- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by Hackensack Meridian Health.

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New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

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Valley Bank.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

Rowan University.

Proudly serving New Jersey for 100 years.

The New Jersey Education Association.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Everyone deserves a healthy smile.

And by The Fidelco Group.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Chamber.

Building connections, driving business growth.

And by BestofNJ.com.

All New Jersey in one place.

- This is One-On-One.

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

- The way we change Presidents in this country is by voting.

- A quartet is already a jawn, it’s just The New Jawn.

- January 6th was not some sort of violent, crazy outlier.

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

- I mean what other country sends comedians over to embedded military to make them feel better.

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

_ It’s not all about memorizing and getting information, it’s what you do with that information.

- (slowly) Start talking right now.

- That's a good question, high five.

(upbeat music) - We're at the New Jersey Sharing Network in beautiful New Providence, New Jersey.

This is the 5K, And we're here with Lakisha Bray, Vice Co-Chair of the Sharing Network Board.

- Yes.

- Good to see you again.

- Good to see you.

- Talk to us about this 5K and why it's so important.

- This 5K is so important to me, not only as a donor mom, a volunteer, a advocate, a board member, it allows us to continue to share and spread the word of organ and tissue donation all throughout New Jersey, all over America.

- So for those who did not see you last time with us, Talia, your daughter.

- Yes.

- Tell us about her and why her life, why the gift that she gave to others was and continues to be so important.

- Talia was my miracle baby.

She came in this world a miracle, and she left the same way.

Talia transitioned on August the 14th of 2014 due to having a seizure and having no brain activity.

- [Steve] 21 years of age.

- Right before her 21st birthday, yes.

- The gift of life, how did that happen for her?

How was that decision made?

- For myself and my family, it was really a no brainer.

We had already decided in the possibility that there was no brain activity, that we wanted to donate her organs and be able to give someone else a fighting chance at life.

- A tough decision?

- It wasn't a tough decision because I believe that we were all put here for a purpose.

So my purpose was to make sure that my daughter's legacy lived on whether it was, you know, through other means or through the means of organ and tissue donation.

- And, you know, when someone says your story, your story's your life, it's not a story.

Your sister, Tabitha?

- Yes.

- Just a few months later.

- Yes.

- Talk, experienced what?

- So my sister Tabitha had been sick for quite some time and no one could ever figure out what was going on with her.

And while she was in the hospital at St. Peter's, there was a resident doctor that was doing rounds at the hospital, and he saw my sister and said that he can help her.

And come to find out my sister was in need of what is called an intestinal transplant, you know, who knew?

I didn't even know that intestines can be transplanted.

And that was on February the 10th when we took her to John Hopkins to do the workup and everything, to get her all prepped, to make sure she was a good candidate.

And unfortunately, on her 36th birthday, which was February the 25th, Tabitha took her last breath and transitioned that day.

So while my daughter was able to give the gift of life six months prior, being able to save three people's lives from here in the state of New Jersey, my sister transitioned six months later in need of a transplant.

- What's this done to you and for you?

- For me, going through what I'm going through as far as a grieving process, I don't know what it is to grieve.

So I put every inch and every part of me, my soul, my heart, my mind, into advocating for those that are waiting, those that are on the fence of whether or not they should be donors or not, and that's how I cope.

And you know, for some people, they don't know how to deal with that, you know?

And for me, like my heart really goes out to our recipients, those that do receive the gift of life because they suffer so much with remorse and guilt on why they were chosen.

So for me, I am their voice to let them know that I made that decision for you.

That is not a weight that you have to carry as an individual or why as a donor mom, I made that decision to be able to give you that honor to continue your life.

- But you've gone beyond that because of the 4,000 people in New Jersey waiting for an organ, 68% of them are people of color.

- Yes.

- That is clearly not the population, the African American population, the Black and brown population in the state of New Jersey.

Why is there such a disproportionate statistic that represents so many people of color waiting for an organ?

- You know what it is, it's so many different things that's out there, you know, in the media, word of mouth, people talking to each other about, you know, organ and tissue donation.

And for us, in the African American community, it's just not talked about a lot, especially like in our low income areas, and it's like they don't understand the actual need to actually be a donor.

