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- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by Delta Dental of New Jersey.

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The Fidelco Group.

And by Seton Hall University.

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And by Northjersey.com and Local IQ, Part of the USA Today Network.

- This is One-On-One.

- I'm an equal American just like you are.

- The jobs of tomorrow are not the jobs of yesterday.

- Look at this.

You get this?

- Life without dance is boring.

- I don't care how good you are or how good you think you are, there is always something to learn.

- Do you enjoy talking politics?

- No.

- People call me 'cause they feel nobody's paying attention.

- Our culture, I don't think has ever been tested in the way it's being tested right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Steve Adubato welcome to another compelling important program looking at the issues that matter most in our lives.

And we kick off with our good friend, Joe Roth President and CEO of the New Jersey Sharing Network.

Joe good to see you buddy.

- Good to see you too Steve.

- Yeah we've been partners in collaborating with the Sharing Network for years creating greater public awareness.

If you will, around organ and tissue donation Joe do this for us.

As we tape on May 20th, be seen a little bit after.

First thing there is, is it a piece of legislation or is it law called the Kidney Transplant Patients Act Immuno Bill, which, where is it right now?

- It's actually been signed into law.

- What is it And why does it matter so much?

- Well, this is something that's been near and dear to my heart for the past 20 years.

Medicare in its infinite wisdom allowed kidney transplants to be paid for by Medicare under the end-stage renal disease program.

But however, they, they only limited coverage of immunosuppressive drugs to 3 years after the transplant, then the patient would have to find another means to get the medication.

So in about 20 years ago, our state Senator Bob Torricelli introduced legislation to expand the coverage open-endedly for all recipients, but especially kidney recipients.

It's a, it's a travesty to have that happen.

When you consider people wait many, many years to get a kidney and that they need those drugs to retain that kidney.

And if they lose coverage and they can't find it, they they may lose that kidney and then have to go back on the waiting list and possibly die waiting.

So, this is a great, great policy change for kidney recipients.

- So let's put up the website for the Sharing Network so people can find out more.

Will there be information on the website Joe about this immuno bill and what it means?

- Yes.

- And also on that website, you also see information about the transplant games coming up which will be on July 16th, 17th, and 18th.

Our team will be there shooting footage put the transplant games in focus because they will be a big deal.

And it's a national event.

Talk about it.

- Well, you know, last year it was supposed to be held in 2020.

This is around the same dates, but COVID got in the way and it had to be postponed.

This year, it's going to be a totally virtual event with people at the headquarters of American Dream.

So, this is an opportunity for recipients and donor families and people waiting to show what their lives are like, how transplant changed their lives and made them productive again, how they can engage in sports activities.

And it's a very important way to promote organ donation and transplantation around the country.

- So Joe, in person or remote?

- The game, most of the games will be remote.

People will be allowed to participate in different events remotely and then send their scores in and get medals for that.

- Tell everyone why that's such a big deal because you know because we've been collaborating for a long time about public awareness around organ and tissue donation by the way, just if you want to understand the context of how serious the problem is.

In New Jersey, just New Jersey, not even nationally, the waiting list for kidney transplants, approximately 5 to 7 years.

How many people overall waiting for an organ just in New Jersey and then nationally Joe?

- Well in New Jersey, there's over 4,000 patients total but 3,000 of them are waiting for a kidney.

and nationally it's about 110,000 people waiting in total and about 90,000 people waiting for a kidney.

And as you said in New Jersey you could be waiting for 5 to 7 years, in New York City you could be waiting for 8 to 10 years.

So it's, it's important that more people donate and these people get organs that that will save their lives.

Signing up to be an organ donor through the motor vehicle commission or through the donate life America registry, which is the other option.

Lets people know what your wishes are.

Many, many people families when they come to the hospital and their loved one's in a crisis and may be eligible, to become a donor are not sure what their loved one's wishes were.

So we've always told everybody, even if you're afraid to sign up for some superstitious reason or something, let your wishes be known to your family.

A lot of people want to be donors and just forget to sign up or so forth.

So it's important that your wishes be known and that's why signing the registry makes it helpful for us because that's a consent registry and it makes it a lot easier on the families who are going through grief at the death of their loved one knowing that their loved one made this decision.

