By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
Dozens of young men of color did their part to battle climate change and environmental injustice, unveiling on Aug. 5 a new electric vehicle charging hub they helped build in South Sacramento. The event was part of a youth-led effort to improve public health and expand clean transportation in one of the city’s most underserved communities.
Corrie Takeuchi, one of the program participants, said he saw the opportunity as a way to explore future careers, make connections, and push himself to grow. “If you’re going to pursue it, you pursue it as hard as you can,” he said. He credited his mother for encouraging him to take full advantage of opportunities and said he could see himself working in the green technology field in the future.
The NetZero Mobility Hub, located at the South Sacramento Christian Center, is the result of a partnership between The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, United Way California Capital Region, Green Technical Education and Employment (Green Tech), and the South Sacramento Christian Center. The project is supported through a combination of federal and philanthropic funding, including Community Project Funding secured by Rep. Doris Matsui, a grant from the NBA Foundation, and additional support from Sierra Health Foundation.
The hub offers free access to electric vehicle charging stations and serves as an anchor for broader economic development in the area. Youth participants in the Green Ambitions workforce development program were directly involved in constructing the new charging infrastructure.
Sierra Health Foundation CEO Chet P. Hewitt said the project embodies what inclusive economic development looks like when taken from concept to reality. “You bring along young people and youth development. You bring along the notion of job training and opportunity,” he said.
Hewitt noted that the initiative delivers clean energy solutions to a community with some of the region’s highest asthma rates and demonstrates that environmental justice and economic progress don’t need to be at odds. “You can do well, and you can do great at the same time,” he said.
He also emphasized that this is just the beginning. While the charging station itself is important, the broader goal is to expose young people to careers in the full range of clean energy sectors — solar, wind, offshore wind — offering jobs that pay living, family-supporting wages to youth often excluded from economic development planning. “This was an idea a year ago, and today we are cutting ribbons,” he said. “That’s what a can-do attitude will actually do.”
Over the past year, 36 young people of color ages 16-24 took part in Green Ambitions, receiving hands-on training in zero-emission vehicle technologies, leadership development, and mentorship. After graduating from the program in June, participants helped install the EV charging stations at the new hub, putting their newly acquired skills into practice.
Dr. Dawnté Early, president and CEO of United Way California Capital Region, called the unveiling a powerful example of what happens when young people are not only trained but trusted to lead. “This is what’s possible when we invest in our young people, when we believe in their potential, and when we give them the tools to lead us into a better, greener future,” she said.
Early said the Green Ambitions program was born from a simple but powerful idea: that the fight for climate justice must also include economic justice, and that young people — especially from communities too often left behind — deserve a seat at the table and a role in building the future they will inherit.
“They didn’t just learn. They led,” she said. “Let that sink in for a moment. These young people didn’t just prepare for green jobs in the future. They created green infrastructure right here in the now, in their own community.
“When we mobilize public and private community partnerships to action — like The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, Green Tech, Congresswoman Matsui, and of course, your local United Way — we’re not just building programs, we’re building purpose so that all can thrive.”
Green Tech board president Simeon Gant emphasized that promoting clean air is at the heart of their mission. Founded in 2008, Green Tech focuses on educating young people, especially those from communities of color, about the impact of pollution and the importance of clean air, which often is worse in underserved neighborhoods. He explained that the program teaches youth about zero-emission vehicles and the state’s efforts to support clean energy transitions, while also opening pathways to careers in green industries. “We want to give our young people a hand up and assist them in moving and deciding on what careers they want,” Gant said.
The project expands upon Green Tech’s earlier Zero-Emission Mobility initiative in Del Paso Heights, marking the next phase in building out green infrastructure in communities disproportionately affected by climate change and pollution.
“In South Sacramento and other previously overlooked and under-resourced communities across the region, our neighbors disproportionately experience the effects of climate change and air pollution,” Matsui said in a statement. “That’s why I fought to secure federal funding to bring the infrastructure and training necessary to uplift our youth and empower them to lead the clean energy transition.”
Hewitt said the project cost roughly $1 million.
By combining clean energy development with youth employment training, the NetZero Mobility Hubs project aims to build long-term resiliency — both environmental and economic — in neighborhoods that have long lacked investment.
“We are pleased this collaboration was developed to improve our community by incorporating an equitable electric vehicle transition,” Gant said. “This project was truly a joy, giving back to our community and supporting our burgeoning climate heroes — the youth — who are soon to be professional leaders in our community.”