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

Making a difference.

Seton Hall University.

Showing the world what great minds can do since 1856.

The New Jersey Education Association.

PNC, Grow Up Great.

The Turrell Fund, supporting Reimagine Childcare.

Holy Name.

This place is different.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

And by Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Everyone deserves a healthy smile.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ, informing and connecting businesses in New Jersey.

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) - So the world of public broadcasting, PBS.

We're all honored, any one of us connected to public broadcasting to introduce Sonia Manzano, an actor, author, speaker, a lifetime Emmy Award recipient, and you may recognize her as Maria, Sesame Street.

Can't be right.

44 years?

- Yes.

Remarkable.

I was on that show with Big Bird, and Oscar the Grouch, and tormenting me for 44 years, and I live to tell the tale.

(Steve laughing) (Sonia laughing) - How great the experience of being a part of this iconic, extraordinary show, Sesame Street?

- Well, as you could imagine, it was just remarkable.

It had personal meaning for me.

I was raised in the Bronx in the fifties, watching a lot of television at a time when Latin people, and people of color were not in the media.

We were not represented in any way, and I certainly did, on some unconscious level, wonder what I was gonna contribute to a society that was blind to me.

So when I got on Sesame street, it was boom.

They saw the need, and I was there to become my own role model in essence, which is what I became, but for all the children who finally had the opportunity of seeing someone who looked like them, that was thrilling.

- How'd you break in?

How did you break that barrier?

- You know, I wish I had a dramatic story to tell, but I was doing, you know, the most important work.

- It's hard work.

- Oh, yeah, it's hard work.

I forgot that.

I forgot that, but the most important things happen to you when you're not paying that much attention.

I was in a show called Godspell.

I was in the original company, and the show, Sesame Street had wonderful role models for African-American children, which was their target audience to reach, and in the sixties, everybody had a political platform.

An activist on the west coast said, "You should have, you should have a role models for the Latino."

We were called Spanish people in those days then, not Latinx, or Latin, or whatever, and you know, and so when Sesame Street, and PBS kind of stepped up to the plate, and said, "Sure, you got it," and I got cast as Maria, and Emilio Delgado got cast as Luis, the Chicano from the west coast.

- You know, we didn't have you on to talk politics, and I'm not gonna talk politics, but I am gonna ask you something.

- I may not answer.

- That's okay.

That's okay.

It's only because as we taped this right around Thanksgiving, 2021, it will be seen later.

There are some people, some prominent folks in DC in elective office, who actually said, you know, "Sesame Street, you know, they're Communists?"

(Sonia laughing) And I hear you laughing, because any one of us who grew up with Sesame Street or who are kids or kids who grew up with Sesame Street, and I'm thinking, "Huh?"

Does it, is it funny to you, or something else when people connect Sesame Street to politics?

'Cause that ain't what it's about.

- I know.

It never has been.

In all of the years that I was on that show, you know, whoever was in the White House was whoever, we went to the Easter egg roll event, and we went to the holiday celebrations.

It was never a thought that crossed our minds who, whose white house you should attend, and whose you shouldn't, so it's really kind of a, I think it's a reach, and it makes me laugh, and because it's never been about that.

- You know, your journey, you know, your story, and the book, your memoir, Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx, your father, an alcoholic.

Your mom was physically abusive, and you survived that, and thrived.

What impact do you believe it has had on you?

- You know, I think that people often say to me, "You overcame this childhood to become a success on Sesame Street," but I believe that I embraced it, meaning I never forgot it.

I always remembered the comfort that I used to find watching television, the how I used to sort of, you know, lose myself in westerns, and Father Knows Best, and Leave It to Beaver, and the stories that they told, and the order that those shows had, even though I wasn't reflected, as I said.

I can complain about it, but I also found a lot of comfort in it, and I never forgot that becoming Maria.

I always assumed there was some kid out there in the same situation I was in, watching me, and expecting the comfort that I received from watching television.

