Annc: Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld, LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation, is proud to support Rob on the Road -— Region Rising.

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Rob: Did you know the California Conservation Corps is the oldest and largest conservation corps in the entire country?

It develops thousands of young people, and the citizens with character, credentials, and commitment.

My guest today is the director, Bruce Saito.

He joins us for Rob at Home, coming up next.

Annc: And now, Rob on the Road, exploring Northern California.

Rob: Hi there.

Welcome to Rob at Home.

I'm Rob Stewart.

It is great to see you here this week.

So much to tell you right now about a wonderful organization called the California Conservation Corps.

It is a state agency.

Listen to this-— it offers young men and women, 18 to 25 years old, a genuine, real, hands -on chance to gain skills and training that can lead to a fascinating career and meaningful lives.

Corps members are paid for their year of service, or year of working, and it ranges from environmental projects, doing natural resource work, and responding to natural and man-made emergencies-— something we have seen a lot, lately, when it comes to wildfires.

Bruce Saito, it's great to see you here.

Thank you for joining us.

Bruce: Thank you.

Thanks for having me.

Rob: Bruce, I have to say I... I-— start right off with the recent fires that we have seen in California-— and... and, frankly, throughout the west-— but, specifically, through California, for this program.

And I have to say I was just in Tahoe and as I was coming down the hill, I saw your sign, "California Conservation Corps," and I Googled that location, and the video I found of your corps members fighting the fire right there, because they live on campus, uh, fighting the fire that was in their own backyards really shook me.

What a... what a phenomenal group of people!

And these are young people fighting the fires.

Tell me about that.

Bruce: Well, it's exactly like I said.

Our young folks at our Tahoe Residential Center were out there-— they had to actually evacuate-— but they were already fighting fires.

They were also providing, uh, fire camp support to forests throughout the states.

Um, so, if you can imagine just being challenged at your own residence with the threat of fires-— That was the Caldor Fire.

Um, we were right at that residential center, right off the 50 freeway, um, not only fighting the fires, but, uh, really having to, uh, live up to the challenge of... of dealing with these life, kind of, changes.

Um, and it's been an incredible year and, uh, just like many, many years before that, uh, young folks responding to emergencies, uh, young folks, uh, responding to the call to service.

Rob: You know, um, I...

I will talk more about the Tahoe fire in a moment, but I do want to jump into what exactly the corps is.

Bruce: You know, young folks, um, faced with just incredible challenges in their life, growing up, and being able to really live their dream and... and find success through the service and training opportunities.

So, I think that's the, really, the essence of the appeal to young folks is that they can live up to, they can meet those challenges head -on-— like these fires that we're talking about-— and really, uh, make something out... out of their own lives, um, and serve-— while serving their communities at the same time.

Rob: Who should join?

Who should look at this?

Bruce: I think every young person, 18 to 25 years old, that's really looking for an experience.

You know, our challenge right now, um, post-COVID, is that, um, there's a lot of jobs out there, but this isn't just a job.

This is really, um, a year of service where a young person is-— if they're concerned about just making, uh, money, you know, that's important.

You got to be able to take care of yourself and your family, but it really is the experience that really captures, I think, um, the imagination and the lure of young folks.

And with that experience comes, like, you know, the ability, or chance, to fight fires, uh, fire-— uh, provide camp support in fires, build trails, plant trees, uh, develop parks, really do something good for your community and the state of California.

Rob: I read that if you have hiked in California, there's a good chance you have hiked... Bruce: That'’s right.

Rob: ...somewhere that the California Conservation Corps has had a direct impact on.

Bruce: That's right.

You know, I'm very proud to say over our 45-year history, we have constructed thousands of miles of trails, whether they be California State Park trails, uh, Federal Government-— with Department of Interior-— National Park Service, United States Forest Service, local and state-— uh, local city and county parks, uh, trails all throughout the state.

And, yes, we're really good at it.

