MobilizeGreen, a nonprofit that seeks to help young people find careers in the green economy, held a job fair last Friday at Oakland City Hall, co-hosted by Councilmember Desley Brooks.

About 150 college-age youth from all over the country, including a number of local residents, attended the three-day conference and job fair organized by MobilizeGreen and Brooks, which is seeking to bring young people of color into the environmental industry.

A number of young people were matched with one-year internships with the U.S. Forest Service, which is co-sponsoring the project with MobilizeGreen.

Kathy Mick of the U.S. Forest Service says that creating opportunities for young people and diversifying the workforce are part of the reason the Forest Service exists.

“Our mission is to care for the land and serve the people,” she said. “We are focusing on expanding our diversity.”

One of the participants at the job fair was Janneice Hines, who was working at Starbucks over a year ago when she found out about the MobilizeGreen conference from Brooks.

Hines applied and had a one-year internship at the Forest Service in Utah and is now in the Vallejo Office. She was hoping to find another internship at the job fair.

“It’s the best experience I’ve had,” she said. “It’s the field work that makes the difference.”

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