- You thought, wait, so Sonia, you thought a lot about the responsibility you had to be, I'm using the term role model.

It's such a cliche, but to be a role model, and so much more, no?

- Well, I didn't think of it as a role model.

I thought of it as being sincere.

Really remember what happened, and really remember what you thought when you were watching television, and the producer was John Stone, at that time.

I remember one day I was in my early moments on the show, I was wearing makeup, because they put makeup on you, and when you're 21, you don't need a lot of makeup.

And John Stone came in, and he pulled me into the makeup room, and he said, "I go through all the trouble of hiring a real person, and you make her up to look like a Kewpie doll."

Well, the makeup artist was flabbergasted, and she was taking all my makeup off, and I realized, "Oh, these people aren't kidding.

They really do want a real person who looks as regular, like a kid, you know, in the street as, they weren't kidding."

Well, I ran with it.

Once I understood that, I ran with that, and so that meant being very unslick, talking the way that I talked, being sincere in all the emotions that I presented.

That's what it was, not being a role model, per se.

- How much of Sesame Street was quote "scripted, " versus any degree of being able to ad-lib?

- There was a lot of ad-libbing.

There was a lot of- - Really?

- Yeah, there was, and it was because John Stone would come in with the script, and he'd say, "Oh, this is overwritten.

Say this.

This is what this bit is about," and then we would kind of rewrite it right on the spot, and then he would, he would shoot it.

So the rehearsal kind of veered a lot away from the script, not what the script was about, but how it was presented.

Now, the Muppet pieces were very carefully scripted when, you know, Ernie and Bert, like in their house, and those, those inserts were very carefully scripted.

- It's, let me do this, because I want to ask you about Alma's Way in just a second, but we're doing this special on the New Jersey Education Association Convention in Atlantic City.

You were a keynote speaker there.

What was that experience like for you?

- Well, it was great.

I always take these speaking opportunities to re-examine what I'm doing, and their theme was justice was in their theme, and so I- - Racial, social equity?

- Racial, social equity, and justice, and I remembered how, my own political awakening, and I remembered seeing the Young Lords, and embracing my own culture, because it was the first time I had seen a political activism that had to do with being Puerto Rican, which is what I am, and so I, you know, I took them, and they really gave me a gift, because I took the opportunity to re-examine my own political awakening, or being proud of who I was as an American in- - Tell me about Alma's Way.

- Alma's Way is a animated show for preschoolers, debuting on PBS kids.

It already has debuted on October 4th.

I never would've thought of creating a kids' show.

I'd rather stick a pin in my eye after Sesame Street.

That's a tough act to follow, right?

- Yeah, what do you do for an encore?

- I know.

Oh, please, and it was this huge show, I mean, but Linda Simensky from PBS Kids asked me to create a Latin family show, and so I did.

I made them Puerto Rican.

I am New Yorican.

I made them in the South Bronx, 'cause that's what I knew.

But the theme of it was left up to me, and I noticed that a lot of kids were turned off to school before they even discovered the joys of thinking, because they were asked to memorize, and because they had to take so much tests.

They were tested all the time.

So I said, "Whoa, let's take a step back."

This is the theme of the show.

Everybody has a brain.

Everybody can think things through, it's not all about memorizing, and getting information.

It's what you do with that information, and that is the goal of Alma's Way.

- It is, Lin-Manuel is involved?

- Well, he wrote the theme.

He wrote the theme, which is fabulous.

You know, I remembered his line from Hamilton, where the character says, Alexandra Hamilton says, "I'm not stupid," because he didn't go to the colleges that all the other leaders had gone to, and it's a wonderful way he could, Lin-Manuel has the capacity of saying with three words, what it takes most of us 50 words to say.

(Steve laughing) Well, who's who could write a theme song better than him?

He got all the thoughts in, you know, this 50-second theme song.

I wanted (indistinct).

I wanted Puerto Rican this.