- So in the time we have Joe, let me ask you this we're taping again on late May, 2021.

If you were to assess the larger long-term impact of COVID on the organ transplant, not only process but community organ donation, organ transplant, community what would you say?

- Well, initially we had no clue obviously.

And so last March we, we thought the worst was going to happen on the whole year was going to be destroyed because of a lockdown for COVID and April and May were slow years for us.

So, what happened was June, when the health centers started opening up medical centers started opening up, our activity level actually increased and we actually set an all-time record in New Jersey and across the United States now, organ and tissue donation has bounced back and is poised for another record breaking year more lives saved than ever.

We expect to do the same here in New Jersey.

We, we are looking towards breaking the 250 donor mark for the first time.

- So real quick, the demand has never been greater but the response and the public response to be redundant has been more positive.

Even in these difficult times to the need to say, yeah, I want to give as your organization calls it the gift of life - Right That's correct.

We're really just, just grateful to the donors and the families who have responded with positive responses when their loved one has become eligible for donation and it does save lives.

And we are seeing that in the activity that we do.

- Yeah, it's, it's great stuff.

So listen, Joe, thank you.

We look forward to being to that.

The transplant games, July 16th, 17th, and 18th we will be there with our team and shooting, not remotely but out on the road.

Thank you, Joe.

All the best.

- Thanks Steve.

Appreciate it.

- I'm Steve Adubato.

Stay with us.

We'll be right back.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We are honored to be joined by two very special friends, Evie McGee Colbert, President of the Board of Trustees, Montclair Film, and also Tom Hall, Executive Director, Montclair Film.

Good to see both of you.

- Good to see you.

Thank you.

- Thank you, Steve.

- Put Montclair Film in perspective for us, Evie.

10 years ago- By the way, it's the 10 year anniversary, right?

- Yes, yeah.

- I remember being a founding board member with you and our great friend, Bob Feinberg, and others.

- Right.

- It is not the same organization.

(chuckling) Bigger and better than ever.

Evie, put it in context for us, where are we today?

- Well, we are about to really officially start our 10th anniversary.

Our 10th festival will take place in October.

But since those early days, we've grown into a year-round organization.

We have our own building, we have our own year-round programming, we offer classes, as well as screenings in our screening room.

And this year, sort of because of COVID, we've actually expanded to a virtual platform as well.

So there's a lot of content that we have now that, I think the first year, maybe we thought we'd have 10 films, and we had maybe 20 films.

(chuckling) It's a whole different ball game now.

We have 10 days, and hundreds of films, and panels, and discussions, and parties, so the festival itself has grown, but the organization primarily is now a year-round organization.

- Absolutely.

And Tom, let me ask you this, for the October festival, and we'll put up the website for Montclair Film.

People can find out more, October 21st to the 30th.

Mostly in-person, Tom?

- Yeah.

This year, I think we're gonna really go for in-person for October.

Last year, we were forced to move the festival from May to October because of COVID.

We actually made the decision, I think the week that New York City and New Jersey started shutting down, we were agonizing about whether we should postpone May of 2020, and it's such an obvious choice in retrospect to have done that.

And when we went to October this past year, we were able to do virtual screenings and drive-in screenings, and have people in a COVID compliant situation to watch films, have conversations and discussions, and it went really well, but we're itching to get back in-person with our audiences and do a weekend.

I think we're gonna retain some virtual components of the festival so we can reach people who might not otherwise be able to make it to Montclair for what we offer, but I think the primary thrust of the festival this year is gonna be an expansion back into in-person events.

- Yeah.

Evie, let me ask you this.

I just told you before we got on the air that I watched the conversation that took place that Tom facilitated between you and Stephen, your husband, who has been such a big part of this festival, not just festival, of Montclair Film all these years, your passion his passion, your collective passion for film, it was clear, but for the rest of us, where do you believe, particularly 16, 17 months beyond into this pandemic, where do you believe the place for film is in our lives, and has it changed dramatically?

- Well, I'm sure Tom has a lot of thoughts on that, too.

I think what's really interesting about what's changing is that I think film will always be something people want to watch and engage in, but in order to get people to leave their homes, I think it needs to become and will become a little bit more of an experience.

