6abc's Trish Hartman talks with with Isles CEO Sean Jackson about radiant cooling, clean energy, and keeping Trenton cool this summer. | | |
Trenton Feels the Future of Heat Relief at Isles Tucker Street Garden
On July 16, with the city in the grip of another dangerous heat wave, neighbors gathered at our Tucker Street Urban Demonstration Garden and stepped under something no other community in the country has tried in a public space: a first-of-its-kind radiant cooling pavilion.
Radiant cooling does what air conditioning cannot. Instead of cooling the air, it pulls heat away from the body, so a 95-degree day feels like 85. It works in the open air, uses very little energy, and protects people right where they are, without shutting them inside.
Isles CEO Sean Jackson was joined by NJDEP Commissioner Ed Potosnak, Trenton City Councilwoman Crystal Feliciano and partners from Clearly-Cool, STEP-UP Solar, the City of Trenton and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. Students from the DEP's Youth Inclusion Initiative came out to see how it works.
What made the morning ours was the power source. The clean energy running the pavilion comes from solar panels installed by Isles Youth Institute students, trained through our partnership with STEP-UP Solar. The same young people building careers in clean energy are keeping their neighbors safe from the heat. That is what happens when workforce training, environmental health and community development are not separate programs but one connected effort.
This was a preview. With support from the BPU's Urban Heat Island Mitigation Program, we are working with Clearly-Cool over the next two years to install radiantly cooled benches at three Trenton sites: the Tucker Street garden, Roberto Clemente Park and the corner of North Warren and East Lafayette streets. Our Trenton Community Corps and the Johnson Center for Learning & Impact will ask residents where the benches belong and measure the relief they deliver.
| | |
Isles Youth Institute Celebrates the Class of 2026
On July 10, Isles Youth Institute honored its newest graduates at a commencement ceremony that filled the room with pride, cheers, and more than a few happy tears. The Class of 2026 crossed the stage having done exactly what IYI asks of its students: work through real challenges and stay committed to their education and their futures.
These young people earned more than a diploma. Many walked away with certificates that will open doors right now, including Microsoft Office Specialist credentials, solar panel installation training, and Home Builders Institute pre-apprenticeship certifications. It is the kind of hands-on preparation that turns "self-reliance through education," the heart of the IYI mission, into something graduates can carry into a job the very next week.
The ceremony welcomed remarks from Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora and Isles leadership, but the loudest applause was reserved for the graduates themselves. Keynote speaker Devon Dickson, a proud IYI alumnus from the Class of 2022, reminded everyone that circumstances do not define the future. Now working as an electrician for the State of New Jersey, Devon achieved financial independence and built a career by his early twenties, and he challenged this year's class to trust the process and never give up.
Two students were recognized with special honors. Averi Rodriguez received the Elizabeth Gray Erickson Memorial Award for optimism and courage, and Cassi Chavis earned the David Styner Memorial Award for leadership and perseverance.
Congratulations to the entire Class of 2026. We could not be prouder.
| | |
Our Summer Interns Took Their Advocacy Straight to the Source
The Isles team joined the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey for Legislative Day at the State House in Trenton, meeting with legislators and making the case for affordable housing, stronger tenant voices, and fully funding lead-safe homes. For our interns, it was a firsthand look at how local voices shape policy, and proof that democracy works best when we show up for it.
| |  | |
Cheers to collaboration!
Together we are raising awareness about the impact of lead on pregnancy and newborn health. Isles Senior Advisor Elyse Pivnick is pictured here with Heather Sorge Storey, Lead-Free NJ; Iris Cooney, Horizon NJ Health; and Alix Fellman, Cheryl Town, and Jasmine Moore, Trenton Health Team, Inc., at last month's 2026 New Jersey Convening on Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention.
| | |
|
Celebrating 25 Years of Andre Thomas
This year, Isles marks a milestone worth celebrating. Andre Thomas, Director of Training and Support at our Center for Energy and Environmental Training, is celebrating 25 years with Isles.