I wanted hip hop, because it takes place in the Bronx, and I wanted the theme about thinking, and he absolutely did that, and then Bill Sherman, of course, the composer of the music was able to combine styles so seamlessly also.

- Amazing.

By the way, check out Lin-Manuel's interview on Metro Focus with our, my great friend and colleague, Rafael P. Roman, just really good stuff.

Listen, before I let you go, do you ever get tired of people coming up to you, and telling you the impact you have had on their life playing Maria?

Do you ever get tired of that?

- Yes, but there's only one, (Steve laughing) there's only one thing that's gonna make me feel worse is when they stop coming up to me and telling me what the impact I had on their lives as Maria.

(chuckles) - Well, I asked for a selfish reason.

For our kids, for so many other kids, thank you.

For parents of those children, and for so many grandparents, let me just say thank you, and you honor us by being with us.

You honor the public broadcasting family, and you've made a huge difference, and than that Emmy behind you is just- - Oh, this old thing.

(chuckles) - Oh, yeah, this old thing.

Well, it doesn't even do justice to your work.

Thank you so much, Sonia.

- Thank you.

Music to my ears.

Lovely talking to you.

- Well done.

Thank you.

I'm Steve Adubato.

That is Sonia Manzano, and this is why I love to do this show, because where else would I meet Maria?

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

- We're now joined by Jennifer Papa, who joins us once again; she was with us a while back.

She's the founder and executive director of a great organization called City Green.

Good to see you, Jennifer.

- Hi, Steve.

- Tell everyone what City Green is, as we put the website up.

- Sure, City Green is an urban farming and gardening nonprofit organization, so we work to create increased access to healthy food, and garden spaces, and beautiful natural spaces in our communities.

- You know, we met you through the Russ Berrie award program for Making a Difference.

You won the award in 2013, if I'm not mistaken?

- That's right.

Yes.

- And you've gone on to do really great things since we first met each other.

In fact, there's a $500,000 grant that City Green has been awarded from the United States Department of Agriculture to do, what exactly?

- So, this is a grant for what is called our nutrition incentive program.

It's called the Good Food Buck program.

So, this funds a program that supports shoppers when they spend their SNAP dollars.

So SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

We formally know it as food stamps.

And so, when people spend these federal food benefit dollars at a participating Good Food Buck program partner which is a farmer's market or supermarket, they get twice as many fruits and vegetables for every dollar they spent of their SNAP dollars.

- Jennifer, help people understand.

We do a lot of programming around urban issues, if you will; actually we're gonna be kicking off a series called Urban Matters in the near future.

Why does the issue, or the issues, that you're talking about, why do they disproportionately matter in urban areas?

Explain that to folks.

- Sure, well, the program is statewide, so we work with anybody who's spending SNAP dollars.

But in the urban centers, it's even more important, because there are much less access to healthy food stores and retailers, and obviously farmers markets.

So this way, when people have these federal food benefits, they can, you know, use this and get access to healthy food that they can't find at their local corner store.

- You know, every not-for-profit, your organization, our organization, as it relates to COVID, two years plus, we struggled fundraising.

It's just-- any not-for-profit, any business, but a not-for-profit especially...

The issue of food insecurity, and more and more people becoming food insecure, how has it changed the work of City Green?

- I think two things.

One is that people seem to understand our work a lot more.

It's much clearer to people, you know, why this work is necessary.

Because this really helps people in their pocketbooks.

They actually get an extra dollar worth of food for every dollar that they're spending at the store.

So even in tough economic times, people could access healthy, nutritious food, and not rely on, you know, lower-priced processed food.

In the pandemic, it was also about local food, because there were supply-chain issues and things like that.

And so, people came to us and really started having an understanding of why this local source of food is important.

- I'm gonna ask you, in a second, about the fundraising aspect of this, 'cause the Russ Berrie Foundation, also the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, two organizations that support us as well, they have talked to us about you, as well, The Healthcare Foundation.

But, I'm curious about this, before I go into the fundraising part of it, your passion for this work comes from where?

