>>Narrator: How do I know which path is best for me?

Is it possible to take on these challenges and obstacles?

Where do I even start?

What should I do with my life?

Sometimes, the only way to find out is to go see what's possible Since 2001, we've been sharing the stories of people who ventured out and explored different career paths and different possibilities for their futures.

This is one of those stories.

This is Roadtrip Nation.

[MUSIC] >> Tamia: Getting to California, I knew that was gonna be our last stop.

So I definitely wanted to do as many things as I could and really make it a moment.

>> Chrisel: We're at Seven Magic Mountains.

>> Tamia: Yes, look at all the colors.

>> Chrisel: We've crossed over now to the west.

If Cali, or even the ocean on that side, is the end point, then I think that there is now seeing that light at the end of the tunnel, and just like wow, we've made it through, and here we are.

>> [MUSIC] >> Chrisel: Hey, tell me, we made it.

You got us here.

>> Christian: So we've gone through this amazing journey across the country.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: Taking off, interviewing people within the different sectors of public service, this definitely put me in a whole new world.

Shout out to Aladdin, so to speak.

Definitely I gained new perspectives, things I probably never would have done, again, I'm so thankful for that.

>> Christian: Yeah, once we got there and saw the ocean, it's like, we did it.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: Getting here and just seeing the activities and the days and dwindling down on our calendar.

It definitely made it real that it was coming to an end.

And even finishing off the interviews, it's like, wow, this is really gonna be the end.

>> Christian: After Pismo, we headed up to Oakland, California.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: So I was asleep that whole time.

>> Chrisel: It was only two hours.

>> Christian: You and me both.

>> Chrisel: [LAUGH] >> Tamia: All right.

>> Christian: [LAUGH] >> Chrisel: I'm even most excited, not only for the perspectives and what's yet to be discovered, but that human connection beyond who they are in their biographies.

I want to know more of who you are, right?

And what wakes you up every morning?

What makes your heart and soul pump for joy?

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: Save the Bay, they do habitat restoration and protection for tidal marshes in and around the San Francisco-Oakland area.

Tidal marshes have kind of disappeared historically, so they're protecting what's left and restoring what's left.

>> Tamia: We met with Allison Chan, who's the political director.

>> Allison: I think I grew up with an appreciation for nature.

Our family wasn't super outdoorsy, like we didn't go camping all the time or anything like that.

So I kind of pushed back on this notion of like, you're only an environmentalist if you've spent your life outdoors.

Some people are lucky to do that, or that's the way they grew up, but I think you can have appreciation for nature no matter where you grow up.

>> [MUSIC] >> Allison: So I completed a degree in environmental science.

And then got to the Bay Area in time for the economy to crash in 2008, and went shoot, I lost my job.

What do I do now?

And Save the Bay had an internship program.

>> [MUSIC] >> Chrisel: How do you create a space to have really authentic humanistic conversations in what seems like could be a transactional space?

How do you create a space to speak to their hearts, right?

>> Allison: Part of it is bringing emotion to a policy conversation, which is hard for someone like me that has a technical background and I'm like, I have data.

Let me give you the data and then you'll just see, you'll see my point of view, and that's not true.

So for example, last, it was either September or October, we had this day where the Bay Area turned bright orange.

We had this horrible confluence of extreme heat and wildfires.

So we all woke up that morning and looked outside, and it literally looked like we'd been transported to the surface of Mars.

The world was coming to an end, it was orange, it was shocking, right?

After that, when I was having conversations with some elected officials, I made sure to bring that up.

And I started by, we're all going to remember for the rest of our lives the day the Bay Area turned orange, right?

These kinds of impacts and days like that are only going to become more frequent.

We need to invest in climate resilience in our communities.

Having a conversation where you're bringing the decision maker along emotionally, connecting it to the policy solutions that you're encouraging them to adopt.

How could anyone walk away from that conversation and not agree with you?

>> Chrisel: My biggest takeaway was the work she does politically.

I come from a political background and politics is very much ingrained in my DNA.

And so to really see the political side of environmental sustainability, it triggered a thought in me of like you can influence policy and advocacy also without having a law degree.

>> Christian: Save the Bay does great things here, but there's so many other organizations and nonprofits throughout the country that do very similar work.

It kind of showed me that there are positions out there I could see myself in.