For a quarter century, Andre has been a steady force in Trenton. He leads the classes that have trained thousands of New Jersey residents for careers in green jobs, healthy homes, and environmental health. He teaches families how to make their homes safer, warmer, and cheaper to run. And he mentors the people who walk through our doors looking for a path forward, many of whom he still checks in on years later.
| | | | |
Ask around Trenton and you will find his fingerprints on a generation of students, colleagues, and neighbors who found their footing with his help.
That impact is rooted in his own story. Andre came home from prison in 1997, having spent his early 20s incarcerated after getting caught up in the streets as a teenager. He came out with a single aspiration, to make an impact in his community, and he set about doing exactly that. He joined Isles in 2001, first as a motivator and mentor in our YouthBuild program, now the Isles Youth Institute, guiding young people ages 16 to 24 who were working to find their way, the same way he once had to find his.
In 2008, he took on a new challenge and helped build the Center for Energy and Environmental Training from the ground up. He earned his certification through the Building Performance Institute, learned building science well enough to teach it, and has led our energy efficiency and lead abatement classes ever since.
Ask Andre what he is most proud of and he does not point to a title. He points to people.
"I was able to help a lot of people find their way," he says. "I use my journey to be a teaching tool of what's possible."
He lives by a line he settled on years ago: where there is no path, create a path and leave a trail.
Congratulations, Andre. Twenty-five years in, the trail you have blazed runs long, and Isles is grateful to walk it with you.
| | | Senator Andrew Zwicker talks with Isles CEO Sean Jackson during his visit earlier this month. | | |
Trenton Community Street Team Represents Trenton at National Gun Violence Prevention Conference
This month, Trenton Community Street Team Director Perry Shaw traveled to Los Angeles to take part in this year's Giffords Community Violence Intervention Conference, the nation's largest solutions-focused conference dedicated to reducing gun violence. The conference is named in honor of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, a gun violence survivor.
While there, Director Shaw connected with many of the field's leading thinkers and practitioners, sharing how Trenton has built a community-centered Public Safety Ecosystem that puts relationships, healing, and collaboration at the forefront. While there is still work to do, Trenton has experienced a nearly 60% reduction in gun violence and homicides, showing what is possible when communities invest in prevention, intervention, and partnership.
The Trenton Community Street Team remains committed to learning from others, sharing what is working in Trenton, and bringing back innovative ideas that help make our city safer, stronger, and healthier.
| | |
Save the date! Cities for the Future: Fall Forum 2026 is coming October 14!
Join Isles and the Johnson Center for Learning & Policy for a day of big conversations on civil responsibility, approaches to the wealth gap, and smart sustainable redevelopment.
Social Profit Center at Mill One, Hamilton Township, NJ | Online option also available.
| | |
NJMIHA Rides Service Extended
GOTrenton!, our community-driven electric vehicle transportation initiative, is helping more Trenton-area families reach the care and services they need. Through NJMIHIA Rides, powered by GOTrenton!, we provide free, zero-emission rides for pregnant and postpartum individuals and members of the perinatal workforce, removing a well-documented barrier to accessing healthcare, employment, and essential community resources. In May, GOTrenton! expanded its fleet and coverage area to include West Hamilton and Southern Ewing, reaching even more residents across Mercer County. Free rides for eligible participants continue through December 31, 2026. To learn more about NJMIHIA Rides, email info@njmihia.gov. For GOTrenton! support or service questions, contact gotrenton@isles.org.
| | |
Build Skills, Find Work: SNAP STEPS Career Services
Isles’ SNAP STEPS program helps participants move toward employment with personalized coaching, training funds, and practical job-readiness support. Services include résumé development, interview preparation, career exploration, and connections to job training opportunities that can lead to advancement or an entirely new career path. Participants receive one-on-one guidance tailored to their goals, along with support navigating today’s job market with confidence.
Whether you’re searching for your first job, aiming for a promotion, or ready to learn new skills, SNAP STEPS provides the resources to take the next step. Contact Isles at foc@isles.org or 609-341-4787 to learn more and find out if you’re eligible.
| | | | |