- Hmm, I just really believe that everybody should have access to healthy, good food.

I feel like it should not be a right or, like, that it is a right, and should not just be a privilege, that anybody anywhere should be able to feed their family the kinda food that they find culturally relevant, and that they find is nutritious for their families.

I just feel really strongly about that.

And, you know, this is one way, besides other programs we run, like community gardening or school gardening where people can be in touch with their food, and really make choices that are right for them.

- What do you mean, school gardening?

- We work with schools all over the state of New Jersey to build school gardens and train teachers to be able to run educational programs in them.

So we're starting right with Farm to Preschool, little kids growing vegetables.

We always say that if they grow it, they eat it, you know?

They pull a carrot outta the ground, they're more likely to eat it.

And so, this is putting kids in touch with fresh, healthy food, right from the start.

- That's awesome, again, let's put up the website for City Green.

Go back to the fundraising question.

I've said this on the air many times, we spend a lot of time...

It would be great if we could just produce programming in connection with our colleagues at public television.

It would be great if we could just do that, but we can't.

The old expression, you know better than I do, "No money, no mission," right?

- No, that's right.

(laughs) - How much time do you spend raising money, and how important is that, now more than ever, for a not-for-profit like yours?

- It's incredibly important.

And, you know, we have the person who's running our food access, Good Food Buck program is also writing grants.

The two of us write all of the grants, and we write the grants to the USDA, and we had to raise a dollar-per-dollar match to leverage that federal funding for that USDA grant.

So that's where Russ Berrie Foundation, and the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, and Partners for Health Foundation, and many others came in.

We had to go to all of our traditional funders, and find new ones to get them all on board.

Because without that dollar-per-dollar match we wouldn't've been able to leverage that $500,000 grant.

- That's right, and you also got a $250,000 grant, what is that grant, and what is that for?

- This is for an entirely different project, It's from the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Disabilities.

And so, this was to make our location in Clifton, We have a Farm Eco-Center there, on Grove street in Clifton.

And we have a learning farm, and we have public programming there.

This is to make it more accessible.

We're putting in all-new paver pathways, we're building raised beds that are more accessible to people who have mobility issues.

It's just gonna be an incredible benefit so that all of our programming can be accessible, no matter what your ability.

- And what did you call it, the- - Really excited about that.

- I'm sorry for interrupting, there's a little bit of a delay.

Jennifer, what'd you call it, a farm ecosystem?

- Farm Eco-Center is the name of- - Is the name, I'm sorry.

- Yeah, The City Green Farm Eco-Center is our headquarters in Clifton.

- Important stuff- - And so, this grant, it's called Inclusive Healthy Communities for the State of New Jersey.

- Inclusive Healthy Communities.

If people wanna find out more, one more time we'll put up City Green's website.

Jennifer, cannot thank you enough for joining us.

But way more importantly, for the work that you and your colleagues at City Green are doing.

Thank you so much, Jennifer.

- Thank you, thank you so much for the opportunity to share it.

- 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 are honored to be joined by Rosa Zaremba, who is Founder and President of the Mexican Alliance of New Jersey, and also a Russ Berrie Making a Difference awardee.

Rosa, it's so good to see you?

- Thank you.

Thank you, for having me here.

- Tell us exactly what the alliance is, and its connection to the Berrie Awards?

- Sure.

So, the Mexican Alliance of New Jersey, or we go by MA of New Jersey because we're open to everyone, not just Mexican or from the Mexican background roots.

And the alliance was really formed to help students, high school and college students who navigate the system, the pathway to high school, college, what's after college.

The thinking of really experiencing in overall, a well-rounded understanding of what potentially they can go into a career, or find a way.

Many of them they are stuck in between going to a four year college, two year college.

They don't want to go to college.

What options do they have?

So, everything that we brought in.

And we figured let's focus on those two segments, and really bring in different types of programming.

