2021 Public Service Roadtrip
Pronouns: she/her
video-profanity

Do something. The people protesting on the front lines are the ones who will be named and recognized. But there are many, many different roles that are behind the scenes but just as important. There are people organizing, people cooking for those who are marching, people buying ink for printing our causes. Don't do it for name recognition—do it because it's the right thing to do. Just make sure you do something.

I've always known I was different than other little girls or boys. As a Black trans woman, I've faced a lot of stigma and discrimination. I've been working for decades as an advocate for the health, safety, and equity of my community.

As a Black trans woman, reporting on the disproportionate deaths of Black trans women all the time is traumatic. If I didn't know that woman, someone I know did. I have to keep fighting and doing the work because the alternative is much worse.

Director of Community Engagement

I think self care is so undervalued. And I encourage folks to experiment to figure out what self care looks like for you because it's not the same for everyone. I talk for a living, so self care for me is not talking. And I even have to explain to my closest friends why I'm texting them, and not talking to them on the phone. I have to explain if I'm dating someone, why sometimes I just wanna sit or I'm sitting in a room with the television on and no sound. They don't get it, but that's part of self-care for me. And so I encourage every person before It becomes an issue to figure out what self care looks like for you. For some people getting a facial is self care, some people it's quiet time, some people it's noise. So whatever it is experiment find more than one because the universe has a funny way. It's quiet time is your self care, and you're always surrounded by noise. So find more than one, and then intentionally practice self care, when I'm doing presentations and talking about self care, I do this magic trick with people. You want to see it. &gt;&gt; Yeah, &gt;&gt; Great. Okay, so here's a self care trick, okay? So you see that? So here's one of the best self care tricks that people can do. &gt;&gt; When I unplug, &gt;&gt; It can be so hard, but it's so worth it to do that. There have been times when I've turned my phone off, and left it off hours until people start knocking on my door. 

Exploration

Individualism

Experiment With Self-Care To Find What Works For You

There are only a few folks who will be tokenized to represent everybody and that's what it is. And so I do this thing and I tried to write to a lot of money to listen to this conversation that I have, and it's called leveraging tokenism. All right, but it's valuable in this rich, because leveraging tokenism is one of the ways that we all get ahead, cuz if you're the first there's some tokenism that goes along with it. And if you're the only this damn sure some tokenism that goes along with it, and if you're the first and only. Well, it is important for those of us who hold some levels of power and privilege in societies to use that, to elevate the voices of others. And to create more access and opportunities for everyone. Because the truth is, if they can do it to you and get away with it, then they can do it to me and get away with it. Which means in some point, they're going to do it to you because you're associated with us. And the only people who will hold any power and privilege are the same ones who edited the beginning, white heterosexual cisgender men of a certain socio economic status. The Newt Gingrich's of the world. They'll continually be able to get away with stuff that they will chastise you four because you're associated with us. &gt;&gt; So there's work even to be done on all our levels. &gt;&gt; Of course and it never stops, it won't stop in our life because there will be a much more homogenous society at some point I think we're centuries away from that. But there will be where people will look much more like you then they will look like either of us, and even then there gonna be some issues. But until we get to that point we have to face some really, really tough truths. We have to understand what tokenism is, and we have to leverage it in a way that lifts up all kinds of folks. The first the only and the first and only, understand the power and the privilege, and the responsibility that comes along with that. 

Negativity

Support & Encouragement

Leveraging Tokenism

How can we support a community that is needing advocacy, right, that's needing everyone to talk about Black trans lives or trans life in general. How can we be the best allies in some way, shape or form? &gt;&gt; Three things come to mind, culture, humility, band-aids and frying chicken. So watch how I make these points. Two tenets of cultural humility are the commitment to lifelong learning, and critical self-reflection., all right? There are other aspects of it as well, but if we think about those two, if we have a commitment to life-long learning that says, sure, I am an expert, but I don't know everything and I'm willing to learn more. And the self-reflection is you know what? Perhaps I am not best suited for this job. Perhaps it is time for me to shut up and listen rather than running my mouth all the time. So that's one of them. What was the other thing? The band-aid. When there is a wound, whether it be a physical wound or whether it be a metaphorical wound, racism, slavery, those are wounds, the Holocaust, those are wounds. The truth is the band-aid covers the wound, but it doesn't get rid of it. And so when something hurts, when you've been cut, when there's an abrasion, when you hurt yourself, when trauma is inflicted, then at some point, you have to remove the band-aid. And the body's natural process, the natural process of healing in general, whether it's the body, whether it's situations, social structures, any of that stuff, there has to be first pain, a scab has to form. And that scab is that hard crust, the painful truth of racism, of sexism, of anti-transness, the hard crust is to get there. But underneath it, sometimes you actually have to pick the scab off so that it can keep scabbing over for the healing process to happen and it hurts. But it has to be done in order for the healing to really take place. And sometimes there's still a scar even after it's healed. Until we're ready to understand that healing often hurts, but it's part of the process. And unless we're ready to crack open that shell that formed over it, and if we keep creating new colors for band-aids, all we're doing is covering up the problem. All right, so the last one was the fried chicken. Okay, and I can't take full credit for this, but I read or heard about the civil rights movement and how there's so many different parts to it and folks who will never receive credit because their contribution was frying chicken in the back. And so when it comes to liberation and it comes to fighting for what's right, everybody, I'm a chubby lady, I am pleasantly plump, all that other good stuff, and I own it. So, I'm probably not gonna march down Peachtree Street because I don't wanna mess up my makeup. I don't wanna sweat too much. And there are some folks who are better at doing that thing. I'm also an ambirvert, so crowds would deplete my energy. But there's some folks who better at creating the signs that the protests are gonna carry, okay? But then there's some people whose job is to buy the ink that goes on the sign that the protesters carry down Peachtree. And so whatever it is that you do, if you're a protester, or if you're a person who buys the ink. If you're a person who was marching on Washington, or frying chicken that folks carried on the buses that got them to Washington, whatever your role is just do it, cuz we all have a part to play. And the truth is the protesters are the ones who are gonna have their names on the paper, not the person frying the chicken, not the one who wrote a check to fund the movement. So don't do it for name recognition, do it simply because it's the right thing to do, but do something. 

Community

How To Be An Effective Ally For The Black Transgender Community

My name is Tori Cooper, my pronouns are she and her. By day I'm director of community engagement for the transgender Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign. My work is centered around trans people, black people and people who living with HIV. And I coined the title a few years ago. House and equity consultant for the work that I do &gt;&gt; Amazing. &gt;&gt; Everywhere. So the Trans Justice Initiative, we operate under four pillars. And those four pillars are capacity building, economic opportunity, strategic communications and public safety. And so all of the work that we do, all of the initiatives that we do really are around those four pillars. 