It's really one of those another experiences-— If you can imagine a young person, um, young person from south L.A., uh, signing up to work on our Backcountry Trail Program for the summer, like, from April to-— through September, uh, living in backcountry in Yosemite for five months-— Really, it's more than just a physical challenge, uh, because, you know, typical day you'll hike into a trail three or four miles, and then you'll work on that trail all day, bustin' rock, really, pushin' rocks, or really digging into the soil.

Um, and you-— That's... that's just one day.

You do that for about five months.

Um, it's not just the physical challenge, but it's the emotional, it's the team, kind of, challenge.

It's all the things that go into making that-— developing that strong character that, uh, is what the California Conservation Corps is all about.

Rob: Now, the... the CCC, or the California Conservation Corps, is the oldest and largest conservation corps in the country.

Uh, you may have heard of AmeriCorps or City Year, uh, service organizations that are for a year, sometimes more.

Um, but this-— what we're talking about now, the CCC-— is the oldest and largest in the country.

And there is something about coming together as one, particularly at that age, that dramatically impacts somebody for the rest of their life.

Would you agree?

Bruce: Absolutely, Rob.

I mean, that is what-— That's the esprit de corps.

You know, that, sometimes, young folks might get that from, uh, uh, service through their country.

Um, but in this case, uh, service through the California Conservation Corps.

It's that, you know, working together with people from all different backgrounds, from all different walks of life, that you typically, or normally, wouldn't, uh, come across that path of another person.

But you're working as a team.

And... and using the trail construction as a kind of analogy here, is that one person can't construct that trail alone.

It takes a team of-— a crew, or a team of 10 or 15 people working together, putting aside their differences, um, and putting aside some of their... their prejudices and bias, to really accomplish something that's, uh, really cool to see in the end.

That's done as a team, uh, that'’s, uh, the contribution of many individuals.

Rob: I...

I love that because, at that age, if you can get someone wrapped in the reality, which is real, that we are-— we have so much more in common than we-— than separates us.

Bruce: Yep.

Rob: And when you're involved in the field and working hand-in-hand, and the ground, and the air, it makes the biggest difference in life.

You've seen that time, and time again.

And I want to go back to Tahoe, to the story that I...

I mentioned at the top, because I walked-— no clue that you had just done this, you know, two blocks away-— but I walked that neighborhood, um, including the road Apache, where you guys were working so hard.

And you were side-by-side with Cal Fire.

How in the world are you able to do that?

Bruce: I...

I think the reason for our success, but what has taken some time to develop, is that we have this open and honest relationship, and that we know that just like the corps members depend on each of their fellow crew members, Cal Fire depends on us.

You know, there's no egos there.

It doesn't matter if you're with the National Guard, the California Conservation Corps, United States Forest Service.

You have a task at hand, and you don't have time to... to bicker over differences.

You... you have to work as a team, because if you don't, then that, uh, Meyers community burns up.

Um, or those other communities like that, they burn up, and you lose, uh, life and property.

And that's what we don't want to see.

So, it takes that ultimate commitment by individuals, by every corps member, and by every CCC staff, that this is a team effort.

And if we work together, we're going to accomplish great things.

Rob: So, I want to ask you something about the state of California.

And so, we see it today, but had we not had the California Conservation Corps, what would we be missing?

And all these years before now?

Bruce: Uh, obviously I'm truly bias in... in this situation, but, you know, there would be 130,000 young folks that-— Some would have made it, regardless of me or the other staff at the CCC, uh, but, uh, many of those 130,000, uh, young folks that have come through the California Conservation Corps since 19, uh, 77, 1976, 1977, um, have built back character, have gone on to careers, jobs, have raised family, have a better understanding of nature, uh, understand better than anyone, now, uh, the effects of climate change, and they're invested and, I think, um, really good citizens of the state of California and the United States of America.

