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OP-ED: Lessons in Leadership by Regina Jackson, Outgoing Executive Director of EOYDC

Leadership is not just a position or a title, it is action and example. To effectively lead and make a lasting impact in our communities, we must tap into our passion for service in a way that creates value in the lives of others. This charge begins with one specific attribute of emotional intelligence: self-reflection. As leaders, it is critically important that we know ourselves. We must ask: who am I and what do I stand for?

Published

3 years ago

January 10, 2022

Oakland Post

President and CEO Regina G. Jackson has set the strategic direction for the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) for 27 years.

By Regina Jackson With Phylicia King

President and CEO Regina G. Jackson has set the strategic direction for the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) for 27 years. With a platform focused on character-based leadership development, her youth-led initiatives have empowered thousands of young people to achieve academic and career success.

Now, as she prepares to transition from her EOYDC leadership role this month, Regina shares lessons in leadership from her lifelong journey toward fulfilling her life’s purpose. She speaks in her own words below.

For nearly three decades, I have focused my efforts on investing in and helping to nurture the potential of youth across Oakland. Like so many areas across the nation, East Oakland is a vibrant community brimming with possibility that is often overshadowed by the very real impact of higher poverty and crime rates.

In a community where many families struggle to meet basic needs, the kinds of enrichment activities that can inspire kids to explore, discover and develop their gifts and talents are often financially out of reach.

And that’s why, now more than ever, the efforts of community-based organizations are so important. They are not only a conduit for developing the social and leadership capacities of our youth, but they also provide safe spaces that uplift them as they navigate life circumstances that can be overwhelming to face without meaningful support.

As I approach the end of my time leading EOYDC, I wanted to share some important lessons that can benefit nearly any organization seeking to improve its community. Given the challenges we’re facing, there is no more important time to understand how we can act in the lives of young people and set them up to thrive.

Know Who You Are and What Drives You

Thinking back, my passion for service began in my early years as a Brownie in the Girls Scouts. Earning my first merit badge lit a fire in me to continue to serve and, in doing so, I developed a strong sense of accountability and responsibility that remains at the core of who I am today. As a spiritually grounded, purpose-driven leader, knowing who I am and what I stand for upholds me on this path I’ve been called to walk. I accepted my role at EOYDC because I felt aligned with the center’s mission, fueled by passion and sustained by a work ethic that allowed me to face challenges with determination, lead with integrity and inspire others to join me along the way.

As leaders, what we discover about ourselves creates the foundation of our character, purpose and authenticity — all vital keys to our success in leadership. We must take time to reflect and assess who we are, what we value and how we show up in the world in order to truly make a difference. When we’ve done this important internal work, we can effectively lead others toward a common vision or goal.

Challenge the Notion of What’s Possible

There is power in possibility. Leaders who aspire to break barriers look at their surroundings, circumstances and the people they lead through the lens of possibility and set expectations based on that perspective in order to shape the future.

I meet every student I mentor where they are mentally, physically and emotionally — and I walk beside them on the path to endless possibility. Through EOYDC’s summer program, we place young people in positions to lead through exposure and opportunity.

Youth as young as 13 design curriculum, teach classes and manage people. We put the power in their hands and offer positive reinforcement to guide them along the way. As a result, students gain independence and self-confidence — and that is exactly what a successful leader should aim to influence.

As leaders, when we set expectations for the people we lead and challenge them to stretch and grow to meet them, we help unlock their potential and change how they view themselves. This process is not without discomfort, but we must encourage those we lead to embrace discomfort as a byproduct of growth and remain focused on the goal at hand.

Leave a Legacy

A leader’s legacy is only as strong as the foundation they leave behind that allows others to continue to advance. True leadership is not about the role, it is about the goal — and with service as a goal, our work is never done.

At EOYDC, we guide youth into new opportunities by exposing them to new concepts and practice areas and helping them develop the skills they need to succeed. Many of the students I’ve mentored who have gone on to work in prominent positions in the public and private sector point to the supervisory experience they received at EOYDC as critical to their subsequent success as working professionals. I’ve seen kids sit up straighter, walk into rooms with more confidence, and continue to serve because we helped them realize possibilities.

When it is all said and done, leaders raise up other leaders. This is our legacy. One of the things I’m most proud of is the fact that the majority of current EOYDC leaders are EOYDC alumni — and as I move on to the next chapter in my journey, I feel confident that I am entrusting my work to the next generation of leaders who will carry the mission forward.

To follow the next phase of Regina’s leadership journey, reginagjackson.com. To learn more about the East Oakland Development Center’s programs and initiatives, visit www.eoydc.org.