Focus

Working For The Transgender Justice Initiative

My name is Tori Cooper, my pronouns are she and her. By day I'm director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign. My education and my work background provided me kind of with the basis of employment. I started off in a better position, economically speaking, than a lot of my peers. There's nothing that says that I should have made it. I'm black, I'm overweight, I live in the south, I'm transgender, I could go on and all of my different intersectional identities. And based on paper alone, I shouldn't have made it. And the fact that I am succeeding, it is selfish of me not to use my privilege to help others as well. There's even a certain amount of passing privilege that I have. I can walk into a store and not be targeted because people can tell by looking at me that I'm trans. And so I didn't have to live through firsthand, a lot of the things that my friends and my peers were experiencing. And I was able, thankfully, to use all of the privilege that I have to advocate for folks. So that if I'm gonna where I get a check but you get a check too because we're together. Access and opportunities are two of the things that keep us from success. And so if myself and others are able to provide greater opportunities, that's more access. 

Tori Cooper Highlight

How do we create a space then for our communities to acknowledge the fear, but also know that we're still having to fight with courage? &gt;&gt; Consistently create new spaces. Consistently create new opportunities for growth. And I don't wanna say pound people over the head with education, but provide much more education than people need at all kinds of different and levels. There's some people who understand calculus, but there are some folks who have a problem adding and subtracting. And so we have to be able to provide information first of all so that people understand it. &gt;&gt; Mm-hm. &gt;&gt; When I'm talking to healthcare providers, I often tell them that they have to be multilingual. Doesn't mean you have to speak Spanish, French, and German, or Esperanto, but you do have to speak in a way that your clients get it. And when we're talking about race, racism, injustice, intersectionality, trans folks, we have to speak in a way that people understand it. There's some folks, when there's good subject verb agreement, they tune out. And so what I've realized is I have to do some code switching depending on who are the audience. And I encourage folks to do it, not in a way to tokenize anybody, but we have to be much more multilingual, we have to be able to speak again so that people understand us. Sometimes when I curse, people pay more attention than when I don't curse. &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; When I realized that, cuz I didn't even curse a few years ago at all. &gt;&gt; Mm-hm. &gt;&gt; I'd hit my toe and say shocks, and my friends would laugh. I love to play cards and does somebody beat me in a card game, dang i! And my friends would laugh. But when I realized the power of curse words- &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; And I realized that some people could hear that more in conversations as if it were an exclamation point at the end of the sentence. Then I realized I was developing an additional linguistic tool. 

Education

Consistently Create Spaces For Growth And Understanding

Each of us holds more than one identity. There's something I did a few years ago, I think it's on YouTube. And I use my dreadlocks to kind of describe different identities. So would you describe yourself as Afro Latina? &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; All right, so you're not just Afro, or a descendant of Pan Africanism you're also Latina, that's two things. But you're also a woman. Your parents were from the Dominican Republic. So you're a child of immigrants. All right, that's already four different intersectional identities. And each of those, when we talk about intersectionality, we really think in terms of oppression. There could be folks who are cool with the fact that you're a woman. But the fact that you probably speak Spanish and then they have these menu first language, that creates oppression, all right? And they may be cool with the fact because they're from Spain and speak Spanish also. &gt;&gt; But the blackness is like ray, and that ray may not be cool. &gt;&gt; Thank you for saying that so the viewers don't think that I'm a racist. &gt;&gt; No. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH] Yes Yeah, &gt;&gt; Cuz I talk a lot about race. &gt;&gt; Yeah &gt;&gt; And I never want people to think that I'm a racist. &gt;&gt; Yeah &gt;&gt; I simply talk about things that exist. I'm black, society views you as black. &gt;&gt; Absolutely I left the earth as black. &gt;&gt; Exactly and so we didn't create these systems, but we have to navigate them. 

Culture

Each Of Us Hold Multiple Identities

One of the interviews that I've been listening to you talked about in the moment where you were coming out how the world especially for the trans-community, one was there wasn't as much education about it but it was also in a point where the HIV and AIDS pandemic was at its all time high. And so I know that that influenced you and how you came out and directly quote, I just remember people dying. And so even wanting to speak to a little bit more what that was like for you to identify with an identity and almost noting the quote there are people dying and how that impacts even presently the work that you're doing. &gt;&gt; Wow. So we start off with the rough question. &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; So my gender identity, I've always known I wasn't like the other little girls but I also wasn't like the other little boys, so my gender identity I kind of held close for a while. And then when I moved away from home first for college, I remember the first weekend I got my ESPs and for me that was radical, my parents weren't with all that mess, but it was an opportunity for me to experiment. It was also 1998. And as I grew a little, as the years went on, we heard about HIV, but it had not really taken over our community. And when I say our community, it was the Black and Brown folks that I was partying with. You know that kinda stuff. We'd go to clubs and dance. I never was a drinker and never was a druger, but it was the same folks. And so around 93, because I'm 51 now, and the only way that I knew to get hormonal therapy was there were these dirty magazines and then the back there were 800 numbers, and you call the 800 numbers to order, they were called feminizing hormones. And one was horse mammary, and that's actually what it said that it was and another it was a cream that would supposedly make it just grow. And those were the first feminizing hormones that I remember taking, and that was in 93. But I didn't feel the need to share that with folks. It was very personal for me. This was my journey, and I didn't feel that folks would understand. So at the same time, 93, HIV was really taken over so many of the folks who had come out the first time with were dead or dying, so many of the clubs that I went to were closing down and we're looking very different because of HIV. And because of AIDS related disease, and there still wasn't medicine that was readily available for everyone. By 93, there was AZT, but AZT was killing Black people. I knew a few folks personally. I knew folks by association and it was terrible. Some describe taking AZT is worse than the disease itself. And all of that was happening around the same time. So I was in my own little bubble, experimenting with gender presentation. I'm not with identity because I was sure of who I was, but experimenting with presentation. And all of this was happening at the same time in different parts of the country and you'd hear stories about folks in San Francisco and you hear about folks in New York. And I was in New York during a great deal of that time and you hear about folks in Miami, but you still weren't hearing about folks in smaller towns like the one where I grew up in. And so though it hadn't hit home quite yet, we knew it was coming. 