So I think it's independent movie theaters seem to be doing better than, in some ways, than the big chain movie theaters, because if you could see a movie on your couch, the reason to go out is to have a special experience, whether it means going with friends, which is wonderful, but also perhaps the environment's nice, or maybe there's a panel discussion after, maybe the director's there, things like that.

I think we're seeing that that kind of engagement, people crave it, especially after COVID, right?

We've all been so isolated, so we're looking for opportunities that are community-based and conversation-driven.

So I think that film is always gonna have a big part, but I actually think movie theaters will still have a big part in the community, the experience will just be a little different.

- Tom, talk about that, because Montclair Film from day one always just brought people together.

Not just for the art, if you will, of film, but just being together, experiencing it separately and together.

Tom, talk about it.

- Yeah, one of the things that's important to us, I think, is fostering a sense of understanding and empathy in the community.

We work really hard with community partners, organizations all over New Jersey to bring people together in a room around a story so that they can talk about their experience and understand each other, one another a lot better, and I think film is really great for that format.

When we've been home during COVID, and we've been watching on our streaming platforms, whatever, that sort of connection between us and other people sitting in the dark and sort of empathizing and sharing our feelings, and then having a conversation afterward with one another has been lost.

And I know people who've dived deep into libraries and what's happening on streaming services, and it seems like there's an overwhelming amount of content available, and I think we've also lost the curatorial function in a lot of ways of a cinema giving you six choices instead of an unlimited number of choices, and picking and having that event around those six choices a week, let's say.

So yes, I'm hoping people value that and will return to movie theaters to experience that.

- By the way, as you go on the website, you'll not only find out all the films that are going to be shown in that period, for that day, excuse me, October 21st to the 30th when the film festival goes back live, if you will, but a whole lot of other information as to how you can contribute, how you can volunteer, how you can be a part of it.

And also, in terms of arts education, it's been extraordinary.

Evie, real quick on arts education, and teaching film, all aspects of film to so many young people and others.

Evie?

- Yeah, well, you know what's interesting, again, in the COVID environment, we have found that we were able to engage with our students virtually in a way that we weren't quite sure we'd be able to, but our education classes have been doing wonderfully.

And I think particularly students, kids have been so isolated that this kind of education, creative, any kind of creative arts education is really important to the social emotional learning piece, so we are really dedicated to it in our programming, but I think all across the state, arts education in New Jersey is thriving, and I think it's because it's so badly needed.

This has been a real difficult year, so we're hoping that will continue to grow.

- Tom, real quick, give me 30 seconds on that, and I'm gonna ask Evie about being on the Governor's commission, the Governor Murphy's Restart and Recovery Commission, and particularly the arts piece of it.

Real quick on the remote learning, if you will, Tom.

- Yeah, absolutely.

So our education department has worked to reinvent itself, as so many organizations have during COVID, and we've reached hundreds of kids online.

I'm a father of two kids who spent a year doing remote learning, I know what those challenges are like on a day-to-day basis working from home with them, and so I think we were trying to do something that's a little bit different, a little bit more creative.

We're going back in-person this summer.

So we're gonna have summer programs in-person starting in June, and we're very excited about that.

- Can people sign up on the website for that, Tom?

- montclairfilm.org, yep.

Just click on the education button, and you can see a roster of classes for summer.

- Great.

Before I let you go, Evie, the Governor Murphy's Restart and Recovery Commission, the importance of arts in New Jersey's economic recovery.

Talk about it, please.

- Well, it's really been an incredible experience for me.

I think that one of the most amazing things about the commission that Governor Murphy put together is a concern that the recovery be an equitable recovery, that in New Jersey, that we don't just return to where we were, we return practically in a better place.

So with my hat on helping with the arts and culture, we've been able to raise a lot of relief funding for arts organizations, but also we're really seeking to help the really small arts organizations that might not have had access to state support in the past.

And the Governor and his team have been incredibly responsive and generous in terms of not just CARES funding, but also through the EDA, small business, and non-profits can apply for support.

So I think New Jersey's poised to actually come back in a better place than it was before, not just in the arts, but in terms of education, solving digital divide, lack of broadband access.