So for me to be able to advocate for my friends, my family, the people from where I come from, they need to know what the need is.

- How do you do that?

- I go out- - Just in Newark the other day, right?

- Yes.

(chuckles) - You know it well.

- Yes.

- You were just there doing what?

- I was at St. Paul's Baptist Church on Badger Avenue supporting the church there, they had their community day there.

The whole month of April, I think I volunteered or was at any type of event at least three to four times a week the whole month of April.

Just now recovering from surgery, one week.

- You?

- Yes.

- Here at the 5K?

- Yes.

- Doing all that?

- Yes.

- Why?

- Because you know what?

I can't let anything discourage me or get me down.

It was like once the doctor cleared me and said, "You know what?

June 3rd, you're good to go," I was right back out there.

So this past week, we did a talk, myself and one of the other board members over at Trinitas Hospital.

The next day, we were at the Bonnie Raitts concert at the New Jersey PAC Center advocating.

So we advocate as much as we can.

If I'm in a grocery store, shopping for hair, anything, you know, people ask me, "Oh, what does your bracelets mean?"

- [Steve] You got yours?

- Exactly, oh, we have white lettering now.

(laughs) - [Steve] I gotta get a new one, this is old.

- Yes, so- - [Steve] So people ask about it?

- Yes, they do, they ask about it.

And I said, "Oh, let me tell you about organ and tissue donation," and I start with letting them know I am a donor mom.

And then, they ask me, "What is a donor mom?"

So when they engage with me, "Oh, well, let me tell you about a donor mom."

And then I proceed to let them know that during my daughter's transition, she was able to save three lives from the state of New Jersey by organ and tissue donation.

- Before I let you go, for this great race, we're here in New Providence, it's the annual 5K New Jersey Sharing Network, message to everyone watching, particularly those in the African American community right now about organ and tissue donation.

- Organ tissue donation is so, so important to us.

We have so many different people that are on dialysis, so many people that have been on the waiting list, waiting for such a long time, and it's very hard to match African Americans.

I want everyone to know that everything that you hear out in the media and what you hear from other people, you need to get educated, you need to come out to the community events.

We here at the New Jersey Sharing Network, our doors are always open just to come in for a visit.

If there's any questions or anything that you don't understand or you thought about or you wanted to be able to be a donor, please give us a call, go to our websites.

All the information that you need is there, and we're also here to serve and to help you in any way possible.

- You're making a difference.

- Yes.

- Keep doing it.

- Yes, thank you.

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

Recently my colleague Mary Gamba and I had a conversation with our colleague Usame Tunagur who is our executive producer, handles all post-production for Caucus Education Corporation.

We talked a little bit about post-production, the editing process, how complicated it is, and also how there is sometimes bias, media bias in the visuals or pictures you show or don't show.

Complicated stuff.

It's more than simply post-production in a program and has a lot to do with the impact of your content on your audience.

Here's that conversation.

- We're joined now by Usame Tunagur, who's executive producer for post-production at the Caucus Educational Corporation, our not-for-profit production operation.

Usame, how you doing?

- Doing fine.

Thank you very much for having me, Steve and Mary.

- Now, Usame, you pronounce your last name a little bit different than I just did.

Say it the way you say it.

- Actually you got it perfect, Tunagur.

- Yeah, but the last, okay.

- The last one is not a U, it's an U because I'm originally from Turkey, I was born and raised in Istanbul, and we have eight vowels and U is one of the eight vowels.

- Fascinating.

Tell us a little bit more about your childhood, where'd you grow up?

I was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, which is the largest, it's like New York of Turkey.

It rests between Asia and Europe.

I actually grew up on the Asian side for high school.

And for middle school and high school, I went on the European side.

So imagine Hudson River splitting between Jersey and New York.

We have Bosporus that is splitting Asia and Europe, and on a daily basis, I was crossing continents.

- Your interest in media and public policy/politics comes from where?

- Since early age, say late elementary school, middle school, I was always interested in storytelling, so I had a good feeling I was always gonna go into storytelling.

So after high school, I actually migrated to United States and I went to Temple University.

I studied broadcasting and mass media.

And after that, I studied Master of Fine Arts and Film at Ohio University, always interested in storytelling.

