- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by The Russell Berrie Foundation.

Making a difference.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Investors Bank.

Rowan University.

Atlantic Health System.

Building healthier communities.

Johnson & Johnson.

The Fidelco Group.

New Brunswick Development Corporation.

And by Summit Health.

A provider of primary, specialty, and urgent care.

Promotional support provided by AM970 The Answer.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

The magazine of the Garden State.

Available at newsstands.

- 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.

- I'’m hopeful that this is the beginning to accountability.

- 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.

- I did do the finale, and guess where my trailer was?

A block away from my apartment, it couldn'’t have been 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) - Welcome to a very special edition of "One-on-One," except there are three of us: Steve Adubato, my colleague Mary Gamba, and also joined by our leader in public broadcasting, Neal Shapiro, President and CEO the WNET Group.

Neal, how are we doing?

- We're doing well.

How about you, Steve?

- We're doing great.

We're taping this right before the 4th of July.

Neal, you and I have talked about leadership innovation offline, online for a long time and not just talked about, you've lived it.

What would you say two and a half years plus into COVID, the most significant leadership lesson you have learned has been?

- I think it's to be nimble.

I think a lot of the things I was sure about that I thought I knew for sure have turned out not to be true.

And I think it's about thinking about what's important, both to your product and your people, and being flexible.

If COVID has taught us nothing else, it's that things change and that we have to be, I think, flexible to meet those challenges.

- Hmm.

Mary, before you jump in, I wanna follow up on this with Neal.

Neal, some of our guests on "Lessons and Leadership" have actually said that COVID has created actually opportu... With all the horrific, a million people losing their lives plus in our nation.

So many people suffering.

It's created opportunities.

Do you see it that way as well?

- Oh, absolutely.

Before COVID, we did an employee satisfaction survey and our employees said they didn't like having little work carols in offices.

They wanted more space like Central Perk on "Friends".

They wanted couches and chairs.

And they wanted people to take their computers wherever they went.

And I said to the architects, how can I do this?

And they said, well, you're gonna have to have 40% of your workforce stay home.

And I said, how am I ever gonna have 40% of my workforce stay home?

Well, now, I have 100% of my workforce that can stay home.

(Steve laughing) But I think it's an example to realize, I think we were worried as managers how do we keep track of people?

How do we know who's productive?

And we just measured really productivity too often by attendance.

Anybody who came here and just pounded away at their computer, that was considered working.

I think, we realized that's not the way to measure success anymore.

I've always felt like employees, happy employees are better employees.

And I think, there's now a better way to achieve a work-life balance than we had before.

- It's well said.

Mary and I often talk about the difference between activity, you're there, I know you're in the office.

A meeting, you're having a meeting versus impact.

We try to focus more on impact.

Pick it up from there, Mary.

- Yeah, definitely, Neal.

So, no money, no mission.

We are a nonprofit at Thirteen WNET.

You are constantly trying to raise those necessary dollars to do the important work that we do, especially during the pandemic.

What were some of the keys and lessons you learned in terms of building those relationships and still bringing in those important dollars when everybody was spread so thin?

- Actually, I think, what I learned is that you should never underestimate both the value of your mission because COVID made ours even more clear.

In so many ways, public media stepped up, whether it was just there to provide important news and information.

And especially that got lost as some media turned to other things, whether it's providing incredible diversions to reminding people that Broadway was closed, we still had Broadway plays.

And what it was stepping into education.

When school was closed down, we worked with teachers and it was like springing up 80 classrooms or 80,000 classrooms.

I heard from so many people that said public media filled a place in our lives that we hadn't really thought about.

And the other thing is, while you're doing it and after to remind people about that, actually, you shouldn't be shy about asking for support even in times like COVID.

'Cause I think, it is fresh on people's minds and people do wanna reward people doing good work.

So, I think that's the other thing we learned.

I was so worried that as the country shut down, I thought our funding was shut down, but in fact, people really stepped up.

- Along those lines, Neal, we talk about innovation, leadership and innovation, the connection.

I'm gonna do the math.

11 years ago, almost as we do this program, right before the 4th of July, you led the effort to create what is now NJ PBS.

And we've said this so many times.

If it were not for that effort, there would be some black...

I don't know what would be there, Neal.

That was innovation.

"MetroFocus", every night.

Check it out on WNET, NJ PBS, WLIW.

Innovation, constant innovation.

At NJPAC, there's a series going on with NJ PBS art series.

