- [Narrator] Funding for this edition of One-On-One with Steve Adubato has been provided by The Turrell Fund, supporting Reimagine Childcare.

PNC, Grow Up Great.

IBEW Local 102.

Lighting the path, leading the way.

Summit Health a provider of primary, specialty, and urgent care.

NJM Insurance Group.

Serving New Jersey's drivers, homeowners and business owners for more than 100 years.

Rowan University.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Everyone deserves a healthy smile.

And by The Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

And by Insider NJ.

- 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, and this segment kicks off a really interesting, compelling series we're starting, and it's simply called New Jersey Leaders Who Matter; Powering Equity and Social Justice, you'll see the, the chyron on throughout the segment.

We kick it off with a good friend and colleague, Rick Thigpen, the senior vice president of corporate citizenship at PSEG.

Good to see you, Rick.

- Good morning, Steve, nice to see you.

- And people say, "What is Thigpen doing on this segment?

Are we talking energy?"

No, not today.

But, we've had Rick on, actually we've had Rick when we did a special on Drumthwacket, which is, by the way, check out our website, steveadubato.org.

He's a historian.

He looks at history, people who matter, not just in New Jersey, but nationally.

And we kick off this particular segment with three people we're going to look at, Rick.

One is former Congresswoman and Ambassador Millicent Fenwick, the late Millicent Fenwick, United States Senator Robert Menendez and the late Reverend Samuel Howard Woodson Jr., who was the first African-American Speaker of the House, Speaker of the Assembly in New Jersey.

Ready to start with Millicent Fenwick?

- So Steve, let me first say it's really a privilege for public service to be involved in talking about equity and social justice in New Jersey.

It's going to make our future brighter, and it's going to remind everybody that our future will be brighter together so we're very happy to do this, and it's a great topic, and no better way to talk about it than to show the excellence that exists in New Jersey and the diverse backgrounds it comes from.

- And by the way, PSEG, big supporter of public broadcast things.

Get that out of the way.

Hey, Millicent Fenwick served in Congress.

There was a Doonesbury cartoon about her.

She was Lacey Davenport.

- Lacey Davenport, yes.

- She smoked a pipe, which she actually did.

But she's a lot more than that, talk about it, Rick.

- Well, she's amazing Steve, and she had over 50 years of her life in public service.

She finally got elected to Congress in her 60s.

She started at, I believe, in the Bernardsville Borough Council.

- That's right.

- And that's rarely the place that you think about when you talk about equity and social justice.

60 Minutes called her an "elegant patrician."

And it's really fantastic that a woman from that background, the Somerset Hills, did so much to advance the cause of equity and social justice during her career.

Very impressive career from running for, you know, she got elected to Congress.

She beat an assemblyman named Tom Cane to fill a seat vacated by a guy named Peter Frelinghuysen.

So with that, you know, excellence comes some amazing political stories.

- Truly an outstanding public servant to come you know, a member of the Republican party comes from the sort of affluent area of the Somerset Hills had quite a background herself.

Her father was appointed ambassador to Spain by Calvin Coolidge.

partly from that, you know, hardscrabble background.

But she developed a real fondness for equity and social justice and human rights during her career.

Apparently it was the behavior of the Nazis the persecution of Jews that really turned her on.

But even in the 1940s, she became a member of the NAACP.

She was a supporter of the equal rights amendment.

She supporter of human rights.

She was a supporter of the food stamp program.

And I really have an outstanding quote from her that I really think captures her.

And I just want to read it to you very briefly.

"I think about my town, my district, my state, my country and my planet.

And then I think we're all in this together.

And somehow we've got to try to work out a justice and peaceful society."

The wisdom, the grace, the commitment to caring about people is just outstanding.

And it's a reminder to everybody that you can come from the Somerset Hills.

You can come from a privileged background you can have great experiences and you can still be a leader in the area of social justice.

- And by the way before we move on, we're showing a real quick clip of Millicent Fenwick to bring her to life.

If you will.

She was considered the conscience of Congress also in the Nixon impeachment proceedings a Republican, Republican president, she stood up.

Let's just say things have changed.

Let's take a quick look at most of them before we move on.

This is Millicent Fenwick.

Steve Adubato a much younger version, 1991.

- [Interviewer] Let's talk about this Tom Kane fight, and with most of them.