And I do not see a huge difference between filmmaking, media production, broadcast media, but later on it also evolved into doing my part towards public awareness and public education.

And particularly currently working with you, I'm able to play my part in terms of making sure New Jerseyans, let alone others around New Jersey are more well-informed.

- But let's make it clear that it's interesting there are different executive producers in our operation.

The term executive producers used to mean a lot of different things.

Sometimes it's just a title.

In Usame's case, that's not the case.

Usame is the leader of the operation.

Once we do a program, he together with Marcus, who is also is terrific partner, they make it happen.

Mary, they put the pieces together and then when it goes on the air, they go, "Wait a minute, that looks a lot better than we first we first did it.

- I Know.

- Go ahead, Mary.

- Yeah, my husband Bill and I were watching a program a couple of weeks ago.

Not that, not just, I mean we watch every week, of course.

- You know, you watch for the first time, 24 years, you just for the first- - For the first time.

And we were watching it and I was just shaking my head.

I'm like, look how far we've come with these photos, with the graphics.

And Usame, you were talking about that you have a passion for storytelling and it just is so evident in what you choose to put in, where you put it in, how you put these graphics, whether it's a photo or a video Broll, as we call it in the business.

So thank you for that.

And Steve mentioned, I would love to pick your brain a little bit about collaboration.

You came into a hybrid work environment, post COVID we were all working remotely.

And you work hand in hand with Marcus, who is on the editing side.

Talk about leadership when it comes to, number one, being self-driven, and number two, really partnering with others.

But when you're in a remote environment, I think you and I and Steve have seen each other maybe six or seven times in the past few years, max.

So talk a little bit about that.

- Three or four years ago when COVID first happened, I was actually working as a full-time professor teaching video production, visual journalism.

And that was the first time I had to teach remotely.

It was a major challenge because I'm a person who gets energy from eye connection from people in the room.

And after that, I was working at Black News Channel where everything had to be remotely.

So there's been a learning curve.

It's been challenging for especially people like myself.

I consider myself an extrovert.

When it comes to our current operation at Caucus Education, I've been here for two years.

And in terms of leadership, more than seeing myself from a traditional leader, I see myself more as a collaborator, as an enabler.

So whatever it is I need to do for Marcus, for him to do what he needs to do efficiently and with minimal mistake, that's how I see my role as leadership.

So as much as preparation that I can put before he starts editing, that's first part of my job.

But the second one is making sure after he edits that everything is ready to go on air.

And as you can guess, that never happens after a first pass.

So we do multiple passes.

I try my best to always listen to Steve's conversation with guests and then always try to think about are there any ways in which naturally we can enrich the look and the feel of the show with visuals.

But also, I'm also listening to Steve and then making sure, is he always factual?

Has he mis-mentioned a date a person?

If those kind of things happen, I'm always editing those out.

And sometimes I even change the order of some questions that no one knows except me and Marcus and everybody's- - Well, now everybody knows.

- I know the secret's out of that bag.

How are we ever gonna take that back?

Oh, I'm gonna edit it out with Sylvester.

- We're gonna edit that out.

- With Sylvester, who's the editor of lessons and leadership.

But let me just follow up on that.

I actually said to you, "Listen, there's an upcoming interview," or we did an interview and I said, "Listen, Usame, no one's better than you are on the post-production end as a lead executive producer in creating, enhancing the content with visuals."

But I also said to you, "I don't want visuals for this."

I actually, this is visuals can enhance, they can also distort, they can also editorialize just by showing the video, showing the picture.

In and of itself is a statement.

Question, how the heck do you manage?

I'm gonna call it media bias.

People who say they have no bias in the media, that's just ridiculous.

We all have biases, right?

We all have a bias.

It's not a question of whether you have it, it's a question of whether it manifests itself in the content.

How do you manage your own bias?

- It's a tough question to answer because we all have implicit bias.

That's number one too.

As we experience life, we build on that bias.

Those biases take different turns.

It also depends on the time of the day.

Are you in a happier mood or are you in a disappointed mood, you know?

So that's number one.

Second, for example, there's an issue that we've been covering a lot in the last few months.

