Interview of Sharifa Wilson by Meda Okelo. Topics include: growing up in New York City; going to New York University on a Martin Luther King scholarship; coming to East Palo Alto; teaching at various schools in Ravenswood City School District; being an EPA Councilmember, then Vice Mayor and then Mayor when the city was the murder capital; what the city did to reduce crime, working with other local politicians and getting federal grants; developing the Ravenswood Shopping Center; encouraging citizens to get involved in government; developing the youth arts center by the youth; why she ran for the Ravenswood City School District Board and its notable achievements; the needs of the school district; importance of after school programs; Chris Bischoff and Eastside Prep; her hopes for EPA; and challenges EPA had to go through including incorporation, crime, economic development and policing.