>> Tamia: Everything surprised me on this trip, like the way some places look.

Is this a Christmas tree stuff?

It feels like it.

So when I get back home like three weeks after, I'm gonna be graduating college.

My major is political science with a concentration in pre-law and a minor in criminal justice, so that I'm well informed of the laws and everything going on.

So I can make a change with options after school, it's endless.

Be a lobbyist, I could go to law school, I could kind of do community development.

It's just so many things.

I feel like I should have a better answer since I'm literally graduating next month, but it's like, how will I apply it?

Will I even apply it?

There's definitely a lot of things that I have to think about.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: Candice Elder, the founder of the East Oakland Collective.

>> Chrisel: I was just so mind blown of how she's a whole social service agency.

>> Candice: My name is Candice Elder, I'm the founder and executive director of the East Oakland Collective.

We are a nonprofit that does racial and economic equity work in deep East Oakland.

Where you will still find the largest population of African Americans left in Oakland that have not been displaced or gentrified out.

So we are working towards preserving Black and brown culture.

And we do that through civic engagement and leadership, economic empowerment, neighborhood and transportation planning.

And what we're probably most known and popular for is our work we do with and on behalf of the unhoused population.

>> [MUSIC] >> Candice: This is our warehouse space, this is all the stuff that it just constantly rotates.

Someone did a coat drive for us in the South Bay.

And then we have everything, adult diapers, kid diapers, water containers, because my lawyer just fought for a year to get the water municipal district to allow us to get a hydrant meter.

So now we can hook up a hydrant meter to the fire hydrants, and we have a filter on it, and we can turn it into fresh drinking water.

>> Christian: Did you ever think it would get to this point, like reach this height and significance that it has?

>> Candice: I actually never thought I would even be in the public sector.

[LAUGH] So I went to UC Berkeley for undergrad, studied political science, minor in African American studies.

I thought I was gonna be a lawyer, which is why I majored in poli sci, and actually went into the legal field for ten years as a paralegal.

I did a stint, I did a small stint in law school, did one year in law school, tried to do it, it did not work [LAUGH] for me that one year.

But I still want, so it's like what else could I do in the law field?

How else can I make a difference and impact there?

So I went on to get my master's in criminal justice, tried to look for criminal justice reform jobs, there weren't too many.

So from there, I went to work for a women's funding network.

And while working for a women's funding network, I started the East Oakland Collective.

I wanted a way to give back to the community where I was born and raised and I still live in.

And here I am five and a half years later, I actually quit the corporate world in March of 2018, and people were like, holy crap, she's serious.

This is not a passion project.

So left kind of like the stability for something that's so uncertain to join the public sector.

And I actually have never looked back since, I don't regret it.

Everything that I was doing before just led me here.

And provided me the base to be able to manage and thrive in this nonprofit and to really make a difference and make an impact in people's lives.

This area of town that I grew up in in 1980s, it was on the decline then, but there are still a lot of resources.

And then just seeing that just go away over time, there's still no access to fresh and healthy food.

It's a food desert or really what I say, a food apartheid, cuz that's that means it's systematic.

It's systematic racism that has placed us here.

There's a reason why there is ten fast food restaurants within a mile radius but there's no grocery store.

And I think that's all by systematic design.

So we're trying to attack and address those root causes.

So it's really holding the city accountable to do right, to do better, by its most impacted and vulnerable populations.

So we're known for just like approaching the city and being like, hey, we heard this is happening.

Have you talked to the people?

Have you had a town hall?

Have you had a meeting?

They're like, well, no, we're like, okay, we're here to help you fix that.

This front part is where we have our client choice market.

So we put all the foods on the tables, and then we allow people to shop.

We've heard from our clients that it's more empowering because you give a family that autonomy to choose the food that they wanna eat, versus forcing food on them.

>> Tamia: In what ways would you say one person can organize when the work can seem so intimidating and beyond them?

>> Candice: We can all make a difference.

Even if sometimes we think it's small, it might just be a few dollars here to someone we see struggling on the street.

But if you made somebody's day, if you have somebody say, what you did touched me.

What you did made an impact in my life, your job's well done.

You did it.

You did it already.

And it's also opening up the door and talking to somebody else and encouraging them to do the same.

Because it's gonna take all of us.