Does innovation, not just in your mind, 'cause you always...

I often say you're an executive, but you have a producer's mind as well.

Does innovating ever stop for you as a leader?

- If you stop innovating, you stop succeeding.

Everything changes and it doesn't have to be COVID.

People's lives change, their interest change, their demands change, the technology changes.

You have to change with all of those.

At the end of the day, it really is the voice of the consumer that counts.

'Cause they don't care whether you have preexisting technology demands.

They don't care if you thought you were planning something else.

All they care is are you meeting their needs?

So, unless you're in some field and I'm not sure where it is, where people's needs will never ever change, but they do.

So, you have to innovate to meet them.

- Pick it up, Mary.

- Yeah.

Neal, I would love to know.

Where did your passion for public television come from?

I know growing up in New Jersey, public television was a go-to.

"Sesame Street" and all the other educational and also the arts programming.

But where does your passion come from for the public television?

- Well, me growing up, I too had a lot of good experience with public television.

I remember kids programs.

I remember arts programs.

I remember something like Monty Python that began on public television.

So, as a teenager... And I remember the first Watergate hearings being on public television.

Then, I worked for a long time in commercial television.

When I got to public media, I realized that it's all about the impact you have.

And that's what it's about.

Sure, we care about the numbers, but the most important thing is how you touch people.

And if you don't succeed, you try again.

- Getting up a bat...

Listen, Neal, I can't help, get up a bat.

You Neal is a, not just a very big Yankee fan.

He is a Cowboys fan.

I don't actually understand that, but that's another story.

By the- I've asked you this before.

I forget- - I was just gonna ask, Steve, I was hoping you would let, and what is that?

Where does that come from?

(laughs) - So, the story is I'’m a New Yorker.

- He told me, but I tried to forget.

Well, go ahead, Neal.

- I haven't heard it.

- So, I'm a new Yorker in everything except professional football.

Because when I was a kid, the New York Giant fans gave me a very hard time.

They were very mean to me.

And I said, what would really make them crazy would be to root against, support their arch-enemy, which were the Cowboys.

And they were kind of fun then.

That was like Don Meredith, Craig Morton.

They were a fun team to watch.

Tom Landry was a former Giant.

He was the head coach.

So, I started... And then as you know, once you form a bond as a kid, it kind of stays.

So, I've been with them through thick and thin, hopefully better days to come, but who knows?

- Yeah, well, we're not gonna talk about the Cowboys any longer, but I do wanna... (Steve and Neal laughing) But here's the transition I wanna make, Neal, in all seriousness.

- Yeah.

- My mind, when I think about leadership, I think of...

When I look at sports, to me, managerial decisions, player decisions, how Aaron Judge comports himself, how Derek Jeter comported him.

So, all those things are part of leadership for me.

Do you connect sports to leadership and use those lessons or to what degree do you, if you do, as the leader in public broadcasting that you are?

- Oh, all the time.

I think, the things that make a leader successful in sports are things that make anyone successful.

Good leaders are people who have ways to communicate with their employees, their teams.

They know everybody's not the same.

They set up, they make some value, some judgment about what's important and they communicate those well.

They're understanding when people don't always hit them, but they're not infinitely patient.

They are flexible because sports changes all the time.

And though they have a game plan, it changes if the game itself changes.

And then I think, there's an evenness to it too that people are really good at it.

And baseball's a great example, right?

- Sure.

- They're 162 games.

If you're really, really good, you're gonna win a hundred and something of them.

And so, you're gonna lose 50 or 60 games, (computer chiming) even if you're really, really good.

And the best players, the Jeters, the Judges are incredibly even-tempered.

They enjoy their success.

They accept their failure.

They learn from it and they move on.

And I think that having that evenness as a leader is important because if you rise and fall with every little thing, then people get around you are gonna react to that too.

And we have to recognize, we are in it for the long haul.

Not everything will be perfect.

We deal with the setbacks.

We move on.

We move forward.

Mary, last questioned for Neal.

Talk a little bit about grit in leadership.

The people who succeed in life aren't necessarily the smartest.

Though they're smart.

They're not always the most gifted, but they're gifted.

The thing they are is that they persevere.

They recognize you don't give up.

It is the thing about great athletes too that the best athletes are out 60% of the time.

It is grinding away and making sure that... 'Cause I do believe you will get better.

You'll improve.

You'll work harder.