Struggle

Coming Out In The Transgender Community While We Faced The Threat Of HIV

Trans woman specifically Black trans woman, the mortality rates and how they're being killed and within the work that you do, how does those statistics, how does that impact your personal beliefs but generally the community that you're advocating for? &gt;&gt; So I had a conversation with the Vice President of HRC, a Senior Vice President. And let me also say that this week on how traumatizing it is for me as a Black transgender woman who lives and associates with a lot of other Black transgender women, to have to report on the deaths of Black transgender women so often, how it is traumatizing and also as a person who's been victimized, who has had violence perpetuated against me. It's traumatizing and it is triggering and it puts me and some other folks who have to do this constant reporting. It puts us off balance. Think of it in the grand concept. There are people who will say we're not a lot of trans people in the country, compared to cis people. You're right. If you think that there are 350 million cisgender people and about 2 million trans people. That number is very different. But, this is how many of us think of impact because we have to think of impact, if there are roughly 2 million trans people in the country, maybe 1/10, and I'm being pretty generous, will be Black trans women, I'm being really generous there. So a 10th of 2 million is 200,000, so imagine 45 out of every 200,000 being killed every year. Suddenly, that's an epidemic because if you look at ratios and percentages, suddenly the percentages of Black trans women who were killed due to fatal violence, not that are dying, but simply due to fate of violence that we know of. It's always that we know, then suddenly you can see why we're calling an epidemic. It's dramatic. &gt;&gt; Absolutely. &gt;&gt; And it hits home every time. &gt;&gt; All the time. &gt;&gt; And it's part of our work. But it's also our lives. &gt;&gt; How do you find the courage to keep going in that? &gt;&gt; What happens if we don't? What's the alternative? They win. 

Perseverance

Persevering Through The Trauma Of My Advocacy Focus

My name is Tori Cooper, my pronouns are she and her, by day I'm director of community engagement for the transgender Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign. My work is centered around trans people, black people and people who living with HIV. And I coined the title a few years ago, health and equity consultant for the work that I do- &gt;&gt; Amazing. &gt;&gt; Everywhere. So the Trans Justice Initiative, we operate under four pillars, and those four pillars are capacity building, economic opportunity, strategic communications and public safety. And so all of the work that we do, all of the initiatives that we do really are around those four pillars. &gt;&gt; One of the interviews that I've been listening to, you talked about in the moment where you were coming out, how the world, especially for the trans community, one was, there wasn't as much education about it. But it was also in a point where the HIV and AIDS pandemic was at its all time high. And so I know that that influenced you, and how you came out. And I directly quote, I just remember people dying. And so we've been wanting to speak to a little bit more of what that was like for you to identify with an identity and almost noting the, quote, there are people dying and how that impacts even presently the work that you're doing. &gt;&gt; Wow, so we start off with the rough question. &gt;&gt; [LAUGH]. &gt;&gt; Yeah. &gt;&gt; So my gender identity, I've always known I wasn't like the other little girls, but I also wasn't like the other little boys. So my gender identity, I kind of held close for a while. And then when I moved away from home first for college, I remember the first weekend I got my ESPs, and for me that was radical. My parents weren't with all that mess. But it was an opportunity for me to experiment, it was also 1988. And as I grew a little as the years went on, we'd heard about HIV but it had not really taken over our community. And when I say our community, it was the black and brown folks that I was partying with, that kind of stuff. We'd go to clubs and dance. I never was a drinker and never was a drugger, but it was the same folks. And so around 93, because I'm 51 now and the only way that I knew to get hormonal therapy was there were these dirty magazines and then the back there were 800 numbers. And you call the 800 numbers to order they were called feminizing hormones. And one was horse mammary, and that's actually what it said that it was. And another, there was a cream that would supposedly make it just grow. And those were the first feminizing hormones that I remember taking and that was in 93, but I didn't feel a need to share that with folks. It was very personal for me, this was my journey, and I didn't feel that folks would understand. So at the same time, 93, HIV was really taken over. So many of the folks who had come out the first time with were dead or dying. So many of the clubs that I went to were closing down, and we're looking they're very, very different because of HIV and because of AIDS related disease. And there still wasn't medicine that was readily available for everyone. By 93, there was AZT but AZT was killing black people. I knew a few folks personally. I knew folks by association, and it was terrible. Some describe taking AZT as worse than the disease itself. And all of that was happening around the same time. So I was in my own little bubble, experimenting with gender presentation. I'm not with identity, cuz I was sure of who I was but experimenting with presentation. And all of this was happening at the same time in different parts of the country, and you'd hear stories about folks in San Francisco, and you hear about folks in New York. And I was in New York during a great deal of that time. And you hear about folks in Miami, but you still weren't hearing about folks in smaller towns like the one where I grew up in. And so though it hadn't hit home quite yet, we know it was coming. &gt;&gt; How did you find your voice amidst all this general confusion? All these new layers that hadn't even been experimented on, discussed, how did you find your way? &gt;&gt; I make it really, really clear that I have a lot of privilege in society. I lied, gainfully employed college educated. I have a pretty good credit score. I have more than $2 in the bank, so I have a lot of privilege. There's even a certain amount of passing privilege that I have. I can walk into a store and not be targeted because people can tell by looking at me that I'm trans, it happen sometimes, but it doesn't happen that often. And so I didn't have to live through firsthand a lot of the things that my friends and my peers were experiencing. My education and my work background provided me kind of with the basis of employment. I started off in a better position economically speaking than a lot of my peers, I didn't forget the things that I learned. I use those, I brought that same mentality into efficacy work. I brought a corporate mentality into advocacy, if you work you get paid. Sure, I volunteer, all of us volunteer. We volunteer our time, but work is work. And I was able, thankfully, to use all of the privileges that I have to advocate for folks so that if I'm going somewhere I get a check but you get a check too because we're together. And also knowing that these systems, these oppressive systems that we navigate that there are ways to get around them, and we can dismantle those systems. There's nothing that says that I should have made it, I'm black, I'm overweight, I live in the south, I'm transgender. I could go on and all of my different intersectional identities and based on paper alone, I shouldn't have made it, but I am. And the fact that I am succeeding, it is selfish of me not to use my privilege to help others as well. I think for many of us, particularly those of us who are multiply marginalized, access and opportunities are two of the things that keep us from success. And so if myself and others are able to provide greater opportunities, that's more access. 

Interview

With a lot of the work that you do, I'm sure you run into where there's a lack of education but also self empowerment of that person in those marginalized communities. So, how do you express to them that there's more out? They need to be educated but they're not aware of the oppression or the marginalization that they're facing themselves. &gt;&gt; So part of that is living their best life and making sure that others are able to experience that along with me. Notice that I didn't say are able to see me doing it but experiencing with me cuz if they just see me doing it, it still doesn't say to everyone that they can do it too. Experiencing with me means, come on girl, let's go to this meeting. So I was on this advisory board and I'm getting off, I think you would be a great fit for this seat. That's experiencing it with me, providing people with same type of opportunities that I have, that's number one. And then, continually making sure their folks here are affirming things about them. There are a lot of trans people who have not been affirmed in their identity by the folks they grew up with, it's horrible. And so making that myself and whomever else, that we're providing positive affirming language and action that we're supporting them if that means financially, then so be it. But if it also means emotionally, that we're able to be part of their support systems, that is they're going back to school, here girl, this is $20 that you can put on your books. [CROSSTALK]. Here guy you may not have eaten today, why don't you take this little card and get some Uber Eats or something. Here person cuz everybody doesn't identify as male or female. I was thinking about you today, the best I could do was send a text message cuz I don't have any money myself but I wanted you to know I was thinking about you. One hand doesn't seem like a lot but when all of us do that, when all of us so into other people's lives suddenly, there's a wall of support that exists and that wall of support is stronger than all of the negativity that they can get during the course of the day. 