>> Tamia: Nonprofit was never something that I looked at, honestly as far as you know for myself.

>> Tamia: I never would have thought of like Candice did creating one at all.

Being able to create her own space.

Being able to help people just like creating this whole environment where like this is her domain, it's definitely something I'd like to do.

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: Man, the last interview, we had the opportunity to interview Oakland's Fire Chief, Chief Freeman.

>> Reginald: I was an athlete in high school, an all American Athlete, and the fire service is the ultimate team sport.

And the physicality of the mission, the people-oriented portion of the mission is what I fell in love with.

I'm very passionate about people, and passionate about serving.

And to be a firefighter, you have to be passionate of both.

So it was a perfect fit for me.

>> [MUSIC] >> Reginald: So my name is Reginald Freeman.

I am the fire chief for the city of Oakland, the 37th fire chief.

We're here at Firehouse 23, specifically East Oakland, majority African American and Latinx.

And I spend a lot of my time here in East Oakland for that simple fact.

>> Christian: I've been working at going on seven years for a volunteer ambulance service in my hometown.

But I'm also transitioning into more like environmental sustainability type roles.

Just looking at like your bio and your resume, it's full of accomplishments.

Did you ever think you would be in this position?

>> Reginald: I always wanted to be a DEA agent.

So then when I did research on how to become a DEA agent, you had to either have a criminal justice degree or be a police officer for municipality for six years.

Neither one of those was gonna happen.

[LAUGH] So then I thought about the fire service after a mentor recommended to me that this particular jurisdiction on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi was looking to diversify the organization.

And I happened to be hired as the first African American fire fighter EMT for that particular city.

And the rest is history as I say.

I fell in love with the fire service when I walked through the door for the first time on February 19th, 2001.

>> Chrisel: Now, I just want to follow up, what was that like?

Was it pressure full, or was it something you kind of flew into?

>> Reginald: It was everything as horrible as you can imagine.

So, I've had a noose in my locker.

I've heard the N word, been called the N word, glass in my bunk boots.

It was challenging.

And so for me, that's what really drove me to be the best firefighter I can possibly be.

Because I wanted to put myself in a position to where no one had to feel the way that I felt, and the only way to do that is to become the chief.

And so I put myself through spending my own money, going to classes, and then I went on and got my bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Arts in leadership, Master of Science, Executive Fire Service Leadership, working on my PhD now.

And became a Harvard fellow, adjunct professor at University of Florida.

So all of that stemmed from what I experienced and wanting to better myself.

Number one, to be the best possible firefighter I could be so when those tones went off, it didn't matter what the call was, I was gonna be able to do my job.

>> Chrisel: You went from having such a difficult moment, and you transcended it and became this exceptional being.

Where was your head at, as opposed to kinda like in that moment, people get defeated, they walk away, you went harder?

>> Reginald: So, being an athlete, for me, that energy that I had transcended into my profession.

So when people were sleeping, I was training, even in high school.

I was up at 5 o'clock in the morning running.

That same energy, that same drive, I was determined to not be defeated.

>> Tamia: Just speaking with someone like you and especially a Black man who's done all of these things, I was wondering what the community outreach is like.

Just as far as in East Oakland because I think, just the kids, especially young Black boys, will really have someone to look up to.

>> Reginald: No, that's a great point.

And for me it's not difficult to really embrace the community and be part of the community.

Even when I first accepted the position, immediately they at City Hall said, well, Chief, cost of living's very high here, so you do not have to live in the city of Oakland.

I said thank you for that, but I'll be living in the city of Oakland.

[LAUGH] Even across the street at Liberation Park, it was a warm day, warm Saturday, and I knew there was gonna be a bunch of kids there at the Akoma Market Celebration.

And even though I knew it was gonna be hot, I still put on my full class A with my cover.

And it was hot, I was sweating, but it was important to me that those young kids saw someone who looked like them.

So where they knew that if they wanted to be a firefighter or be a fire chief, that they could do that.

>> Chrisel: Our conversations with him were so enlightening and really powerful.

And there was often moments where I was like, this is too good to be true, wow, you're so whoa, even how people connect with you.

There was not necessarily fear, there's reverence, there's honor, right?

And the honor also comes from him having done the work, he's done great things and he's doing great things and he's not stopping.

We're all at a point where we are aligning with our gifts.