There are a lot of things that this commission is focused on to make sure that New Jersey comes back strong, and it's been a real privilege for me to put the arts hat on and serve.

- Well said, Evie.

Evie and Tom, I wanna thank you so much, also to the team at Montclair Film.

Again, our colleague and friend, Bob Feinberg, who brought us together, also in the world of public broadcasting.

Wish you all the best, and we're looking forward to the film festival, October 21st to the 30th, 2021.

Also, NJPAC will be a part of that, we hope, as well?

- Yep.

(Inaudible) Night in NJPAC, can't wait.

October 30th.

- We've never missed that one, my wife and I, and so many other people, it's packed.

(Evie chuckling) Thank you so much, Evie, Tom.

I'm Steve Adubato.

- Thank you, Steve.

- Yeah, our pleasure.

Sorry for cutting you off.

- It's remote, there's always a delay.

We'll be back.

(Evie chuckling) You know about that.

We'll be right back, right after this.

- [Narrator] To watch more One on One with Steve Adubato find us online and follow us on Social media.

- We're now joined by Tom Werder.

Who's Executive Director of Morris Arts.

Good to see you, Tom!

- Good to see you, Steve.

Thanks for having me on.

- Well, I'll tell you how this happened.

Usually 99% of the great segments we have our producers come up with the idea because they're innovative and creative and they're really good.

I keep seeing this thing about "Great Conversations From Home".

This ad that I keep seeing digitally and in print.

And I go, "Wait a minute, Morris arts is doing that?"

What is Great Conversations From Home?

And why is Morris Arts leading that effort?

- I'm so glad you asked Steve.

We've been doing Great Conversations for 10 years now.

And it started as an event that we did live, in a hotel ballroom where we have 30 tables and each table is hosted by someone cool who you wouldn't be able to have dinner with normally.

So that could be a leader of industry, a celebrity chef, a famous author, a sports figure.

But somebody that you wouldn't normally have access to have a dinner conversation with.

And the reason why Morris Arts is interested in this is we think it's a great fundraising idea, for one.

But we think the art of conversation is something that we're really interested in.

And, you know, I think that these days those opportunities are fewer and farther between.

And we're really excited about this event and it just gets better and better each year.

- I'm going to follow up on this because obviously conversation is a passion of mine.

- Yes.

- I try to, if 30 years- I'm not as bad as I used to be at it.

But that being said, this- we're having a conversation right now.

You talked about doing this for 10 years.

Sitting around the table... dinner... totally different social personal face-to-face intimate experience.

How much harder has 'Great Conversations From Home' been from 'Great Conversations Being Together'?

How much different and harder?

- Well, it was extremely different for sure.

And when we first did it from home, it was back in October of last year.

Just, you know, months into the pandemic and months into everybody getting accustomed to being on zoom all the time.

And we took that as an opportunity to continue to do the event but to use the technology of this- what we're doing right now, to have instead of tables in a ballroom to have breakout rooms.

And actually the quality of the conversation with 10 people in a breakout room was really quite good.

There wasn't the clanking of knives and forks and waiters coming around to pour wine and, you know, dinner happening in the middle of all this.

So the quality of conversation was really quite high.

But we can't wait to get back and do this in person.

Because there's something about that that is really, really special.

And there's also a networking aspect to the evening where you get to sit at one table with one conversationalist but on the event when it's done live, there's also a cocktail hour and you get to meet all of the conversationalists if you want and get to do networking around the room.

- Let's do this by the way.

We're putting up the website for Morris Arts.

I think our friend Dennis will send the team up at Delta Dental and Daniel D's on the board there as well But we have been talking about this and we started talking about the arts.

And we've been having more and more people from the arts on our programming.

Talking about: A- The Arts, the role of the arts throughout this pandemic as we go into summer 2021.

But also the challenges- extraordinary challenges in the arts community.

Talk about it Tom.

- Yeah, it's been, you know, we were the first ones to close and we'll probably be the last ones to open.

You know, the arts are usually enjoyed in crowds of people.

You know, it's one of the things that makes the enjoyment of the arts, a community building experience.

You know, and we all try to pivot the best way we could to do what we do digitally.