- [Woman] Tom was so nice.

- [Interviewer] He was a young Assemblyman.

- [Woman] He was speaker.

- [Interviewer] He was Speaker of the House.

- And young and awfully nice and a friend, - In a Republican primary, - Yeah.

I said, if you win which you probably will next Tuesday.

Count on me.

I'll be quiet, If you don't want me to speak.

I'll speak, if you want speeches.

I'll contribute time or a support.

Because this is really the way politics ought to be.

So there it is Rick, that was Millicent Fenwick.

You ready to move on to Bob Menendez?

Who is a current member of Congress, was a United States representative, was a state Senator, but now the senior United States Senator in New Jersey but he matters talk about it.

- Well, he more than matters.

He's he's a gentleman we all know in New Jersey.

And we forget just how dynamic and how amazing his accomplishments are.

And we start with the fundamentals.

Bob is the child of Cuban immigrants.

He comes from a very tough background.

Union City was his home.

He was elected to the school board at 19.

He was elected mayor of Union City as a young man.

He was the first Hispanic to be elected to the New Jersey general assembly.

He was the first Hispanic to be elected to the New Jersey state Senate after congressional redistricting, and the voting rights act belongs in the conversation.

He was the first Hispanic to be elected to United States House of representatives from New Jersey.

After that, he became the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Senate.

- A lot of firsts Rick, a lot of firsts.

And one more.

He is the first Hispanic to chair, the very powerful United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

So Bob's just an outstanding man.

Who's created some excellence and we take it for granted because we see him all the time but he's worthy of mentioning and we should not forget.

He is the child of immigrants as we go through the debates you hear in the public today.

But remember he was 19 years of age when he ran for the school board in Union City, was it?

- Yes, sir.

- Then he stood up against the machine the Democratic party machine.

And I believe he was wearing a bulletproof vest because it was a rough time.

There was a lot of violence involved and he was testifying against them in criminal proceedings.

Do I have that right, Rick?

- Yes, like Millicent Fenwick passed through her own challenges running against Tom Cane for Congress, and the drama that went with that.

Bob Menendez had quite a lot of drama and taking on the machine in Union City And he ran for mayor once it was unsuccessful, he ran again and he won.

And he faced danger to get where he is.

And it just reminds me of one of those great quotes.

He had to pass themselves through the valley of the shadow of death to get where he is today and what a place where he is today.

It's just amazing to see where Bob Menendez is right now.

- Rick, why don't we keep talking about first But this last person is the Reverend.

The late former speaker of the New Jersey state assembly.

The first African-American to serve as the speaker of the house in New Jersey, Howard Woodson Jr. Talk about him, Rick.

- Another outstanding New Jersian.

An African-American the pastor of Shiloh Baptist church in Trenton known as an eloquent speaker, a man of the people.

A public servant for years both the Trenton city Councilman, president of the NAACP state conference, the assembly minority leader in 1968.

He, he had his own political challenges becoming assembly speaker, but he was not just the, not just the first assembly speaker from New Jersey who was African-American.

We believe he was the first presiding officer of any house in the United States since reconstruction.

So pastor Woodson is the model of the entire nation, pastor Woodson.

He is the model of excellence as a pastor preacher and he's kind of the Adam Clayton Powell of New Jersey, we call it him.

And he was the speaker-.

- From Harlem - From Harlem.

Yes.

Who was the long-time chair of the powerful education labor committee.

He was the assembly speaker after Robinson vs Cahill, this is the school funding case.

So under his speakership, they passed a new school funding formula under the, under the governor under governor Brendan Byrne.

And they finance it by passing the first state income tax.

- Wow.

- Pastor Woodson is a classic example of a pastor preacher, a dutiful public servant.

Brendan Byrne eventually appointed him to be a chair of the civil service commission in New Jersey which gave him responsibility for affirmative action programs and equal employment opportunity programs.

He made a great impact.

He is the origin of the, sort of the seat in Congress held by Bonnie Watson Coleman.

The first African-American female in the state, her father and Howard Woodson were great friends, assemblyman John Watson and pastor Howard Watson were great friends and they did a lot for Trenton and Mercer county politics, but yet another outstanding New Jerseyan who made a great impact on our state.

And this one was African-American.

So having a, sort of a elegant patrician from Somerset county Bedminster, no less, a Cuban immigrant from Union City and an African-American from Trenton.