And work with high schools, colleges, professionals in different fields, to bring a broad perspective to the students, and really educate them, inform them what their opportunities are, as well as in, along the way, helping the parents.

Which we never really took that into account, that we would be helping the parents understanding, What does education mean?

And when that came into play, we were asked to do a lot of bilingual workshops, to really help with the parents and bring them in, and inform them to what extent their kid or children they had when it came to education.

So, that's the overview of what the alliances is and um - And by the way, Rosa, I'm sorry to interrupt.

We're going to put up the website, so people can find out more about the alliance.

And also we've been affiliated with the Russell Berrie Foundation for many years.

And part of our mandate is to feature leaders in the not-for-profit community that are making a difference and you were recon-- you and the organization were recognized as an honoree, correct?

Making a big difference.

- Now, that was an amazing unexpected award, that really helped us because now we're actually in the process, thanks to those funds.

We're in the process of creating a new series that is with the stem related field.

So, this year we were able to give out three scholarships.

Last year, we did one.

This year, thanks to that award, that Russ Berrie Award from Ramapo, we were able to give three awards to different, some, freshmen students in college and some, are ready to graduate college.

And they really needed the, the aid.

And like I said, we're working on, on doing some stem programming.

That includes, coding, the basic of coding, science, experimenting, research, and all of that.

- By the way the stem, science, technology, engineering, and math, and also the Russ Berrie Award, is in fact, a cash award.

There are different levels but I just wanted to clarify that.

Real quick before I let you go, Rosa.

Your experience, could you briefly describe the challenges you faced as a teen coming to the United States?

- Sure.

So, I'm a proud immigrant.

I came here when I was 11 and a half with my mom.

I did not know any English.

I, we didn't have a lot of family.

And going through, I did have the opportunity.

Somehow, I ended up going to really good school district here in New Jersey.

And thanks to my teachers and my guidance counselor they really pushed me.

I graduated with almost four GPA from high school and my guidance counselor was the one that pushed me to stay here and go to college.

And at that time, I didn't know anything about scholarships, FASFA, what type of aid was available out there and what type of colleges.

In what type of aid, they would be able to provide to me.

So, I applied to one because I thought that's the only thing I can afford.

Luckily, I ended up getting four scholarships that paid to all my years in college.

And from there on, I just work 40 hours a week.

And I, once I graduated college, I took a step back and said, "wait a minute".

What is going on?

And taking really the time.

Now I tell everyone, be involved in college, find any clubs, any groups, any networking.

Talk to your professors, see what advice they have.

What type of internships.

So, that's basically where the idea of the Alliance really came out of New Jersey.

Because that's what we learned.

In a lot of first time generation college students, they go through the same process that I went through.

I'm the first college graduate in my family, and knowing that I can help other students in the same.

And we have students who are Latino, Caucasian, and from other co. - Rosa, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for interrupting.

We're tight on time.

That's one of the problems.

So, ultimately you're making a difference because?

- We're making a difference so we can help other students get to their ultimate goal and really trickle down to the second generation to change and break that through same way that, you know, chasing and running.

Just trying to pay the bills.

And we're trying to break that and show them what opportunities they have.

- Rosa, you're making a big difference.

Keep doing what you're doing and we'll follow the work, you and your colleagues are doing with the alliance.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me here.

- Alright, I'm Steve Adubato.

Thank you so much, for being with us and 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.

Seton Hall University.

The New Jersey Education Association.

PNC, Grow Up Great.

The Turrell Fund, supporting Reimagine Childcare.

Holy Name.

Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

And by Delta Dental of New Jersey.

Promotional support provided by ROI-NJ, And by New Jersey Monthly.

- [Narrator] This is the Seton Hall story.

One that comes to life every day on our campus.

This is the place where great minds discover, innovate, collaborate, and find their true calling.

This is the place where passion has a purpose, where learning inspires leading.

The bonds we make, the values we teach, inspire our community to take heart and take action.

This is Seton Hall University.

This is what great minds can do.