And I think, uh, without that, there would have been that missed opportunity, because nobody else has done this.

I mean, now, yeah.

You mentioned AmeriCorps, and some of the, um, other organizations that have come forward in the past 20 or 30 years, but, um, this is an important thing to do.

And, uh, there would have been a lot, uh, a lot of lives that would have not... not-— would have not been changed by this experience.

Rob: That's a beautiful explanation of... of the personal side of what the California Conservation has brought, not only to California, but the region, when you talk about 130,000-— I'm sorry, the... the nation, when you talk about 130,000 people.

But now, as far as, physically, in... in the state, we would not have had some of the fantastic trails we have, there would have been fires that would not have been fought to the degree possibly without the corps.

List some of those things for me, your projects.

Bruce: Well, the thousands of miles of trails that we talked about got reconstructed all throughout the state.

The thousands and millions of trees that, uh, we've, uh, planted, uh, post, uh, recovery fires, as well as in urban communities.

The, um, the thousands and thousands of... of acres that were treated or, uh, dealt with, uh, post-fire to remove fuels, in preparation for, uh, preventing fires.

Um, the, again, the 130,000 lives that have been touched.

And then, you know, like the old saying goes, those 130,000 that then touch 10-— each touch 10 people, and then they touch 10 more, and... and on, and on, and on.

So, just the incredible amount of natural resource work that we've done just last year, alone, and it was a heavy fire season.

Uh, we contributed more than 1,100,000 emergency, uh, corps member emergency hours thtough last year's fires.

And, uh, this year, even though we've had a significant rain recently, we're on the track to recover, or produce as many-— those same million hours or so-— corps member service hours to the state of California.

Rob: So, your 2020, uh, accumulation of hours was huge, and now, you're 2021 is... is on record to be just as... as much, if not bigger.

Bruce: Yes.

Rob: Hopefully not bigger.

Bruce: Well, hopefully, in a strange way.

But yeah, yeah.

Hopefully not more.

Rob: Um, I-— Picking up on that, your personal story is phenomenal, to me, and it's an example of a life changed by the California Conservation Corps.

I was doing some research on you before this interview, and I saw a story about you, where someone called you-— and many others said the same thing-— "the angel of Los Angeles."

What... what does that make you feel, and can you explain that to us?

Bruce: Well, it makes me feel incredibly proud and... and, um, um, you know, it's... it's why I do what I do.

I mean, I think that was, uh, Mayor Villaraigosa that, uh, designated me a... an "angel of Los Angeles" one year.

Rob: Who?

Who was that?

Bruce: Uh, Mayor Villaraigosa.

Rob: Mmhmm.

Bruce: Um, but I mean, it's... it's-— I appreciate it, you know, I'm em-— somewhat embarrassed by it, but, um, it's really just a great honor to-— Even if one person, even if one mayor recognized me, or thought of me as that "angel of Los Angeles," um, it's pretty incredible, um, uh, recognition, and it's something that, uh, I'll...

I'll never forget.

You know, I've been doing this for 45 years, and I do it because of... of the young folks... those, um, many thousands of corps members that have come across my path, and that I've had the... the luxury and opportunity to work with.

Uh, just today, I met a young person here at our Los Angeles center that, uh-— David, uh, just pulled me aside and said, "You know, my mom-— I...

I told my mom and dad I saw you yesterday.

They were corps members for you 25 years ago," and that's just-— makes me feel old, and it'll be-— I'll feel really old when those grandparents start-— or grandkids start coming to me.

But it's-— It is what I-— the reason I do what I do, to... to not-— Th... That's what the corps is about, to enrich the lives of those young folks.

Rob: And you were called and named an... an "angel of Los Angeles" for all of your service, and let's jump into that service.

Tell me about your personal story with the corps, how you started, and how you got to the top.

Bruce: Well, I, um-— Yeah.