Experience

Sharing Self Empowerment And Affirmation Through Action

First of all, I always do something. Okay, whatever privilege and power that I have in society and making sure that I use it so that it doesn't just help me but it helps other people because we have to remember that if it works for you, it's probably gonna work for somebody else. But making sure that you're incorporating other folks into all of your work also, and always continually fighting the systems that are there. These systems they don't work anymore. The irony of all of this, is that we often don't realize how close we are to bad policy. Many of us only think of what goes on inside of our home and how it affects people that live here. And I think for a lot of Republicans and Democrats, that's often a big thing. That's why they're creating these barriers for transgender folks because they might not have a transgender person in their household, at least that they know of. Dick Cheney is another example. As Dick Cheney's daughter, who's an open lesbian, became much more vocal about the fact that she wanted to marry her partner who was also a lesbian. He had to choose a different side, if that makes sense in the fight for marriage equality, because suddenly that issue was right in this house. And so I don't anticipate everybody in small town Ohio will invite trans people to dinner. So since we can't go into your houses and you won't know us. Personally then you have to take on a responsibility first of all to think outside of your own four walls and also to educate yourself on what is reality and what isn't and what's hate and what isn't 

Conflict

Values

Learn About The Issues Affecting People Outside Of Your Household

How did you find your voice amidst all this general confusion, all these new layers that hadn't even been like experimented on discussed, how did you find your way? &gt;&gt; I make it really really clear that I have a lot of privilege in society a lot gainfully employed college educated. I have pretty good credit score. I have more than $2 in the bank. So I have a lot of privilege. There's even a certain amount of passing privilege that I have. I can walk into a store and not be targeted because people can tell by looking at me that I'm trans happen sometimes but it doesn't happen that often. And so I didn't have to live through firsthand a lot of the things that my friends and my peers were experiencing. My education and my work background provided me, kind of with the basis of employment. I started off in a better position economically speaking, then a lot of my peers. I didn't forget the things that I learned. I use those I brought that same mentality into efficacy work. I brought a corporate mentality into advocacy work, you get paid. Sure I volunteer, all of us volunteer. We volunteer our time, but work is work and I was able, thankfully to use All of the privileges that I have to advocate for folks so that if I'm going somewhere I get a check but you get a check to because we're together. And also knowing that the systems these oppressive systems that we navigate that there are ways to get around them, and we can dismantle those systems. There's nothing that says that I should have made it I'm black, I'm overweight, I live in the South, I'm transgender, I could go on and on with my different intersectional identities. And based on paper alone, I shouldn't have made it. But I am, and the fact that I am succeeding, it is selfish of me not to use my privilege to help others as well. I think for many of us, particularly those of us who are mostly marginalized access and opportunities are two of the things that keep us from success. And so if myself and others are able to provide greater opportunities that's more access 

Character

Finding My Voice And Using My Privilege To Effect Change

Serving Change

See how people serve the common good

Photo of Serving Change logo amid stickers with inspirational slogans

We all want to change the world for the better—but is it possible to turn that desire to serve the common good into a stable and fulfilling career? Follow three young people as they explore careers in the public service sector.

Photo of logo for Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Photo of logo for Strada Education Network

Photo of roadtripper Christian taking a selfie with fellow roadtrippers Chrisel and Tamia, as well as Jessica Montoya, the development manager for Playworks

Headshot photo of Jessica Montoya, the development manager for Playworks

Photo of Victoria Hoang, an Americorps apprentice with Community Rebuilds, and the three roadtrippers

Headshot of Victoria Hoang, an Americorps apprentice with Community Rebuilds

Headshot photo of João Continentino, a Community Rebuilds intern

Photo of roadtrippers Tamia, Chrisel, and Christian standing amidst stacked colored rocks in the desert

Photo of roadtripper Chrisel posing with a bag of In-N-Out Burger food

Photo of roadtripper Christian standing amidst his landscaping equipment

Photo of roadtripper Chrisel staring off into a large body of water near a city skyline

Photo of roadtripper Tamia posing in front of a fountain

Photo of roadtrippers Christian, Chrisel, and Tamia outdoors in conversation with Andrew Mayock, federal chief sustainability officer for the U.S. Government

Headshot photo of Andrew Mayock, federal chief sustainability officer for the U.S. Government

Headshot photo of Nicole Goines, an acting public information officer for the Department of Energy and Environment

Headshot photo of Jacki Payne, managing attorney for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, in her office

Photo of Jacki Payne, managing attorney of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, outside her office with the roadtrippers 

Headshot photo of Tori Cooper, Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign

Photo of Tori Cooper, Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign, alongside the roadtrippers outside the green RV

Photo of Meredith McAvoy Perkins, executive director for Forest ReLeaf of Missouri

Photo of Alison Chan, political director for Save the Bay, beside a tidal marshland

Photo of Jesse Olson, habitat restoration director for Save the Bay, beside a tidal marshland

Headshot photo of Reginald Freeman, fire chief for the city of Oakland, next to a firetruck

Photo of Reginald Freeman, fire chief for the city of Oakland, in conversation with the roadtrippers beside a firetruck

Headshot photo of Candice Elder, founder and executive director of the East Oakland Collective, in her office

Photo of Candice Elder, founder and executive director of the East Oakland Collective, in her office with the three roadtrippers