I ask myself, if it is an issue that a lot of people are polarized and if I'm using visuals, I tell myself, if I have used a visual that is representing, let's say, for a lack of better word, I don't like to polarize it further from team A.

Have I used also visuals from Team B?

And is it aligned with what the person is saying?

And depend from interview to interview, also the situation changes where, Steve, you tell me, Usame, this feels like this is over visual.

Can you take, you know, can you minimize it?

Can you just leave the guest and myself, meaning Steve, on the interview so people just make their own decisions?

Because they can tap into those visuals on their own.

- Listen, I'm not saying it's easy.

I'm just not a fan of people saying, "We have no bias."

It's a question of does the bias manifest itself in the content so people can say, "Oh, that's what you believe in.

That's what..." Anyway, I'm off my soapbox.

Usame, listen, not just because you're a terrific person to work with and a team member who came in at a very tough time during COVID.

You're the best at what you do and you add to our content and you serve our audience every day.

Usame, thanks my friend.

- Thank you very much for having me.

Enjoy the rest of the day.

- I'm sure these are none of the things Usame thought we talk about.

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.

- I'm here with my colleague, our correspondent, "One-on-One" special correspondent, Jacqui Tricarico, who joined me for the annual New Jersey Sharing Network.

That's an organization committed to organ and tissue donation, their annual 5K race.

Jacqui, tee up the interview that you did that people are about to see, which is really compelling.

- Steve, we got to speak to so many incredible people at this event, but the interview you're about to see is with Rachelle Burk, she's an author of a children's book called "A Gift of Life," and Jackie Salvatore, who works with families at the New Jersey Sharing Network.

Families who are going through organ and tissue donation in all different ways.

And I get to speak with them about this incredible book really being used as a tool for children because to help children understand and cope with so many of the different feelings that they could be going through when you're talking about organ and tissue donation, and, you know, on all the different ways that people could be impacted.

Is it a family member that passed away and donated their organs or is it a family member that's receiving a lifesaving gift?

There are so many emotions that can go on during that process, and this book helps children deal with all of those emotions and put names and words to what they're feeling because the book's really filling a void, that were not seeing too many children's books talking about organ and tissue donation, and it's happening and children are impacted.

So a really great tool, really great book.

You can pick it up on Amazon.

And Rachelle and Jackie were just so great to speak with to hear their perspective about the entire experience.

- One of the many compelling interviews that Jacqui Tricarico did at the annual 5K race with the Sharing Network.

Let's check it out right now.

- Hi, I'm Jacqui Tricarico on location at the New Jersey Sharing Network Foundation's 5K Celebration here in New Providence, New Jersey.

And I'm so pleased to be joined by Rachelle Burk, the author of this beautiful book, "A Gift of Life," and Jackie Salvatore, who is the Manager of Family Services at the New Jersey Sharing Network.

Thank you so much for, for being here with us.

- Thank you.

- So Rachelle, you've been an author for all your career, writing many books.

This book is a little different, this project a little different for you.

Tell us how you got inspired to write about organ and tissue donation.

- Well, it's always been, organ and tissue donor's always been something that's very important, since I was, at a very young age, I was inspired by my mother, who was a blood donor.

So this was before organ donation.

And so she would take me, one of my earliest memories is when I would go with her when she donated blood on a regular basis.

And she sadly died of a brain aneurysm when I was just 10.

And I know that she would have absolutely wanted to have been an organ donor.

And so it was important to me to sign up as, you know, register as a donor.

I was a blood donor, I'm on the Marrow Donor Registry, and my children did the same when they were old enough and- - And your daughter actually is in Sharing Network.

- And then my daughter became an employee of the Sharing Network, she's a nurse and so it's just remained an inspiration.

And so regarding the book, I learned that there really weren't any books about this subject.

It was kind of surprising to me because there children's books about everything but nothing about this.

And there are a few that focus on the journey of an organ recipient, let's say a child who needs a new heart, but there was nothing that honors the donor, and with the focus being the donor or the families of the donor.

And because I was a social worker for 35 years and I'm an author, I thought I'm gonna be the one to write that book.

I decided I wanted to write that book.

- And you wrote this beautiful book, this story, Jackie, you were the first one to read it I heard.

- I did, I was very lucky.

