Videos

Learn how Roots of Success is giving High School teachers the tools they need to reengage at-risk youth, and connect students with environment issues impacting their communities.

Oscar Medina has been teaching Roots of Success to high-school aged youth in Tucson, AZ since 2012. He currently teaches U.S. History, Government, and Environmental Literacy at the Western Institute for Leadership Development — where Roots of Success complements the school’s various service learning projects; like a garden that only uses water from their rain harvesting cistern, a program to collect compost from neighboring residents, tree planting to help low-income families create shade and reduce energy bills, and advocating for sustainable waste management policies. Oscar also teaches the curriculum to youth and adults in the barrios of South Central Phoenix with the community organization Chicanos por la Causa.

Check out how Roots of Success is helping workforce training programs prepare youth and adults with significant barriers to employment for careers in the green economy.

Jamie Brewster is the Site Manager and Roots of Success instructor for Asian Neighborhood Design’s Employment Training Center in San Francisco, CA. The ETC uses the Roots of Success curriculum to ensure that their graduates have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to, in the words of Jamie, become “ambassadors of green” in the construction field, and to also share that information with friends, family, and other people in their community.

See how Roots of Success is preparing incarcerated men and women for employment opportunities in the green economy.

Tony and Willie are both serving life sentences at Southeastern Correctional Institution in Lancaster, Ohio. They are two of over 50 men and women serving long-term sentences who have been trained and licensed to teach the Roots of Success curriculum to Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) inmates serving shorter-term sentences. Because of their excellent communication skills and outstanding dedication to, and experience, teaching Roots of Success, Tony and Willie were selected to be Master Trainers for ODRC. In this capacity, the men will train and certify inmates throughout the Ohio prison system to teach Roots of Success.

Learn how Roots of Success is connecting youth in neighborhood programs to the fields and industries that exist in the green economy.

Jameelah Muhammad has been teaching Roots of Success for green workforce training programs across New York City since 2010. She worked as Community Program Coordinator for the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College and is currently the Academic Manager at Green City Force, where she teaches Roots of Success to young adults from across New York City.

Find out how Roots of Success is engaging participants of all backgrounds, and inspiring them to put what they learn into action.

Thomas and Wendy graduated from the Employment Training Center at Asian Neighborhood Design in 2011, after going through Roots of Success as part of AND’s green construction and life skills training program. AND is a 39-year-old community based organization dedicated to reducing poverty and revitalizing neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area by building healthy communities and providing opportunities for low-income residents to become economically self-sufficient.

See how Roots of Success is giving people reentering the workforce the confidence they need to achieve their goals.

Jerry McDaniels is also a graduate of the Employment Training Center at Asian Neighborhood Design. He was a part of the last cohort to graduate from the program in October of 2012 and looks forward to putting the knowledge and skills he gained through the course into practice as he reenters the labor market.

Discover how Roots of Success has given people leaving prison the  knowledge and skills they need to transform their lives, and improve conditions in their communities.

Lawrence Harris was a student in a Roots of Success class in 2010, while on prison work release and enrolled in Osborn Inc.’s re-entry program, focused on green jobs training. Many of the students in Lawrence’s class found jobs in the residential weatherization industry, but Lawrence’s path led him to become Team Leader at Green City Force where he mentors young people going through a six-month intensive community service, environmental education, and employment training program.

Learn how Roots of Success is introducing youth to the green economy and preparing them for social entrepreneurship opportunities in their communities.

Taleigh Smith is the Green Jobs Outreach Coordinator at the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) — which organizes people who live, work and worship in the Northwest Bronx community to fight for social, economic, environmental, and racial justice. Taleigh has been teaching Roots of Success for NWBCCC and other NYC programs since 2010. NWBCCC empowers low-income youth and adults to fight climate change and promote energy efficiency by providing weatherization services to eligible low-income families through their Weatherization Assistance Program.

To share your story with Roots of Success, email us at info@rootsofsuccess.org.