Photo of roadtripper Tamia standing in front of a fountain

Headshot of roadtripper Tamia in front of trees

Photo of roadtripper Christian among landscaping tools

Photo of roadtripper Chrisel sitting pensively in a garden

Headshot of roadtripper Chrisel in front of a body of water

Public Service Roadtrip

&gt;&gt; Chrisel: Public service is so traditional for many folks. People think our elected officials, the post office workers, but there's a lot more than we think. &gt;&gt; Christian: There's people that may not be viewed as like a public servant, but have definitely shaped their particular area. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: This Fall, I have the privilege of going on a road trip with two other participants. &gt;&gt; Christian: I haven't met them in person yet. &gt;&gt; Tamia: But we're gonna be getting in this huge green RV for about a month, taking off interviewing people within different sectors of public service. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: Ranging from political officials to non-profit leaders to community leaders. So I'm excited to redefine what it means to be a public servant. &gt;&gt; [MUSIC] &gt;&gt; Christian: I've spent years like studying stuff relating to sustainability and climate change and the environment. And my education and my personal experiences are kind of leading me to a fork in the road, trying to figure everything out. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: The thoughts on my future excite me while they also scare me, having to reckon with the systemic barriers that get in the way for a young Black woman from the hood. &gt;&gt; Tamia: What I see myself doing, there's like no clear picture for me. I feel like marching and protests, those are helpful, but unless we change those laws, it's just gonna be a repeated cycle. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: It's so powerful to see people that look like you really doing the good work right? And still being so humble and modest. &gt;&gt; Jacki Payne: I was probably like you guys, not really sure what I wanted to do. &gt;&gt; Christian: Did you ever think you'd get to this point? &gt;&gt; Candice Elder: I never thought I would even be in the public sector, [LAUGH] &gt;&gt; Meredith McAvoy Perkins: Urban forestry was really emerging as a viable job. And so I kinda fell into that path. &gt;&gt; Candice Elder: I actually quit the corporate world and people were like, holy crap, she's serious. I actually have never looked back since, I don't regret it.. I think like I said, everything that I was doing before just led me here, and to really make a difference and make an impact in people's lives. &gt;&gt; [MUSIC] &gt;&gt; Tamia: We all come from really different walks of life.. &gt;&gt; Christian: One, two, three. &gt;&gt; Tamia: [LAUGH] Everything surprised me on this trip, like, literally everything, the way some places look. &gt;&gt; Christian: Made me realize that there's so much out there. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: It was mind blowing. I think all of the things that I knew to be true in some way have been demystified. &gt;&gt; Tamia: Just seeing what different careers could entail is eye opening for me. &gt;&gt; Christian: Talking with all the leaders, the majority of them were also kind of in this very limbo state. &gt;&gt; Reginald Freeman: It's not a mistake or you're not confused and as we grow, there's gonna be different perspectives. We're gonna see the world differently, so just embrace that. &gt;&gt; [MUSIC] 

Three young people interview public servants and seek out career paths that will allow them to change the world for the better.

Serving Change Trailer

I have the privilege of going on a road trip with two be taking off on this road trip across the country. getting in this huge, green RV for about a month, within different sectors of public service. to individuals who are in their field and love and getting that example. servants are elected officials, the post office workers, more than you think. who are at the ground level doing the work to bring change, that may not be viewed as a public servant, but their particular areas. I'm most excited to understand people's why's, right? what keeps you going? asking ourselves the same question of what do we want? someone for a half an hour could change your life completely. just outside Washington DC. be on the first day of the trip. &gt;&gt; Christian: Dibs on top bunk! everybody realized how tight and snug we were all gonna be. got pretty close pretty fast just because of that. what you use in food. I don't go nowhere without it. bit of home with me. I'm 22 years old. getting a taste of it. get to the more Southern parts of the state, bit spicier. of something that gives Opelousas a lively feel. where even though you know there's a lot of great things you can kind of get stuck. that's one of my greatest fears, just waking up and I'm still here. do feel something that I've discovered along the way for me. the age of five, my mom had these magazines, seeing Emmett Till's body in that casket and just, believe it at first. be a real person? that, and my question, it to me was why? how similar Emmett Till and Tamir Rice look, and kind of similar ends was like yes, it is a full circle moment. the state, the interactions of police with Black people. how funding is, redlining. that are ingrained and marching and protests, those are helpful, it's just gonna be a repeated cycle. my calling for me, the concentration in pre-law and a minor in criminal justice. laws and everything going on, so I can make a change within that. such a big part of my life. what I see myself doing, there's no clear picture for me. I could go to law school, it's just so many things. know until I'm in it. while I'm still in college. work while we're on the road, but personal development was the list of something that I wanna get out of this. different mindsets, in every way possible in a positive way. it's probably a little comfy. actually Chrisel Martinez. I'm from Harlem, New York. everything that went through I would feel it, see it. a joyful childhood, and the not knowing really what were the circumstances around me. together and that was enough. until 2012, and that was her kinda working and the free time that she had. that level of intensity raising four kids by herself. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: The three musketeers! &gt;&gt; Chrisel: Me and Christy, my older sister. like yeah, I'm going to college. I studied economics at the University of Albany, in leadership development. spent most of my energy in. a lot of my training or my work is in community organizing, of creative expression, creative arts work. me while they also scare me, and knowing that it's still being like, wooh, I don't know if I'm enough for this. Is this? that comes out when you still don't believe that you're and do it anyways, right? what it looked like, I don't know where I'm going. I get to be a part of. me as someone who was raised very family-centered, break away and individuate open to possibilities. Illinois, is about a population of 3,000 people. a pretty tight-knit community. services like fire and EMS-wise are volunteer based. the community kind of recognize that there's a need for this. I became an official member. heart attacks, pretty much anything you can think of, to bed at night thinking that you helped someone that day. to Cornell College, to the University of Wisconsin Platteville. like a high school teacher, but a geography course. is simply like maps, and there's a lot of the environment and conservation. opportunities where I was in the woods like coring oak trees, of Arts, Social Science with an emphasis in History, Science in Geography. a lot of different positions, museum to conservation work and some of those things just haven't panned out. my family, anybody in the community kind of knows that since I was in high school. landscaping after finishing college kind of feels like I'm up at this bed and breakfast up here. raised with that mindset that if you go to college, the world has turned out, it's changed. kind of get myself refocused