Is just a reminder, Steve, that excellence comes in all shapes and sizes and genders and that equity and social justice is what's going to make us great together because excellence is about all different types of people.

- Rick.

Before I let you go.

And Rick will be joining us along with a whole range of historians and academics and scholars who understand important leaders.

Again, there'll be mostly New Jersey leaders who have made a difference, powering equity and social justice.

But, we'll have some national people as well, including Dr. Martin Luther king, Malcolm X, so many others but it would be New Jersey centric.

But, Rick, final words.

Why is a series like this so important as we kick it off with these three extraordinarily important individuals - Because, our future is together, Steve and these people with different backgrounds have all shown outstanding accomplishments in their own world.

And I just want to mention two other quick names.

One is the son of Polish and Russian immigrants.

His name is Frank Lautenberg the first Jewish statewide elected official in New Jersey.

And the other one is the gentleman who I consider a second father to myself.

And that is Donald Payne.

Another African-American the first African American to be elected to the house of representatives in New Jersey.

So showing excellence from all backgrounds, Steve we hope that people can embrace a future where we all have a place together, because we all want to see an excellence in our future.

Hey, Rick Thigpen?

This came from a conversation.

Rick and I were brainstorming a few months ago and said, "Hey, what about if we did this and featured all kinds of different people?"

And I know it looks like, "Hey, well, we could just talk about all kinds of people and it'll be regular programming."

No, we wanted to give this a name and a brand.

And that's what we're doing.

Hey Rick, thanks for kicking it off with us.

- Steve I hope catches fire.

I hope everybody begins to talk about how excellence comes in all shapes and sizes.

And there's great examples of it all across our state.

And I look forward to you identifying some of those great examples.

- Because as the late Congresswoman and ambassador Millicent Fenwick said in that clip as Rick said as well, we are all in this together.

Thanks for your I'm Steve Adubato-.

- Conscious of the Congress.

- That's right.

The conscious of Congress 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 now welcome Regina Foley, who was senior vice president of integration transformation Hackensack Meridian Health, PhD, MBA, and also registered nurse.

Do you have any more initials after your name Regina that I don't know about?

- That's it Steve.

- Yes.

And we've known each other a long time and talked about healthcare for a long time and you've been in some leadership seminars I've done.

The one thing I've always known about you is, your commitment to healthcare and taking care of those particularly in difficult times is second to none.

So in that spirit, let me ask you this, biggest lesson you've taken from the COVID experience as we enter summer of 2021 is what?

taking care of yourself and making sure you're maintaining your health because this virus is insidious, it's nasty, and we've got to do a better job with eradicating it, getting rid of it.

So the biggest takeaway was for people to recognize that it's a nasty, ugly virus, and we gotta do a better job making sure we protect ourselves against it.

- There are so many ways people have been impacted.

and I don't mean just medically or in terms of their health, loss of so many lives, emotionally, psychologically a huge part of this, right?

The impact among individuals.

I see among the profession the healthcare providers, nurses, and physicians and technicians for them and their families that the scale has been enormous.

And even among our own neighborhoods those have been impacted by family loss, loss of people, loss of life that we've experienced in the United States.

- Yeah.

And by the disparities the healthcare disparities related to COVID what lessons have we learned?

Well, hopefully learn and moving forward, Regina.

- We've got to do a better job with partnering with the Latin X and African-American communities and those of color.

The communities of color have been three times more impacted, twice more to loss of life, and Latino males are right at the top of that list tragically.

We as a country have got to do a better job being proactive, partnering, resources for those the things associated with social determinants of health.

- You know, quick followup on this, we're taping on May 20th about a month and 1/2 ago, we had Harry Carson from the New York Giants together with Bob Garrett, your CEO talking about vaccine awareness and resistance, and Harry Carson the great all pro hall of fame football player with the New York Giants happens to be African-American, talks specifically to the African-American community.

The resistance, where are we?

Where do we need to be dealing with resistance, particularly in the African-American community to the vaccines?

- Well, we have damaged to deal with, from decades of not treating everyone equally and that damage, you know our memories aren't short there we have long memories.

So again, that's where the better job with African-American communities, really communities of color, whether it's pandemic or even with Hackensack Meridian Health, we're recognizing that social determinants of health is a factor and we're working hard to change us.