And when you have setbacks and you will, you learn from them and you move on.

And if you give up, you'll never succeed.

- Neal, we got about a minute left, so I wanna take full advantage of this.

I'm a big believer that even though you've been in the business for a long time, I've been in the business for a long time, we've been trying to lead as best we can, we'd never stop learning.

Where do you say you've made the greatest strides as leader?

Just say in the last few years.

We talked about pivoting COVID et cetera, et cetera.

But the greatest strides for you as a leader come where?

- I think understanding the younger generation that they expect and want different things.

I think to me, the biggest change has been when I started, the idea was that your personal opinions never mattered.

Your personal life never mattered.

It was about you stay to work, you do your job.

What happens outside the office stays outside the office.

And what I've realized during COVID and George Floyd has been a part of it is that people do expect from their leaders some kind of reinforcement, either acknowledging the feelings they're having, acknowledging you can't just - That's right.

- leave all your feelings outside work.

And maybe that's because the times now are so tumultuous.

The COVID has knocked down the walls between what's work and what isn't.

- That's right.

- And (inaudible) are so emotionally draining.

So, I think it's a leader being in touch with that.

- As we wrap up, I'm gonna say this.

One of the themes that we'll explore on "Lessons in Leadership" moving forward is vulnerability, leadership and vulnerability.

I won't get on my soapbox.

Particularly on public broadcasting, that's not my job.

I don't do that because that's not what we do.

But I will say this.

Leaders who believe that confidence means that you act as if you have all the answers, you act as if you're never concerned or fearful, you act as if you got it all together.

In my view, that's not leadership.

That's something different.

You never ad- I never admit mistakes.

Well, not a great quality.

That being said, Neal, I wanna thank you for joining us on "Lessons and Leadership".

Our One-on-One audience will see this as well.

To you and the team at the WNET Group, all of us and who are connected to affiliated with public broadcasting, it's an honor to be part of this team.

Thank you, Neal.

- Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

- You got it.

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're here at the New Jersey Sharing Network 5K.

35 years this organization's been around making a difference giving the gift- providing the gift of life.

Speaking of the gift of life, we're here with Gina Westhoven, a heart transplant recipient.

And the name of your team today in the 5K?

- It's Heart to Heart Worldwide.

- When did you know that you had an issue with your heart?

- I caught a cold out of nowhere and it just kind of didn't go away.

And then, it progressed into a really bad- Seven to eight months before I was finally diagnosed with congestive heart failure, I was really on the bridge of death.

I was, like, weeks away from dying.

So it was a long road.

- How many years?

- Four.

- Four years.

And describe, I hate using the term "quality of your life", but describe your life.

- Before transplant, and before getting sick, I would travel all the time.

I was career EMT, you know-- - You're an EMT?

- Yes.

So I went from being, you know, saving lives every day to now needing help and having my life completely pulled from under me.

Like, sometimes I couldn't walk, I couldn't breathe.

I was tired.

Short of breath.

I was swollen.

It was very painful.

It was more bad days than good until we got it under control.

- Did you know about the Sharing Network back then?

- [Gina] No.

- Did not.

So how did the New Jersey Sharing Network come into your life?

- So, ironically, when you come home from the hospital they give you all this stuff, like all the- your medications in a bag.

And they gave me a little notebook and a gift card for Starbucks.

And then, one of my friends is a biology teacher and he teaches, and he's on those Zoom calls where they have transplants, so they do kidney and heart.

And Dr. Margarita Camacho is my transplant surgeon.

- She's amazing.

- I adore that woman, like, I call her magic fingers.

Like she-- - Dr. Camacho, check her out.

She's extraordinary.

- And so, she was my surgeon and he was gonna be on her Zoom for his students.

And he was like, I need to get you on with Dr. Margarita Camacho, because these are my students, you're one of my best friends, you have to be on the Zoom- you're three months post transplant, like, you have to.

And somehow we finagled it and I was on the Zoom.

And that's when the Sharing Network really pulled into my life.

I was like, I wanna do more of this.

- When you say do more of it, volunteer, make a difference, what?

- Volunteer, teach, educate, make a difference.

You know, I was, like, given such a gift that I just feel like it's my duty now to pay it forward because I want to, not because I have to.

Like, I just want to do this.

I feel like my donor deserves that.

- You know, the donor family, I, I'm-- - It's tough.

- Can you talk about it?

- I can.

- Try.

- I don't know who they are, where they are.

