yourself. >> and for a parent who may see as a child begins to grow andha develop they have an ability, a talent for math and science, maybe engineering, how --t would you advise that parent to do to try to steer the child in thatio dire >> i think the biggest thing is also, again, looking at what ailable resources are out there, but also there's numerous working groups as well as there's other nonprofits that actually focus on minorities in stem. there's resources where a parent

can actually get their kids enrolled and there'slso in terms -- the schools that the kids currently go with, worthng he guidance counselors, working with academic research and fac with really narrowing down what that child's interests are, and most importantly asking your child what interests they have because signer is so bad andvaried, everyone doesn't necessarily want to work on the tactical operational level in terms of being able to work with some people are more interested on the policy side, some people he more interested on management side. it's important, one, to get the young people's interest first and then bng able t do your research within the community. >> yourboio talks your own personal experience overcoming the adversities in your own life. is tk that you're doing now with children and to promote and toen propel w in the stem and s.t.e.a.m. fields, are these your ways of paying it forward? >> absolutely. >> you mentioned your inspiration from >>god. absolutely. absolutely. i am one ofid those indls

that perhaps has a different viewpoint when it comes to stem and s.t. in that i'm very much focused on the human aspect of it. not that i'm not focused and completely enthralled with what we call the zeros and es, the bits and bytes. i am. and the technology. but i feel that theechnology just an enabler for us to be able to express ourselvesnd the human factor is important. so the outcome of a breach or the outcome of some type of nefarious act with technology, that's the ouome, but there's reasoning behind what motivates an individual to leverage these specechnologies and for me being able to maintain my sense of being able to be my authentic did he have, being able to still be compassionate and have empathy for people, i've understood that the technotegy piece goes old. so i can provide those services to young people, i can look another young person and say, hey, you can, you know, be volved with music, but you can

also have a career in stem as well. there's opportunities for ghu. >> all well, you are definitely thriving, veda woods. >> thank you. all the best to you and congratulations on being one of those ten powerful super women. >> thank you so much. i appre and next, women working to make breast cancer survivors be right back.. wimpy trash bags? c'mon.

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reynold's kitchens™ hasfrustration for good.rap to celebrate, award winner jeff russo composed the world's shortest victory song. [sfx: victory song plays] yes! this is the good stuff™ our two guests are on a mission to make women feel they run a boutique called cherry blossom intimates, it's a place for breast cancer survivors and their friends, a boutique that specializes in bra fittings and post mastectomy fittings. joining us now are dr. regina hampton founder and medical itdirector of doctors comm hospital breast center, co-founder of cherry blossom intimates.s jasmine jones founder of the global literacy initiative, co-founder of cherry blossom

intimates. she is ms. d.c. u.s.a. 2016. still ms. d.c. u.s.a. to us. before we talk aboutherry blossom intimates and it's impact in our community you met in a strange way,ou teamed up in an unexpected fashion. tell us aboutthat, doctor. >> we met at a breast cancer walk locajay. ine was walking, i was walking, we ended up getting separated from the group that we both came to walk for and weth just i three miles had a great conversation. i had had this idea of doing a store because of the work that i do working with breasttiancer ts and women with breast issues and jasmine had s really great nuggets and ideas about how i could do the store and i thought, well maybe i should call her and have her help me do the store. >> you got a lot in during those three miles. >> absolutely. and so we met a few times afterwards and then we got busy,

each of us got busy, andhen i just kind of looked up one day and said, it's i called her and it was time for her an here we are two years later. jasmine, inctober of last year. >> yes. >> the store opened. >> yes. the opened our doors during breast cancer awareness month,h whs really important for us to be able to make that goal, we were so proud we were able to do stat. our foman to our door was a breast cancer survivor, she walked to the door and said i having a ank you for store for us and just cried. we were just so grateful. >> you were telling me how important having a place like this was for you. this is a very personal topic for both of you. your grandmother suffered from cancer, you lost her t cancer. tell us about that experience and how that sor of inspired you to start the store. >> absolutely. so i lost my grandmother to breast cancer in my sophomore year of llege, but i remember her struggle even before then, livings a breast cancer

survivor, seeking postsurgical supplies, mastectomy brass, prosthetics. she never really found anything that she would drive from ward 7 over to waldorf and beyond sometimes to find products and they would fit her behind a curta in a medical supply store. i remember her being disappoint bd that. even at a young a i thought someone should do something, someone should c that. even though i lost her i feel that the store is dedicated inr mend honor of her and in hoping of helping survivors in the future. >> dr. hamp son,dhou had a ch diagnosed and performed surgery for. >> yes. yes. my dear friend dana walker. what was amazing and w our journey to create the store and while dana was fighting her battle she would always ask and throw nuggets in about what weo do about cherry blossom. it was so important and i'm touched that we can honor h at this store. what's interesting is we have pictures of her actual cancer