I was so excited when I heard that there was even an idea to do this, because working with families, there are a lot of children we work with, and it's so hard for the families to have the language.

How do you talk to kids about this?

They know something's going on, but they don't quite understand.

So I was so glad to hear that she was interested in this, and you know, I was able to take a look at it the first time.

It was amazing from the start, you know, and I was able to give feedback kind of based on what would be great within what kids really hear, what do they need, what do they need to know?

How can we present this to them in a way that makes sense for them and their families.

- And how have you seen this being used as a tool so far with the work that you're doing within families and their journey through organ and tissue donation?

- I've already, even though it just came out, I've already been able to share it with quite a few families, and I cannot tell you the positive feedback I've received.

You know, I had one family who's been going to grief support groups for the last year, and she said, you know, my daughter now is looking at this idea of a gift as a totally different concept, you know, and what her father was able to give.

I've worked with recipients who've met their donor families, who've given the book to them and to their kids, you know, and that had that impact as well, and to support them through it, it's been really a blessing.

- And talking about the book, obviously the words, and how important it was to use certain language for children to understand, but the imagery, the beautiful illustrations that we see in this book.

Talk about the illustrator, Benjamin, because he has a specific story too, really connected to organ and tissue donation.

- This is really an amazing part of the story, because I don't have a personal connection to an organ donor or a tissue donor.

It was really important to me to have an illustrator who does have a personal connection, and it was serendipitous really.

I just Googled, children's book illustrator organ donation.

- Wow, was it that easy?

Google.

- I came up with one name only, one name.

- Wow.

- And it was Benjamin Hummel.

So what's the chance that it's going to be the type, and you know, of illustrations, the style that I would like, and I looked at his work online and oh my God, this is perfect.

This is perfect.

And so now it was just fingers crossed that he would be interested in this.

But he was of course very interested, because he is a two-time liver transplant recipient.

- [Jacqui] Wow.

- And it's a very important topic for him and he agreed to do it.

And he also teaches illustration at college level.

So he was able to do more than just the illustrations.

He was able to do book design, and book layout, and his work is not digital, he paints every one of the pictures, and then they're scanned in.

So his work is absolutely magnificent.

- It's beautiful.

We'll show pictures of some of the inside too, because it's really such a beautiful story- - Thank you.

- A beautiful book, the illustrations, and in terms of the New Jersey Sharing Network Foundation's part in making sure that this book got created, talk about that.

- So they were integral, they were absolutely integral in having this come forward.

- It was a grant that was given?

- Yep, we have the assistance and the grant to fund it, to have it come forward, to be part of it, to help market it, to help get the word out.

They've assisted the Family Services Department with having enough copies to be able to give them to our families without charge as well.

In addition, it's on Amazon.

So I've been able to share it with our partners throughout the country, you know, so they also can benefit from this resource.

- It's a beautiful story, thank you for writing the story.

- Thank you.

- The earrings.

So we have to give some attention to those because they're gorgeous.

And it's the book.

- Necklace.

- They came in the mail yesterday, like just before I came up here.

- Perfect timing.

- Right.

So, yeah, so I'm excited about that.

- Well, I know we can get this story, we can get the book on Amazon you said, and?

- Hardcover, paperback, as an ebook, and will be in Spanish this summer.

- Yes, we're having Minority Donor Awareness Month at the end of the summer and we are gonna have it in Spanish available for everyone who does need that resource.

It's gonna be amazing.

- That's wonderful.

A great resource for so many families going through so many different aspects of this journey.

Thank you so much both for joining us.

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

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

Celebrating 30 years in public broadcasting.

Funding has been provided by Hackensack Meridian Health.

New Jersey’s Clean Energy program.

Johnson & Johnson.

Valley Bank.

The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Rowan University.

The New Jersey Education Association.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

And by The Fidelco Group.

Promotional support provided by Meadowlands Chamber.

And by BestofNJ.com.

(light music) - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, in partnership with utility companies throughout the state, can help you save money and create a more comfortable home through Comfort Partners, a free program that helps income-eligible customers reduce their utility bills through cost-effective measures that save energy, including lighting, hot water heaters, large appliances, heating and cooling improvements, insulation, and much more.

Learn more at NJCleanEnergy.com/CP.