There's not enough- there will never be enough words or humility or gratefulness or humbleness to ever say how genuinely thankful I am.

Like, you can't put it into words.

You can't put it into a letter.

You can't even describe it.

Like, I couldn't hug them tight enough if I could.

You know what I mean?

Like I just never ever can thank them enough for giving me the gift of life from their family member.

- But you tried, you tried to connect with them, right?

- [Gina] Yeah, yeah.

- What do you think you'd say?

- I think I would just hug them.

- [Steve] Yeah.

- I don't think they're words.

- [Steve] Hmm.

- I think it's just emotions.

- What would you want to say to people watching right now about- I mean, there are 4,000- I say this so many times but sometimes people may lose track of- or not lose track, not appreciate what 4,000 people waiting in New Jersey means, obviously hundreds of thousands across the nation.

What would you want to say to people who are like, yeah, what's the difference if I sign up?

What's the difference if I go on the website or I do my driver's license check off yes?

What's the difference?

What's the difference?

- You just never know if you might need one.

What was- if it was you, would you want someone to help you and what if it was your family member in need, too?

- [Steve] Yeah.

- You know, I know if it was my friends or family, I'd want to give, and I'd want their lives to be saved.

So just put yourself in the recipient's end of it.

You know, how would you feel if you were waiting?

- Last question: what does it mean to be here at the 5K for you today?

- It means a lot.

I just love being here.

This is my second 5K but my first team, and it's just- you're around so many people that are like you, been through what you've been through, can relate.

And then you meet families, you meet new people, you meet new friends, and you meet people that you can kind of relate with, certain things that you go through.

Because not everybody can understand but they can understand- they can be empathizing but they can't understand.

So it's nice, because I honor my donor everywhere I go.

And this is just another way to do it.

- Thank you, Gina.

- Oh, thank you.

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

- We're now joined by Samir Nichols, founder and executive director of an organization called Superior Arts Institute and a 2022 Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award honoree.

Good to see you again, Samir.

- Thanks, Steve.

Good to see you, too.

It's just been a fun ride since the ceremony.

- The ceremony back in May of 2022.

What made that event, which I've been honored to host and moderate for well over two decades, what made it so special for you to be recognized for making a difference around a lot of other folks who are making a difference?

- I think one of the things that made it so honorable to be a part of it was that I was able to share what we do here in Camden and be able to advocate for artists, right?

And so especially artists of color who've been working long, and so being able to see that people like myself and others throughout the state making a difference was able to be recognized for the long, overdue work that we've been doing.

And so just being able to accept that award was an honor.

So that was my highlight.

- Yeah, and a lot of people were motivated and inspired by the video of talking about you and the organization.

But for those who do not know, Superior Arts Institute and we'll put up the website, describe as succinctly as possible what you do and the impact you're making.

- Absolutely.

So I started Superior Arts when I was 14-years-old in my mother's driveway, here in Camden.

Our goal was to, I went to Camden City Creative Arts High School and I studied dance, ballet, modern, jazz, lyrical.

I was a dance major so I got the chance to have dance in my schedule for four hours of the day.

And what I realized was there was a lack of programming in this city.

So I had to go to Philadelphia.

I had to go to, you know, New York.

I went to Texas for a summer, you know, just to be able to perform and being privileged enough to have, you know, a mom and a dad in a household where I was able to actually grow and understand that work, they supported my journey and I was afforded a different opportunity, but I knew that most people did not have that.

So we grew Superior Arts out of a need to really spark that voice and serve as the foundational builder to the Camden City Creative Arts High School, specifically in the areas of dance and theater.

Since then, the work has grown to a robust arts community here where we now serve the film industry.

We recently were able to tap into the environmental sector where our programming, Advocacy Through Acting, touch on environmental racism and civic issues where we are currently filming a show called "Town Hall: Resolution 50", which airs important- - Whoa, whoa, too fast, too fast.

Say the name again.

- "Town Hall: Resolution 50".

- What's the goal of that?

- The goal of that is to explore advocacy through acting where we get to highlight environmental racism, specifically here in Camden, however through, in the state of New Jersey and throughout, and in black and brown communities across the nation.

- Samir, why do you connect, and I remember when I met met you and I listened to you, that it struck me, the connection between the arts and social justice is very real and powerful and poignant for you, why?

- So living in Camden, you're able to see the work up close and personal.

You're able to feel it and you're able to see what people are going through.