on my priorities and to be able to stay here, being opportunities in terms of job outlook. of hard when you're involved, wanna disappoint anybody. career to go is kind of a mirage right now. of lead to something. what that's gonna be. off our interviews. definitely nervous. but I'm excited. she's had a long career in public service, and the environment with the EPA. the Biden administration. the one I'm most excited about. you're advising the President. is Brenda Mallory. on Environmental Quality here at the White House. since April of this year. I read somewhere that you found peace outside in nature and you at a boarding school in Connecticut. just go back into nature to find that peace again when try to find some opportunity to just be outside. being in a place that is that quiet, and that calm, that just is something that I always took some pleasure in. up in a profession where that is sort of critical and this just kind of just happened. was, like, a coincidence that it just ended up that way, but a defining moment? firm in 1985 when I moved to DC. operated where my goal, was to just do it really well. threw myself into whatever the substance was of the work to the work and what we were trying to do. private practice ended up being for cities who were trying to do projects and comply with environmental laws. to the public aspect and trying to serve communities was the conservation side, on the environmental justice side. we need to battle climate change in general. now I know you mentioned environmental justice, like for me, that's my interest. justice look like in a broad view, and personally for you? in some ways environmental justice is totally interlinked justice you're talking about. that there's more pollution in communities of color and explains why COVID was so of those communities. necessary steps for us to address climate change, right? that's what we're talking about, is how the historic and racism in the country has led to circumstances environmental level, these same people are suffering the most. into the federal government just was a logical path. how, within the work that you're doing, even the policies and to keep community informed in some way, shape, or form? ways that is really an awesome aspect of the work that of the key features of the president's agenda is really environmental justice. of time with people in communities right now, right? coming from a rural area, that it's uncomfortable to talk about certain topics. happens to be climate change. that's at the federal level, and small town with everybody being accepting of those ideas? the things I feel like we've definitely learned as a movement the sort of place-based nature of everything. critical is, not for me bureaucrat in Washington be the best spokesperson to try to inform people. the connection with the people who are in that community, who understand the culture of that community. spokespeople. the word climate change, but you can talk to them about flooding, in their community has changed dramatically in the last five, sure just how important it is to have your spokespeople the communities in which they are living. hit home for me so much. she's an inspiration just like what she's doing, upon issues too. to march alongside of him, to have that feeling. who grew up in segregation. Juneteenth with her. stuff, the history books and stuff. surreal for me in a way. many tie-ins to why I wanted to get into this anyway. to experience things like that. of D.C. I was in a state of really just like and the city life and just really falling in love with this is nothing like Louisiana, the roads are evenly paved. out to him, cuz he drove us. hiking, so I was very excited. in over my head. these well equipped shoes. my Vans, it'll be fine. look at the water. A River Runs Through It. just having a break, I should be doing something. I was like just sitting and being in it was great for me. is the Director of Community Engagement at Justice Initiative for the Human Rights Campaign. group of folks, I have to say that to start off. my pronouns are she and her. Community Engagement. a few years ago, health and the work that I do everywhere. up the conversation a bit. I've been listening to, where you were coming out, how the world, especially for there wasn't as much education about it. when the HIV and AIDS pandemic was at its all-time high. your voice amidst all this general confusion? off with the rough question. I've always known I wasn't like the other little girls, the other little boys. when I was away from college, I got my ears pierced, but it was an opportunity for me to experiment. HIV was really taking over. had come out the first time with were dead or it was very personal for me. that I should have made it. I live in the south, I'm transgender. I shouldn't have made it, but the fact that I am succeeding. to use my privilege to help others as well. into advocacy because access and of the things that keep us from success. greater opportunities that's more access. systems, these oppressive systems that we navigate get around them, and we can dismantle those systems. and just for me, you talk about advocating for trans people as well. how do you feel about the media coverage when it a huge part in eradicating stigma and reducing hate. beings have the ability to make anybody change their minds. is all of our responsibility, to provide as much education and opportunity for make an educated decision. where there are large groups of trans people. country where there are not such large groups of trans people. that as a community of people, us humanizes us. if you know more about our stories and our history, just didn't use the word trans, about how to treat people. I think that's kind of what, like you mentioned it earlier, change someone's opinion. the space to try to like, figure it out on their own. all the tools to help you to make a good decision. question, now that I'm leading, even going back to the Black experienced, or do you feel like there's been progression? been a lot of progression, be here with you all today, you wouldn't have invited me. that things are good. they've progressed. aggressions all the time and but some of them really hurt. let me make it clear, I'm gonna talk into the camera. thing to say, it is not, it is not because we should see color. we should see color. people differently because of their color. spoke on that because it's almost like an erasure me as Black, you're not seeing a whole part of me. skipping over more of me than you are actually including. I want you to see me. a space because I'm also, like, in your presence. about when you say that, was no progression, I wouldn't be here, right? an educational moment. in some way, shape, or form? those of us who hold some levels of power and to elevate the voices of others. folks were talking about civil rights movement, many different parts to it. receive credit because their contribution was frying liberation and it comes to fighting for what's right, all that other good stuff. march down Peachtree Street. are great at doing that. folks who're better at creating the signs that whose job is to buy the ink that goes on the sign. do, if you're a protester or the ink, whatever your role is, cuz we all have a part to play. you'll be invited to because of your masculine complacency is not allowed. it's like how do you put that interview in words almost? it was informative. want from an interview and then like so much more. a higher master came down to our level to really speak some that we all needed to hear it. me be aware of things to look out for just to be an advocate. within the movement and that I'm trying to do. asking ourselves the same question right now. where I'm not sure. of crazy to think that by the end of this trip, of direction. of started to hit us. I think the more we do it, the more I'm like, wow, really happening, like a pinch myself moment. see people doing things, and they're amazing and they enjoy doing this was to be able to help those who wouldn't be able can't imagine anything else that I would want to do. for like Colorado natural building ever before? there's so much more out there. 

