My name is Jawanza Barial-Lumumba and I’m not only a member of the Board of Directors for Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), I was a youth participant once upon a time. LEJ provided many tools and resources that helped me to continue work in the non-profit industry over the last 17 years, to ground my comprehension of environmental equity and justice on a city-wide scale, and to help reconnect me to my hometown of San Francisco.
I first got how involved with LEJ through YouthIMPACT—a program within LEJ that focused on the impact of the youth workforce throughout San Francisco. They began meeting in the Embarcadero YMCA’s computer lab where I was volunteering a few times a week when I was in high school. Their program leader, Nishi Moonka, pulled me in every now and then to help out beyond the capacity of just supporting their use of the lab space—I helped to interview prospective participants, came up with facilitation questions—and before I knew it, I was offered an opportunity to participate in the program.
All of us in the YouthIMPACT program were Youth Facilitators, and for the two years we operated we created two different resources. The first year, the Youth Facilitators created a job map in San Francisco of organizations that intentionally engaged young people in their workforce. They tasked us to research organizations, touch base with their young people, and to share that resource out into the great Bay Area community. The next year, DCYF tasked us to gain feedback from young people from organizations that employed young people—we issued surveys, conducted in-person focus groups, transcribed and reviewed our findings, and published a document with those findings and gave a final presentation to DCYF.
YouthIMPACT and the larger LEJ organization provided insight into understanding what environmental inequities and racism were, particularly with a lens on the injustices that existed within our own city. YouthIMPACT shone a light throughout the cities of those inequities and allowed us, as young people, to help gain skills and experience to support other young people and help amplify our collective voices. Within all the programs in LEJ, the Youth Facilitators grew more aware of the Bayview Hunters Point community, glimpsed into the world of restoring green spaces, and strengthened our connections throughout the city. As this was my first job, it later informed my career development and started me along the path that has brought me to my role as a National Manager of Global Strategies & Services at YMCA of the USA.
When I returned to the Bay Area after living in Washington state for several years, I took a job at the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA. It would be several years later that I would be contacted by Tony Marks-Block, an old friend and a current board member on LEJ. We had known each other from several youth-serving organizations from our high school days, including LEJ. We met and he caught me up on all the changes unfolding at LEJ, the good times, the transitional times, and I curiously asked questions about the direction of the organization. By this point, I had been working for non-profits for about 14 years, and Tony asked if I was interested in supporting LEJ as a board member. Considering the skills exposure, and experience that LEJ opened up for me, and the years of experience with the Y, I replied, “How could I not?”
My name is Jawanza Barial-Lumumba and I’m not only a member of the Board of Directors for Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ), I was a youth participant once upon a time. LEJ provided many tools and resources that helped me to continue work in the non-profit industry over the last 17 years, to ground my comprehension of environmental equity and justice on a city-wide scale, and to help reconnect me to my hometown of San Francisco.
I first got how involved with LEJ through YouthIMPACT—a program within LEJ that focused on the impact of the youth workforce throughout San Francisco. They began meeting in the Embarcadero YMCA’s computer lab where I was volunteering a few times a week when I was in high school. Their program leader, Nishi Moonka, pulled me in every now and then to help out beyond the capacity of just supporting their use of the lab space—I helped to interview prospective participants, came up with facilitation questions—and before I knew it, I was offered an opportunity to participate in the program.
All of us in the YouthIMPACT program were Youth Facilitators, and for the two years we operated we created two different resources. The first year, the Youth Facilitators created a job map in San Francisco of organizations that intentionally engaged young people in their workforce. They tasked us to research organizations, touch base with their young people, and to share that resource out into the great Bay Area community. The next year, DCYF tasked us to gain feedback from young people from organizations that employed young people—we issued surveys, conducted in-person focus groups, transcribed and reviewed our findings, and published a document with those findings and gave a final presentation to DCYF.
YouthIMPACT and the larger LEJ organization provided insight into understanding what environmental inequities and racism were, particularly with a lens on the injustices that existed within our own city. YouthIMPACT shone a light throughout the cities of those inequities and allowed us, as young people, to help gain skills and experience to support other young people and help amplify our collective voices. Within all the programs in LEJ, the Youth Facilitators grew more aware of the Bayview Hunters Point community, glimpsed into the world of restoring green spaces, and strengthened our connections throughout the city. As this was my first job, it later informed my career development and started me along the path that has brought me to my role as a National Manager of Global Strategies & Services at YMCA of the USA.
When I returned to the Bay Area after living in Washington state for several years, I took a job at the Bayview Hunters Point YMCA. It would be several years later that I would be contacted by Tony Marks-Block, an old friend and a current board member on LEJ. We had known each other from several youth-serving organizations from our high school days, including LEJ. We met and he caught me up on all the changes unfolding at LEJ, the good times, the transitional times, and I curiously asked questions about the direction of the organization. By this point, I had been working for non-profits for about 14 years, and Tony asked if I was interested in supporting LEJ as a board member. Considering the skills exposure, and experience that LEJ opened up for me, and the years of experience with the Y, I replied, “How could I not?”
It was energizing to re-engage with LEJ as a member of their Board. Returning to this organization, I reconnected with familiar faces who had become the leadership of the organization, meet other Board members who’d supported LEJ throughout crucial times throughout LEJ’s history, and learn about the important impact LEJ was having in the Bayview Hunters Point community. By making a decision to dedicate time with an organization invested in teaching young people about environmental justice and restoring green spaces, offering experience in nonprofit management, and donating funds to ensure LEJ can make the impact it strives for, I am invested back in the organization that once invested in me.