cells and so we hung them on the wall and framed them as beautiful art. so she really gs to inspire us even though she's no longer with us. >> wow. i know there are lots of places where women can get supplies, but your store is unique and one of the things that makes your store unique is this. this is a supply of shades, the various shades that are offered for women o dependi their complexion, their skin color, their tone, what they want in a prosthetic. >> yes. >> tell us aut this and why this makes such a difference, why it's so uns ue. >> so t really special. typically breast cancer survivors are only offered one real shade of prosthetic and it's normally this color, ali t fleshy pink color and that's what they're stuck with for the rest of their life.hi we saw opportunity to really bless women who may not have always been able to find prosthetic in their shade. using 3-d ipad prointing te snology we do an of a

woman's chest wall to fit her for the appropriate size that will look best on h and also to match the perfect color that would match her. skin to on top of the shades we offer a woman can choose the size of h nipple and depth projection and can even add veins or freckles. so she can b any bra in our sto store from tha point on. she is wear strapless ands haltecause she has a prosthetic true to her mbody. >> thaes all the difference for a woman. >> absolutely. l dr. hampton,ing a breast is a traumatic thing, but being able to recover not only from the cancer but to regain your beauty and your sense oflf onfidence. >> yes, is there you will. >> that's irreplaceable. >> ablutely. i wa just shocked at how the industry never found that to be important. this he just thought, well, people can just put it inside of a bra, no one is going to see

it, but that woman has to see it every day or her significant other. so that confidence is so important and that's really why we're here. >> cherry blossom intimates is the boutique. sswe will continue our disn righ.

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we're talking with the founders of cherry blossom intimates, a special place for women who have suffered from breast cancer and need to be restored. dr. hampton, tell us some of the stories. i can just imagine the looks on the faces of the women, your s,tients. >> absolutely. so we had one woman who was here during the holidays visiting her family and she's in her 70s, up from north carolina, and so she was just so excited and said she specifically wanted to get heri prosthrom us because where she is she couldn't get one that

was even a brown shade. sot's just been amazing the transformation. we've had women walk in wff have been sg their brass with socks, shoulder pads and they never knew that they could get antem that was covered by insurance to make them whole agsn. >> and i a pretty big thing to be able to put it on your chest withall. >> absolutely. >> rather than just your bra. it absolutely. pens up more options. you don't have to necessarily wear a bra wit a pocket or holder for the prosthetic, you could buy anyff bra of the rack. >> jasmine, insurance does cover the cost of the surge and the reconstruction, but does insurance cover the cost of customization? >> currently it does not, but dr. hampton and i have met with over 20 representatives, state representatives on the hill to push legislation forward that would change that so that medicare would cover the cost of a customprosthetic. we're also getting creative in the store of thinking of ways we can best hp women who are uninsured to be able to walk

away with something that is as beautiful asthis. >> talk about how important it is for a woman who h gone through a situation like this to -- the fear, the loss, the teling of not being whole again,k about that experience and what it's like for you to help womenhrough e process. dr. hampton because it starts with you. >> yeah. mean, it's challenging and, heu know, everyone is fearful when they hear diagnosis, but if they have to lose the breast, even sometes when they choose to lose the breast, it's a lot of emotional ups and downs that we go through and so for them to know that there is an option becausedy not every will want to get plastic surgery, not everybody is a candidate for plasticer su which is also covered by insurance, so it's just nice to give them an option so that they can use it either as a bridge to their plastic surgery or they

may use it for the remainder of their lives. just to give them that nfidence and feeling of, wow, i can look down it looks like me, it's my skintone. >> so you have one boutique? >> yeah. >> any plans for -- t expand? >> yes, we have one beautiful boutique, it looks like the girliest lingerie boutique in the whole wide world, but we do plan to expand probably sooner than we were initially anticipating because we've been to help so many women. >> what are you located. >> at wood mar town center, prince george's opportunitiy and we are directly across from massage envy. >> and the boutique is cherry blossom intimates. a wonderful name for a wonder of businessbusiness. thank you dr. regina hampton and jasmine jones. and thank you. that is "news 4 your sunday." to see any s of ourday programs, log on to the website nbcwashington.com and click on community. i'm pat lawson muse. thanks for being with us. we will see you next time.

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here's what we're following for you as thousands of catholics get up f morning mass. parishioners are still reacting to former cardinal theodore mccarrick being kicked out of the priesthood. >> one of mccarrick's victims from loubdoun county is finally to seehahappened to mccarrick but the action doesn't go far enough. our coverage coinues. t new overnight, investigators are looking int possibility that "empire" actor jussie