Addressing issues, like housing security, or- - What does housing have to do with health care?

- A lot, because it's that hierarchy right?

If you don't have food and shelter and those primary you're not mentally able to deal with, how am I supposed to take care of myself?

Where am I going to live today?

How am I going to get food today?

How do I get the knowledge to be able to take care of myself?

Lack of transportation could be another issue, financial- - So sorry for interrupting Regina, social determinants of health, correct?

- That's correct.

- Regina let me ask you this big picture, because we try not to be timely.

You can check out our program, Spotlight News on NJP BS and also on WNET in New York for the daily activities going on in the news, as well as Metro Focus.

But long-term big picture.

What would you say one of the most significant impacts if you will, plural, of COVID will be on the larger healthcare community?

One huge impact?

- Tele-health.

Tele- health comes right to the top of the heat for me, that during this time where you weren't able to seek out physicians in an office or go to an office setting, instead of bringing the community to practices or to facilities, we need to go to the communities.

And for those that we're serving tele-health is an easy example.

And then the rapidly changing market with urgent care.

Urgent cares, popping up more neighborhood based, locally based, community based.

So to have the provider that's more in your neighborhood that's certainly is one way to go about it, which we're doing nationally.

And then secondly is, just the ability to have tele-health technology available to those, so that they can call into an appointment, see a provider, see a nurse practitioner, see a physician and diagnosed and get treatment plans together.

Those are two major takeaways that have been from this pandemic(indistinct)-.

- Before I let you go Regina, you know nursing better than just about anyone else I know.

We had a guest on from another healthcare system who said, she believed more nurses were gonna be signing up, or more potential nurses signing up.

Do you see that trend?

- I do see that trend.

There's a massive calling for nurses.

There aren't enough providers.

There aren't enough to clinicians nationally.

We are seeing a movement and it is motivated individuals to go into certainly nursing, I'm bias obviously, Steve, you know my background a nurse noble profession, and obviously those with big hearts, but we will see an increase.

The challenge we have is, myself included, nurses are aging out nationally.

The vast majority of nurses practicing are north of 50 years of age.

So therefore we're gonna have to accelerate and do whatever we can do with all of these, whether it be generic programs, how to get people to licensure, to encourage them to make programs easily accessible, and to give options.

So I do think that we will see more nurses in the country, and the horizon.

- That's Regina Foley.

She knows a lot about healthcare.

Thank you, Regina, we appreciate you joining us.

- My pleasure, Steve.

- 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're now joined by Sandy Mitchell, who is the founder and Executive Director of Project Help.

Sandy.

Great to have you with us.

- Thanks, Steve.

Great to be here.

- Tell everyone what Project Help is and why it matters now more than ever.

- Yeah.

Well, Project Help is well, we're a 501(c)3 charity that provides vital services for veterans and their families.

Things like financial support, we provide guidance, helping them through their VA problems, career paths, training for that, just kind of everything that life throws at us.

And it's important, especially for Veterans that are suffering with PTSD and other problems that they have to cope with.

It's really hard for them, you know, you and I can maybe adjust and figure out what to do next, but sometimes their issues, their mental states, are so disoriented that they sometimes can't put one foot in front of the other, and it's really hard for them.

So, when we are able to help with guidance, especially, I mean financial things, that's easy, but the guidance to help them through the traumas that they've lived through and the ones that they're facing now, that's incredibly important work.

It's so important.

And I love it.

I just love helping the vets.

- You know, Sandy, you talk about personal experience, personal trauma.

You understand this, unfortunately, better than most.

Share yours, if you will.

- Sure.

Years ago, back in the Stone Age, I was married to a Vietnam veteran.

And he was, he was a career guy.

And after Vietnam, he decided to quit.

And when he came back, he was, he was very violent.

He was alcoholic.

And he decided that driving a truck over the road was a good career for him.

Which was a really very big mistake.

But anyway, he did that for a little while.

And then one day he called me, he had taken off to go to Florida with a girl that he met.

Anyway, he called me and he said, "Hey, I want to see the kids.

Can I see them?"

I said "Sure."

So, that weekend he stayed with us.

And then, the next weekend I got a phone call from some folks, that used to be my in-laws, and they said, "David's dead."

And I said, "What do you mean he's dead?"

And I thought, "Oh my God, he got into a car crash or something."