What are some thoughts that you would share with us as we kind of step into our life, right?

>> Reginald: Your priorities will change, it's gonna change several times.

We grow, and as we grow, there's gonna be different perspectives.

We're gonna see the world differently.

So just embrace that.

Don't fear that, embrace it.

And for me, being in a place of peace, accepting myself for who I am has been very helpful, because no one can be more judgmental or harder on me than I am on myself.

And I've also had to learn to manage that, because they say pressure busts pipes.

[LAUGH] And I used to do things early in my career to prove other people wrong.

When I was in Mississippi, I pursued the harder classes because my coworkers said that I couldn't.

Come back and throw the certification on the desk and say, here's mine, where's yours?

And as I lecture, I tell them don't make the same mistake that I made.

Do things because you want to do it, not to prove anybody wrong.

Because at the end of the day, your perspective and your opinion is only thing that matters, not someone else's.

>> Chrisel: He's pushed through.

And what I got literally was just a reminder of just even in all your levels of I guess oppressions or challenges, that often doesn't even matter when you're actually doing the good work.

And I think that that's something that I'm actually kind of getting that I know not every workspace will be tailored to what I desire and what I need.

And it's also like how do you show up and create an avenue for yourself so that you are reminded that you are worthy of kind of being there.

And also knowing that I'm creating a space not only for myself but for those that come behind me.

>> Christian: Chief Freeman left us with really focusing on the present, doing what you want to now.

And I kind of took it as just taking in as many opportunities as you can while you can.

It's a big thing that I've taken from this trip as a whole, just to say yes to those opportunities.

Even if you have the smallest inclination that you'd enjoy it, to say yes and jump at those opportunities.

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: To San Francisco and San Francisco back here.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: In doing our last interview, it was kind of a bittersweet moment.

We wrapped it up, we've gotten all the interviews, coming to an end, that was the bitter part, but it also made me hopeful for what my future is.

So when I get back home, three weeks after I'm gonna be graduating college.

So I feel better about going into civil rights more than ever now honestly just because of what I've been exposed to.

I definitely feel hopeful about it because it can be done.

For public service, I mean, we've mentioned a lot how broad it is, but I've really gotten a perspective into all the iterations that it can take.

>> [MUSIC] >> Chrisel: I'm much more aware of just the work that I want to do.

Going back home, I think that coming from a year of unemployment, a bit of rest, a bit of stagnancy too.

And now to have kind of been taken out from that and in such an intense way, heated me up a little in a way that I needed it.

To be reminded that it's like your energy and your presence is needed.

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: There we go.

Have you seen the skyline?

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: Going into the trip, I was just in a position where I had a lot of internal expectations of myself.

And I think this trip as a whole kinda made me refocus and be more confident in where I'm at in like now and where I'm gonna end up in the future.

I think talking with all the leaders, the majority of them were also kind of in this very limbo state.

But they're set where they are now.

And, yeah, I'd say confidence is probably the biggest thing out of that is just being comfortable and confident with where I am now, who I am now, and my path moving forward, even if I don't know what that is.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: Today is literally the final moment.

Tomorrow we all catch our planes and settle into life outside of what this journey has been.

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: I have enjoyed my time a lot.

I enjoyed hearing everybody's story and the path that they've gone through to get to where they are.

>> [MUSIC] >> Christian: But on the other side, it has been a month.

It's been a long month and I'm looking forward to kind of what the future holds.

>> [MUSIC] >> Chrisel: I've gotten the bigger piece of kind of like being able to speak up for what you need, even if there is gonna be some pushback, that's almost a part of it, right?

And even with like racial equity work of how I want to kind of step into it and how my lived experiences just align with the conversations that are needed to be had.

[LAUGH] >> Tamia: It's definitely helped me to think about life after college.

Before, it was just like I was gonna cross that bridge when I get there, see what's out there, but now I feel like there's a roadmap for me.

I definitely feel like it's given me sights to what life can be like after college.

>> [MUSIC] >> Tamia: I've just learned to step into my voice more and be empowered more.

Definitely my worldview, or even life view, has been expanded by everything and everyone.

>> [MUSIC] Wondering what to do with your life?

Well we've been there and we're here to help Our website has some awesome tools to help you find your path And you can check out all our documentaries, interviews and more Start exploring at roadtripnation.com