So, it was something I never planned for, but, again, I started in the California Conservation Corps in, uh, 1977, um, six months or so after the CCC was first established by then-first time governor, Jerry Brown, in, um, July of 1976.

Um, I had just finished college and, uh, it took me a long time to get done with college.

It was like seven or eight years.

I was having fun.

Uh, I was in the San Francisco area and, uh, life was good.

And when I-— I finished college and I was moving back to Southern California and I was thinking about teaching, and then somebody called and said, "Hey, you gotta try this new thing that the governor--— Gov...

Governor Brown created, the CCC."

And, for me, it was... it was, back then, and still is, the perfect job, that I get to work outdoors.

You know, certainly, as the director, I'm indoor... indoors in the office doing more administrative duties.

But, uh, just as an example, um, every time I might get a little cooped up being indoors, uh, I'll get out and visit our centers.

So, last week, I was visiting our Ukiah center in Mendocino County.

I just loved the... the work ethic part of it.

I loved the personal development part of it.

I loved working outdoors, and so that led me to the next step of being a manager, what we call a "Conservationist II."

Then I was really, really fortunate, um, about 35 years ago, to help start up the first urb-— we called it the "first urban core," deep in south L.A. and east Los Angeles, and, um, uh, I did that.

Um, and then, that, uh, kind of motivated me to then, uh, start the nonprofit Los Angeles Conservation Corps in south Los Angeles, because I found, at that time, there could be 10 different, uh, nonprofit L.A. Conservation Corps centers, just in L... L .A.

County, you know, a county of 10 million people.

But I'm always, you know-— try to keep my roots as the, you know-— being that hands -on crew supervisor.

I work hard, try to ema-— emulate, as best as I can, that work ethic of the CCC, um, and really share it with young folks.

And so, um, uh, today, as an example, it's, uh, 44 years later.

I'm in the office at, uh, 5:30 this morning, um, uh, before the young folks get in, and I'm there with them and th-— as they prepare for the day.

Um, and then that just-— Um, I worked about 30 years at the L.A. Conservation Corps, the nonprofit, and I was about to retire, but I just thought I had a little bit more left in the gas tank so, I applied for the California Conservation Corps director, and I came back in September of 2015, because I really thought I could make a difference.

And I really thought I could, uh, still do something good for the CCC.

And so I was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown, ironically, um, his last hurrah.

And, uh, I've been here, uh, for, now, six years really thinking and really making changes, policy changes.

Um, I'm happy to say, um, when I came back six years ago, while we-— I wasn't happy that we didn't allow or enroll young folks on probation or parole.

But two or three years ago, we got a legislator to change that, and to create more opportunities for folks, to create more opportunities for foster youth, to create more opportunities for not just young folks, but women and LGBTQ communities, and, um, everybody and anybody.

And that's what I think keeps me going, and I think that's my greatest role as the director of the CCC in these last few years.

Rob: When it comes to your story, you talked about the beginning, and where you are now.

For you, what has been the throughline of it all?

Bruce: Well, I think we do everything with, um, humility.

Rob: But you.

You.

Bruce: Yeah, me.

And I try to... try to transfer that, or personify that, um, you know, give that message to the young folks.

Um, you know, I don't get out to see every one of the 1,600 corps members we have but, hopefully, you know, that's the message that I'm sending.

Um, and that it's not just about the hard work, you know?

'Cause I... I-— Yeah, I have, I think, a pretty decent work ethic.

We try to, um, emulate that, or... or make-— send that message to the young folks.

But, I think, most important-— You know, I started to talk about, you know, diversifying our ranks and... and the people.

You know, the CCC is for everybody and anybody.

And I strongly believed-— and, uh, again, I spent a good part of my career working in south Los Angeles and east L .A., some of the toughest communities in California.

But I believed, you know, even-— Any person, uh, is at risk.

I don't use that term "youth at risk," because I believe any person-— white, black, brown.