Meet the roadtrippers and other inspiring people changing the world on a local, countrywide, and global level.

Episode 1: Start Small, Think Big

Chrisel? we're filling up gas, me for gas pump [LAUGH] for the RV, centered, the road trip is allowing wanna be and not who I feel I need to be. &gt;&gt; Christian: We started in Washington DC, an adventure to say the least. so many different cities. sectors of public service. they all are in their work. through the motions with it. like you really doing the good work. ourself the same question of what do we of led to something, but a lot of different positions, conservation work and environmental work, just haven't panned out. some sort of sense of direction. just to learn public policy, and things like that. doing, there's no clear picture for me. law school, it's just so many things. law. whether it's affording school. to get me there knowing that's a space associated with the fear of elevation believe that you're worthy of something. the Atlanta Legal Aid Center, and Miss Jacki Payne. over 30 years. Legal Aid takes on civil cases for to have an attorney. that they do, the pictures, I was just so hangs in my office and it says, reflect on it. what that means is for they don't pay anything. variety of areas but it's all civil. landlord-tenant problems, victimized in one way or the other. getting a custody order for them. drew you to this type of positioning and you here knowing that there's a lot of not really sure what I wanted to do. with kind of a minor in psychology and I thought I would be a research person or I didn't think about law at all. a couple of courses with a professor. about law school and I was like, second year internship was here. really work on a couple of cases and I could do this. be because I feel like I'm helping that somebody might not otherwise get. my minor is criminal justice as well. find something that makes money. that'll make money. in your ear like that and the biggest pusher of okay, well, when are you going to get into doing this? I'd be like, dad, I can't do this. be able to do it, it's like no. belief that the reason I was doing this be able to get the help otherwise. would make me feel that way. that I would want to do. what is speaking to your heart, you feel passionate? that is why they went to law school. people like us who are just like, society or I can help those in need or an injustice, get that remedied. civil rights litigation. almost four years now and to surrender to an academic structure that wasn't really created for me. can be found in the legal structures and society that can start with the law. hear your thoughts. it's something that's not constructed for how to break through that. taken some philosophy classes and it easier for me having done that. to go to law school, I mean, you can be an advocate. get you to where you want to be as far as to go to law school, say, okay, this is it for me. get through those gates? to really gain that perspective. wanting to go to law school and points of studying logic and support you in the practicality of it. grounding with someone who's really doing has spoken about nonprofits, it's not for something and you wanna advocate for believe in, the money isn't gonna matter. personal input is into it and &gt;&gt; Jacki: There you go. change that I wanna be a part of. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: Yes. Louis. of spur the moment to stop at Ruby Falls. with a waterfall inside. really an emergency exit in the cave, push down and get out of here. I didn't expect to have so kind of has to warm up to you for these people have been trapped in here for me talking about myself 24/7, he realized it would just be the most random things. the Midwest, it's like dirt and that just goes through. one time was not enough. that was definitely a highlight. a spot that is suitable for then I'll just smack it, ready? now we tap it every time we go out. stuff relating to sustainability and me too, high expectations. knows that I've done landscaping since I after finishing college be able to stay in my town, terms of job outlook for my interests. disappoint anybody by making that I can maybe whittle down Meridith Perkins of Forest ReLeaf. it was like, what do you wanna do? I wanna know the names of these trees, so forestry [LAUGH] the ship, making sure that our great tree an impact in both people and thanks for having us. this park lacks a lot of trees. a jog in my own park and you know, 12, 20 year old trees. get into forestry because it's like being from an urban area? neighborhood, St. Louis was pretty rough. my parents moved there for opportunity. kind of felt grounded in the park. are sirens going by and there was all was always just a really nice place. development all of the psychological and nature does that to a kid. more about the social aspects of trees. improve test scores, and public safety. talking to each other and commitments to their neighborhood and emerging as a kind of viable job. we take care of the trees in our cities? because I wanted kind of the culture and to the trees in the forest. a tree, but that tree planting has chain people never even think about. trees and the investment that it takes, on the community was great. to get involved could do this as well. on kind of my journey, had were what you make of them. do it. thinking not only about what difference in the quality of your work. go to work every day and something you believe in. really easily because everybody is so it works in everything. that I could see myself in, can still live in a pretty awesome place. the environment, into communities and don't get a lot of that. &gt;&gt; Christian: [SOUND] I'm pretty just the Rocky Mountains in general, and type of stuff in Galena, Illinois. these first initial two weeks of just just getting from A to B. up at eight, and then next day is ten, as a city gal from New York, be true in some way have been demystified. &gt;&gt; Tamia: [SOUND] [LAUGH] look at me with the axe. of grab some paper and just write out, I release judgment. being affirmed by Christian, who's like, the fire and I'm like, yeah, right on. it brought us together. &gt;&gt; Christian: You're Kelly. different geographical points and there's diversity on all parts. different walks of life. sometimes, but then there'll be a moment makes no sense at all and it's, okay, have those conversations, and us better as a team, definitely. is sustainable construction. but just can't afford that expense. an apprentice with Community Rebuilds, sustainable natural building. building ever before, or was it? know that was a thing. I studied public health in undergrad. the housing crisis in America. it's becoming a second home community. or are struggling to find housing. that in a safe and sustainable way. toxic materials go into a home. just how it affects them, affects anybody. how to build a structure. an experiment of showing all the different look like this, it's not finished. you can see the inside of the wall. old bottles and stuff and methods in a new way, using straw for pieces of wood into other ones and then plastering over that. then you just kind of stayed. never having any building experience. it can be very difficult. safe and really welcoming space. of the day to the end what I have that's the people that I wanna be with. spend that time. we all need it to pay rent and food, that are reliable, can say is theirs and feel secure. it was really empowering, within a man-dominated space. breaking barriers, right? can do it and learn along the way, do things anyway, as it goes. never saw myself doing this. just discovered along the way and come to me, the career I want. in terms of stages of life in the public apprentices, directors, coordinators. much out there. &gt;&gt; Christian: But also a reoccurring theme everybody was in those stages. in its own way surprised me. how open people have been. hey, you can do this. I was kind of just starstruck much more than I expected. in person was just incredible. silence you heard or didn't hear, right? in general really left me in awe. to make this look cinematic or so we're just going for it. of internal expectations of myself. just something that I picked up on for of mentally limited myself and a very small one in Louisiana. just by getting on the plane and we get to see the ocean and we've made it all this way. 

How do you build a better world? The roadtrippers see how people make little differences in people's lives that add up to big changes.