And I have to say arts organizations were at the forefront of bringing what we have to the digital realm.

And, you know I know that first responders, God bless them.

They were working so hard all day and many, many hours.

And what did they do when they got home?

They turned on a movie or they watched a dance concert or they listened to music, you know?

So I called artists and arts organizations, the "second responders" in the pandemic.

Because we were feeding the soul of everybody who is out there on the front lines.

So we can't wait to get back in person because the arts are great for the soul.

But they're also great for our local economies.

- I'm sorry for interrupting.

As we're talking about conversation, I interrupted you Tom.

Go to the economic piece of the arts, please.

- Yeah.

I mean, I was going to say, you know, it's the arts are food for the soul but they're also food on the table for people who work in this industry.

They're also, you see when there's a performance at the local theater all the restaurants are filled to the brim.

There's life on the streets well into the evening.

This is, you know, when somebody goes out to see a performance, they're not just buying a ticket.

They're paying for dinner.

They're paying for parking.

They pay the babysitter.

They maybe do a little shopping in retail stores before the show.

They grab a bite to eat afterwards.

You know, there's, we did a study a few years ago.

Every arts-goer spends, each person spends at least $32 in addition to their ticket when they go out to see a performance.

So that money adds up to about $32 million a year in Morris County alone, where Morris Arts is located.

And that's money that just stays in the community and churns and churns and churns and helps our local businesses and our local workers.

- One more quick question on this.

Nonprofit to Nonprofit.

- Yeah.

- We've obviously pivoted.

We're in a studio that's not our normal public broadcasting studio.

Whether in New York at Lincoln Center, with our partners at WNET, or in New Jersey with the great NJ PBS operation.

That's where we normally are.

Okay.

"Normally" we're here doing what we're doing remotely.

But also having to raise money, having to manage our staff, having to pay our bills, pay health benefits the whole bit.

I don't want to get into the weeds and I'm not crying the blues.

- Right.

- But you've had to do the same thing.

How the heck... Well, let me ask it this way.

How hard has it been to stay afloat?

- It's been incredibly challenging.

I think back to a year ago when we were applying for our first PPP loans from the federal government.

Trying to figure that out as fast as we could, and hoping we were submitting our applications in time.

- Same here, by the way, let me disclose we did that.

And we're fortunate to get that.

Please tell me you did as well.

- We did too.

We got two rounds of PPP, thank God.

And, and we got lots of other emergency funding as well.

And that's how we've been able to keep our staff employed and keep doing what we're doing.

Even though it's been digital for the most part.

We want to be around for when we come out the other end of this and be in place to continue to do our great work in the community.

So, we've taken advantage of all of the extra funding that was out there.

But I have to say it's been doubly challenging to adjust to doing this work at home.

To adjust to using technology for everything we did that we'd never used before.

It's really been hard on every individual but, like you, I'm not complaining.

I am so grateful that we've been able to survive.

(knock knock knock) - I'm knocking on wood if you can't tell.

- Yes, I am too.

And we're ready to be back, you know?

- Yeah.

The only reason I cut you off is because on our end there's a finite amount of time.

And in my ear they're like "Steve, you've got to get out now."

So Tom, I can't thank enough.

Tom Werder is Executive Director of Morris Arts.

I love Conversations From Home.

Check out their website.

Go on and see previous conversations.

And I look forward to working with you in the future, Tom.

- Thanks so much, Steve.

I hope we get you to be a great conversationalist next year.

- Yes.

I'm free.

It's all good.

- All right.

Excellent.

- I'm Steve that's Tom.

Yeah, that's the price he wanted.

We'll see you next time.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Hackensack Meridian Health.

Investors Bank.

Summit Health NJM Insurance Group.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

ADP.

The Fidelco Group.

And by Seton Hall University.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ, And by Northjersey.com and Local IQ.

Part of the USA Today Network.

- Many of New Jersey'’s children have been affected by Covid-19, but now that there'’s a safe and effective vaccine available for children ages twelve and older you can help make COVID-19 history by getting yourself and your child vaccinated.

Let'’s end this pandemic together and help all children get back to being kids.

Visit HackensackMeridianHealth.org/ covid19 to learn more, or to schedule a vaccine appointment today.