** Phylicia King is an associate with SMJ Communications.

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Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of October 9 – 15, 2024

Published

17 hours ago

October 13, 2024

Oakland Post

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‘Respect Our Vote’ Mass Meeting Rejects Oakland, Alameda County Recalls

The mass meeting, attended mostly by members of local Asian American communities, was held in a large banquet room in a Chinese restaurant in Alameda. The Respect Our Vote (ROV) coalition, consisting of concerned community members and groups, is organizing meetings in Oakland and around Alameda County leading up to the November election.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Some of the leaders who spoke at the Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!” mass meeting were (left to right): Elaine Peng, Mariano Contreras, Pastor Servant B.K. Woodson, and Stewart Chen. Photo by Ken Epstein.

By Ken Epstein

A recently organized coalition, “Respect Our Vote – No Recalls!,” held a standing-room only mass meeting on Sept. 14, urging residents to vote ‘No’ on the two East Bay recalls funded by conservative billionaires and millionaires with the help of corporate media and instead to support the campaign to protect residents’ democratic right to choose their representatives.

The mass meeting, attended mostly by members of local Asian American communities, was held in a large banquet room in a Chinese restaurant in Alameda.

The Respect Our Vote (ROV) coalition, consisting of concerned community members and groups, is organizing meetings in Oakland and around Alameda County leading up to the November election.

Speaking at the meeting, prominent East Bay leader Stewart Chen said that local leaders, like Alameda County D.A. Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, worked hard to get elected, and our system says they get four years to carry out their policies and campaign promises. But rich people have “broken” that system.

Within two months after they took office, they were facing recalls paid for by billionaires, he said. “(Billionaires’) candidate did not get elected, so they want to change the system.”

“(Our elected leaders) were elected through the process, and the people spoke,” said Chen. “It’s the entire system that the billionaires are trying to (overturn).”

“If a candidate does something wrong or enacts a policy that we do not like, we let it play out, and in four years, we do not have to vote for them.

“The democratic system that we have had in place for a couple of hundred years, it needs our help,” said Chen.

Pastor Servant B.K. Woodson, a leader of the coalition, emphasized the diversity and solidarity needed to defend democracy. “We need each other’s wisdom to make our nation great, to make it safe. We are deliberately African American, English-speaking, Latino American, Spanish-speaking, and all the wonderful dialects in the Asian communities. We want to be together, grow together, and have a good world together.”

Mariano Contreras of the Latino Task Force said that people need to understand what is at stake now.

The recall leaders are connected to conservative forces that will undermine public education, and bilingual education, he said. “The people behind (the recalls) are being used by outside dark money,” he said. The spokespeople of these recalls are themselves conservatives “who are wearing a mask that says they are progressives.”

In 2017, Oakland passed an ordinance that gave teeth to its “Sanctuary City” policy, which was brought to the City Council and passed because it was supported by progressive members on the council.

“That would not be possible anymore if the progressive alliance – Sheng Thao, Nikki Fortunato Bas, and Carroll Fife – if they are pushed out,” he said.

Elaine Peng, president of Asian Americans for Progressive America, said, “I strongly oppose the recalls of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.”

Citing statistics, she said Alameda County’s murder rate was higher when Alameda County D.A. Nancy O’Malley was in office, before Pamela Price was elected to that position.

“The recall campaign has been misleading the public,” said Peng.

She said Oakland is making progress under Thao. “Crime rates are falling in Oakland,” and the City is building more affordable housing than ever before and is creating more jobs.

Attorney Victor Ochoa said, this recall is “not by accident in Oakland – it is a political strategy.”

“There is a strategy that has been launched nationwide. What we’re seeing is oligarchs, (such as Phillip Dreyfuss from Piedmont), right wingers, conservatives, who can write a check for $400,000 like some of us can write a check for $10.”

“They aligned themselves with so-called moderate forces, but they’re not moderates. They align themselves with the money, and that’s what we have seen in Oakland.”

Ochoa continued, “You got to put up signs, you’ve got to talk to your neighbors, volunteer whatever hours you can, have a house meeting. That’s the way progressives win.”

Pecolia Manigo of Oakland Rising Action spoke about what it will take to defeat the recalls. “This is the time when you are not only deputized to go out and do outreach, we need to make sure that people actually vote.

“We need everyone to vote not just for the president, but all the way down the ballot to where these questions will be. Remind people to fill out their ballot, and mail it back.”

Former Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, who had herself faced a recall attempt, said, “In this recall, they used a lot of money, had paid signature gatherers, and they moved very fast. I talked to many of the people gathering signatures. They didn’t know what was going on. Many of them didn’t live in Oakland. It was just money for them.”

“Sam Singer, the guy who is their spokesperson, is a paid PR guy. He has media ties, so they’ve swamped the media against Sheng,” Quan said.

‘Oakland is… a city that implemented some of the first rent control protections in the country. So, developers and big apartment owners would love to get rid of rent control,” said Quan.

“We also established ranked-choice voting, which allows people with less money to coalesce and win elections,” she said. “That’s too democratic for people with big money. They would rather have elections the way they were.”