Episode 2: From the Ground Up

I knew that was gonna be our last stop. as many things as I could and really make it a moment. Seven Magic Mountains. look at all the colors. over now to the west. that side, is the end point, now seeing that light at the end of the tunnel, and through, and here we are. tell me, we made it. we've gone through this amazing journey across the country. interviewing people within the different sectors this definitely put me in a whole new world. so to speak. perspectives, things I probably never would have done, got there and saw the ocean, it's like, we did it. just seeing the activities and the days and down on our calendar. that it was coming to an end. the interviews, it's like, wow, this is really gonna be the end. we headed up to Oakland, California. I was asleep that whole time. only two hours. &gt;&gt; Christian: You and me both. &gt;&gt; Tamia: All right. &gt;&gt; Chrisel: I'm even most excited, not only for to be discovered, but they are in their biographies. who you are, right? up every morning? soul pump for joy? they do habitat restoration and protection for the San Francisco-Oakland area. disappeared historically, so and restoring what's left. with Allison Chan, who's the political director. with an appreciation for nature. super outdoorsy, the time or anything like that. on this notion of like, if you've spent your life outdoors. to do that, or that's the way they grew up, appreciation for nature no matter where you grow up. degree in environmental science. the Bay Area in time for and went shoot, I lost my job. an internship program. create a space to have really authentic humanistic could be a transactional space? speak to their hearts, right? bringing emotion to a policy conversation, which is hard for a technical background and I'm like, I have data. then you'll just see, and that's not true. either September or October, Area turned bright orange. of extreme heat and wildfires. and looked outside, and we'd been transported to the surface of Mars. it was orange, it was shocking, right? when I was having conversations with some elected officials, we're all going to remember for the Bay Area turned orange, right? days like that are only going to become more frequent. resilience in our communities. you're bringing the decision maker along emotionally, solutions that you're encouraging them to adopt. from that conversation and not agree with you? takeaway was the work she does politically. background and politics is very much ingrained in my DNA. to really see the political side of environmental sustainability, in me of like you can influence policy and having a law degree. great things here, but there's so many other organizations and the country that do very similar work. there are positions out there I could see myself in. surprised me on this trip, like the way some places look. like three weeks after, I'm gonna be graduating college. science with a concentration in pre-law and that I'm well informed of the laws and everything going on. with options after school, it's endless. law school, I could kind of do community development. a better answer since I'm literally graduating next month, how will I apply it? a lot of things that I have to think about. the founder of the East Oakland Collective. mind blown of how she's a whole social service agency. Elder, I'm the founder and the East Oakland Collective. racial and economic equity work in deep East Oakland. largest population of African Americans left in Oakland that gentrified out. preserving Black and brown culture. engagement and leadership, economic empowerment, transportation planning. most known and popular for is our work we do with and the unhoused population. our warehouse space, it just constantly rotates. us in the South Bay. adult diapers, kid diapers, my lawyer just fought for municipal district to allow us to get a hydrant meter. meter to the fire hydrants, and and we can turn it into fresh drinking water. it would get to this point, like reach this height and never thought I would even be in the public sector. UC Berkeley for undergrad, studied political science, African American studies. a lawyer, which is why I majored in poli sci, and the legal field for ten years as a paralegal. stint in law school, did one year in law school, [LAUGH] for me that one year. it's like what else could I do in the law field? a difference and impact there? master's in criminal justice, tried to look for there weren't too many. for a women's funding network. funding network, I started the East Oakland Collective. the community where I was born and raised and I still live in. a half years later, I actually quit the corporate and people were like, holy crap, she's serious. the stability for something that's so the public sector. back since, I don't regret it. before just led me here. to be able to manage and thrive in this nonprofit and make an impact in people's lives. I grew up in the 1980s, but there are still a lot of resources. just go away over time, fresh and healthy food. what I say, a food apartheid, it's systematic. that has placed us here. is ten fast food restaurants within a mile radius but by systematic design. address those root causes. accountable to do right, by its most impacted and vulnerable populations. just like approaching the city and being like, hey, no, we're like, okay, we're here to help you fix that. have our client choice market. on the tables, and then we allow people to shop. that it's more empowering because you give a family the food that they wanna eat, versus forcing food on them. you say one person can organize when the work can seem so make a difference. think it's small, dollars here to someone we see struggling on the street. what you did touched me. my life, your job's well done. You did it already. up the door and talking to somebody else and take all of us. something that I looked at, myself. thought of like Candice did creating one at all. space. just like creating this whole environment where like this is something I'd like to do. the last interview, interview Oakland's Fire Chief, Chief Freeman. an athlete in high school, an all American Athlete, and the ultimate team sport. of the mission, portion of the mission is what I fell in love with. about people, and passionate about serving. have to be passionate of both. my name is Reginald Freeman. of Oakland, the 37th fire chief. specifically East Oakland, Latinx. here in East Oakland for that simple fact. at going on seven years for service in my hometown. into more like environmental sustainability type roles. bio and your resume, it's full of accomplishments. would be in this position? wanted to be a DEA agent. on how to become a DEA agent, you had to either have be a police officer for municipality for six years. was gonna happen. about the fire service after a mentor recommended jurisdiction on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi the organization. the first African American fire fighter EMT for history as I say. the fire service when I walked through the door for 2001. follow up, what was that like? something you kind of flew into? as horrible as you can imagine. in my locker. been called the N word, glass in my bunk boots. really drove me to be the best firefighter I can possibly be. in a position to where no one had to feel the way that I felt, is to become the chief. spending my own money, going to classes, and then I went on and Bachelor of Arts in leadership, Master of Science, Service Leadership, working on my PhD now. adjunct professor at University of Florida. from what I experienced and wanting to better myself. possible firefighter I could be so when those tones went off, the call was, I was gonna be able to do my job. having such a difficult moment, and you transcended it and as opposed to kinda like in that moment, they walk away, you went harder? being an athlete, for me, transcended into my profession. I was training, even in high school. in the morning running. that same drive, I was determined to not be defeated. someone like you and especially a Black man who's done all of I was wondering what the community outreach is like. because I think, just the kids, will really have someone to look up to. that's a great point. really embrace the community and be part of the community. the position, immediately they at City Hall said, well, high here, so you do not have to live in the city of Oakland. that, but I'll be living in the city of Oakland. at Liberation Park, it was a warm day, warm Saturday, be a bunch of kids there at the Akoma Market Celebration. gonna be hot, I still put on my full class A with my cover. I was sweating, but that those young kids saw someone who looked like them. wanted to be a firefighter or that they could do that. with him were so enlightening and really powerful. where I was like, this is too good to be true, wow, you're so connect with you. there's reverence, there's honor, right? him having done the work, he's done great things and he's not stopping. are aligning with our gifts. would share with us as we kind of step into our life, right? priorities will change, it's gonna change several times. gonna be different perspectives. the world differently. of peace, accepting myself for because no one can be on me than I am on myself. to manage that, because they say pressure busts pipes. things early in my career to prove other people wrong. because my coworkers said that I couldn't. certification on the desk and say, here's mine, where's yours? I tell them don't make the same mistake that I made. it, not to prove anybody wrong. your perspective and matters, not someone else's. just a reminder of just even in all your levels of I guess matter when you're actually doing the good work. something that I'm actually kind of getting that I know not tailored to what I desire and what I need. do you show up and create an avenue for yourself so that you are worthy of kind of being there. creating a space not only for myself but for left us with really focusing on the present, taking in as many opportunities as you can while you can. from this trip as a whole, those opportunities. inclination that you'd enjoy it, to say yes and and San Francisco back here. last interview, it was kind of a bittersweet moment. we've gotten all the interviews, coming to an end, it also made me hopeful for what my future is. three weeks after I'm gonna be graduating college. going into civil rights more than ever now what I've been exposed to. it because it can be done. I mean, we've mentioned a lot how broad it is, but a perspective into all the iterations that it can take. aware of just the work that I want to do. that coming from a year of a bit of stagnancy too. taken out from that and heated me up a little in a way that I needed it. like your energy and your presence is needed. the trip, I was just in a position where I had expectations of myself. kinda made me refocus and I'm at in life now and up in the future. all the leaders, were also kind of in this very limbo state. where they are now. probably the biggest thing out comfortable and confident with where I am now, my path moving forward, even if I don't know what that is. the final moment. Tomorrow we all catch our planes and what this journey has been. enjoyed my time a lot. everybody's story and gone through to get to where they are. side, it has been a month. I'm looking forward to kind of what the future holds. the bigger piece of kind of like being able to speak up for gonna be some pushback, that's almost a part of it, right? equity work of how I want to kind of step into it and align with the conversations that are needed to be had. me to think about life after college. I was gonna cross that bridge when I get there, but now I feel like there's a roadmap for me. it's given me sights to what life can be like after college. learned to step into my voice more and be empowered more. life view, has been expanded by everything and everyone. 

Change is always happening—the best we can do is influence that change in a positive direction. The roadtrippers meet leaders working to do just that, and reflect back on how they can do the same.

Tori Cooper

Director of Community Engagement

Videos

Tori Cooper

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Politics

Non-Profit Organizations

Helping People

Advice for Getting Started

Hurdles

Challenges I Overcame

LGBT

Death and Loss

Interviewed By

Serving Change

Tori Cooper

Director of Community Engagement

Videos

Tori Cooper

Milestones

Education

Career

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Politics

Non-Profit Organizations

Helping People

Advice for Getting Started

Hurdles

Challenges I Overcame

Interviewed By

Serving Change

Related Leaders