No, I found out, after a little while, that he had committed suicide.

And the, and the irony of it is that he told me for years that he would never see 40, and he was going to hang himself.

And I lived with that for a long time.

I never, I, you know, in a way I believed him, but in another way I said, "People don't do that."

And so I just said, "Oh, this can't be.

This can't be."

And when I found out from the guys up in New York State where he was going up to, theoretically, go to work.

I called them and they, they knew me, and they said, "Oh we're so sorry.

We didn't know.

If we had known when he called, we would've gone over."

I said, "What are you talking about?"

They said, "Well, we found him hanging in his hotel room."

I said, "My God."

So that's how I found out.

So it was pretty devastating.

And, and it was tragedy all the way around, for my kids, for me, for the world.

He was a very gifted and talented man.

He had a genius IQ, but he just couldn't, he couldn't get through the PTSD.

And it was just, it ate him up.

- But Sandy, as I'm listening to you, and I'm sure everyone else is listening right now, vast majority of us can't understand or appreciate what you're saying.

We can empathize as best we can.

But then you choose to do this for other Veterans, because?

- Well, because I care about them.

I don't, I don't really want to see other families and other Veterans struggle and suffer the way I did and, I mean, my life wasn't terrible.

I'm not going to be a martyr about it but it was devastating blow.

I mean, I was, I really didn't even have an occupation.

And here I had three kids to support.

So it was a mad dash for some real quick learning.

And you know, it was, it was hard.

But it was, it was, in another way, it pushed me to a point in my life that I never would have gotten to.

So now when I look back at it, I say, "Well, I need to help those Veterans that are in that situation now.

And help those families not to have to go through what I went through."

- Sandy, let me ask you a question.

Like every non-profit, ours as well, we have to raise funds.

Where do your dollars come from?

And by the way, people can go on your website if they want to be helpful.

Go ahead.

- Well, we've been going after some, some corporate grants which we've been pretty successful with some of the big companies.

The unions have been really good to us.

The utility companies have been really good to us.

- I think the IBEW Local 102, our friends there told us about you.

I know they care deeply.

- They are wonderful.

They are so wonderful to us.

They really pushed us over the top two years ago with a huge donation.

- Bernie and Pat, and that team are good people.

- Good people.

And I love those guys.

And they, last year they saved our butts when we did our Christmas toy drive.

And you know, with COVID, we couldn't get, we couldn't find any toys.

Everybody was afraid to come out.

They bailed us out.

They stuffed our bus.

And our bus is a 38 foot school bus that we had converted.

And it was filled from top to bottom, front to back with toys that they donated.

It was amazing.

- You would not be able to do this without people who make a difference and care and want to be there.

But before I let you go, biggest misconception about Veterans is?

- I think that people think that they're in control of themselves because they've been in the military, but truth be.

(Steve laughs) - No, it's true.

People think, "Well they're very disciplined and they're very brave."

Well the truth is, they are very disciplined and regimented as long as they have somebody telling them what to do, and yelling orders at them.

But, take that away, and all of a sudden they become children again.

They don't know how to cope with the world.

And I think people don't realize that.

And they think that because they fall upon hard times that they must be, you know, kind of lazy or people that just don't care.

And they just have no idea what these Vets go through.

- Hey Sandy, I want to thank you, for not just joining us, but sharing a very powerful message about Project Help.

And Project Help, we have the website up.

Hopefully you check it out.

You find a way to make a difference yourself.

And Sandy to you and everyone in the organization, we wish you all the best.

- Well, thank you very much.

Thanks for having me on.

- You got it.

I'm Steve Adubato.

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 Turrell Fund, supporting Reimagine Childcare.

PNC, Grow Up Great.

IBEW Local 102.

Summit Health NJM Insurance Group.

Rowan University.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

And by The Adler Aphasia Center.

Promotional support provided by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association.

And by Insider NJ.

- I'm Tim Sullivan, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Since joining the NJEDA, I've been struck by the incredible assets and resources that New Jersey has to offer.

The NJEDA is working every day to grow New Jersey's economy in a way that maximizes the values of those assets to benefit every single New Jersey resident.

This includes more support for small businesses and a focus on reclaiming New Jersey's position as a leader in the innovation economy.

Visit njeda.com to learn more about how NJEDA is building a stronger and fairer New Jersey economy.