Asian-— you know, as soon as you step out of your door, that you are at risk, that you could be-— that anything and everything can happen to you, that the lure of drugs and substance abuse, that the... the issues of COVID and... and the... the trauma that we've all gone through-— Those are hard things to deal with.

So, if we can-— If I can do anything to make those opportunities, uh, for young folks, then I'm doing my job, and I'm going to continue to do that and that's going to continue to resonate throughout the entire California Conservation Corps.

You know, I make it a point to speak to every new employee that's hired into the CCC, and give 'em the sum of this presentation-— sum of this rap, and I make it a point to speak to as many corps members that I'm staying on message, um, and I'm doing what they think-— I'm responding to their needs, and I make it a point to get to know every one of the staff-— not as... as well as I think I should-— but all the staff, to hear what they're saying, again, to make sure that, uh, we're staying on message and that we're providing the best opportunities for the young folks in the state of California.

Rob: Is there something that you feel like that is on your heart, that you have to share-— something that must be, you know, given freely from you?

Bruce: Yeah, well-— Rob: You had a message.

What is it?

Bruce: Well, so, I-— You know, I...

I told you, I came back into the CCC six years ago.

So, technically, I'm a "second chance-er," and, uh-— Now, I strongly believe that, um, I've been given a lot of opportunity and second, and third, and fourth, and fifth chances.

You know, we're so hard on young folks.

You know?

Like, you-— I mean, even the CCC, you know, we've... we've gone from a really, pretty militaristic kind of organization to really clawing at the heartstrings a little bit more and trying to understand people and folks a little bit more.

And so, what I'm getting to is that, um, I really, you know, believe that I've screwed up so many times in my life-—and I... and I've had two great parents.

You know, both of them, my mom and dad are gone now, but-— You know, think of... you know, think of a person that didn't have that kind of, uh, experience, at least have that support system in place, and think about a person that-— or a person like me that did have that, um, those-— that kind of support, but still managed to screw up.

And I'm just so damn lucky that I'm standing here today, that those screw-ups didn't get the best of me.

And that's how I look at our young folks that we work with, you know?

That's why bringing on folks on probation or parole-— not a ton of '‘em-— but, you know, giving folks that second chance, because I know there's a whole bunch of corps members that were just darn lucky they didn't get... get caught, or didn't get busted that one time where they took a chance, or they're fortunate enough to be where they are today.

And that was-— that's not the case for that young person on probation or parole, and I think that young person on probation or parole, like me, have learned from those experiences, and are grateful for being here today, and really can, uh, work to make, uh, the experience of all the other corps members, and all the other staff people at CCC, and all the... the experiences for the general public that much better, um, where we all are, uh, you know, that--— in my wildest of dreams, an ideal world, that, uh, we're going to be a better world.

We're going to be healthier.

We're going to treat each other better, and that, um, and that, again, for me, is personified in the California Conservation Corps.

Rob: You really are a powerful message.

Um, and, you know, when I was coming up with a way to explain this entire program in the series, I boiled it down to one thing: human beings helping others with being human.

And you personify that to the letter, and I see why you were called an "angel of Los Angeles."

I really, really do.

It's because you are real, and you believe in second chances, and you know the power of working together.

Bruce: Thank you.

Rob: Bruce, it has been such a pleasure to speak with you, here, on Rob at Home.

Uh, Bruce Saito from Los Angeles right now with the California Conservation Corps.

You're at one of the many offices you have across the state, but we're so glad you're with us right now.

Thank you.

Bruce: Rob, thanks for having me.

It's been a... a great, uh, pleasure to speak to you-— with you and share my inner soul.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Rob: I'm grateful that you did share your inner soul.

We will see you next week, right here, on Rob at Home, as well as everywhere on your favorite social media platform.

♪♪ Annc: Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld, LLP, focusing on business law and commercial litigation, is proud to support Rob on the Road -— Region Rising.

More information available at murphyaustin.com.