And a few years ago, civic engagement was a big part of my life.

I ran for city committee here under former Mayor Moran and I was able to see the city from a different lens.

So being politically involved sparked a different conversation for me and understanding what that looked like in New Jersey, I was able to see what environmental injustice looked like from a different lens.

And when I realized there was something I could do about it by being connected to local educators, local elected officials, I was able to say, our content was based off of real life issues, that we would be able to advocate to New Jersey elected officials and be able to really spark change.

So that's how the connection became.

- Your passion for the arts kicked in when you were pretty young.

- Absolutely.

- What do you think it was and what is it, that passion, what's it all about?

- I think I was exposed to theater at a very early age.

I had an uncle who practically ran the Suzanne Roberts Theater Company in Philadelphia.

So growing up, being able to go into the theater and see productions, you know, he was a house manager on the original "Wiz".

And so being connected to the Philadelphia circuit for all of my, you know, career, from age seven, up until, you know, going to the theater was a part of our recreational activity in my household.

So we saw what that was like.

Our uncle was largely a part of it.

And so when I came to Camden, I met a lady named Desi Shelton-Seck who runs Camden Repertory Theater.

And I saw that Camden artists were doing it.

And so being from Camden, I didn't realize, you know, working in Philly and not seeing so many opportunities in high school, going to art school, Desi exposed me to some of what was happening here and I just merged and blended the two works that I saw on the national level and wanted to give that back here.

- Samir, you talk about giving back.

I'm curious about something.

Going all the way back to how young you were when, as young as you are now, as young as you were when you got connected to turned on by, into the arts, what's it like for you to see young boys and girls, men and women disproportionately, black and brown, connect to the arts at a very young age and discover a side of themselves they may not even knew existed?

I know, I'm probably over complicating it, but... - No, I think I understand what you're saying.

For me for a long time, I wasn't paid to do this work in the arts and so- - You were not?

You were doing it as a volunteer?

- I was not compensated up until this year, we were actually running our first payroll.

And so what happened was, I was able to better put myself in a position to fundraise for the organization but now, I think what I walked away with is wanting my students to understand that they can be compensated.

So we put a system in place where we give all of our high schoolers stipends for being actors and for being on our production crew.

So understanding that there is a labor industry and that it is a workforce that they can enter upon, that was my walk away, that was my heroism.

And so that is why I do what I do.

And so that was my takeaway.

I wasn't compensated.

So I needed to ensure that the next generation would be stronger than I was.

- Speaking of compensation, the Russ Berrie Award is a monetary award.

Question.

What has been the impact of the Russ Berrie Award to you and to the organization?

- Oh, wow.

So folks told me, you should go on vacation.

Folks told me what I should do with the money.

And I was like, hey, I wasn't paid all this time.

So some people were like, look at it as back pay, look at it as this, I'm like, no.

What will happen is when needed, the money is in a secure space right now.

So when needed the money will be filtered back into the artist community whether that looks like donations.

And we just re-administered a re-grant fund for artists here in Camden, under Superior Art.

So we were able to give away COVID relief aside from the Russ Berrie money, but the Russ Berrie money is tucked away for the rainy day as it was given and awarded.

So it'll be there for when we need it in the organization.

And some guilty pleasures will happen but it'll be tucked away for the philanthropic opportunities that I know will need to be in the sector, so to help other agencies.

So I'm here, I'm a voice.

And if anyone needs me, they know where to find me.

I'm right here in Camden.

- This is Samir Nichols, founder and executive director of Superior Arts Institute, 2022 Russ Barrie Making a Difference Award honoree, making a difference every day.

Thank you, Samir.

Wish you all the best.

- Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me.

- You got it.

Thank you so much for watching.

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 The Russell Berrie Foundation.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

Investors Bank.

Rowan University.

Atlantic Health System.

Johnson & Johnson.

The Fidelco Group.

New Brunswick Development Corporation.

And by Summit Health.

Promotional support provided by AM970 The Answer.

And by New Jersey Monthly.

- Hi, I'm Abbie.

You might see me as an ordinary person, but I've been living with a brain injury since 2018.

Opportunity Project gave me hope and I've gained confidence through job skill training and helping my family.

Despite my challenges with memory, I see a possibility to keep improving.

- [Narrator] If you have a brain injury, you don't have to face your road to recovery alone.

Learn more about Opportunity Project and its partnership with Children's Specialized Hospital.