
Water
Tackling disparities caused by water’s impacts and participation in water industries
Our Impact
Since 2011, Propeller has incubated and accelerated 263 ventures through the Impact Accelerator and Social Venture Fund. Collectively, they have generated over $262 million in external financing and revenue and created 485+ full- and part-time jobs. Our businesses and nonprofits overall have an 84 percent survival rate, compared to the national average of 56 percent.
In 2019, Propeller water alumni (14 respondents) reported grossing $5.4mm in revenue, $1.9mm in debt financing, $200,000 in equity financing, and $202,000 in grants.
As a result of our work with ventures in the water focus area, Propeller has influenced the following outcomes:
- Restored or mitigated 700 acres of coastal land.
- Received a total of 18 government contracts totaling $1,363,700 for their work in coastal restoration/mitigation and urban water management from the Sewage and Water Board, NORA, Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, New Orleans Department of Public Works, and Plaquemines Parish Government.
- Completed the installation or design of 310 urban water management projects designed to capture a cumulative 13,183,668 gallons of stormwater.
- Provided environmental education to over 1,000 community members.
Water Focus Area
Propeller works with small businesses and nonprofits to tackle critical regional water challenges and establish Louisiana as an emerging leader in the water management industry. Propeller entrepreneurs are building underground rain harvesting systems to keep stormwater from flooding to neighborhoods most vulnerable to environmental disaster. They are preserving coastal wetlands and building new technologies to prevent coastal land loss to protect native communities who are unable to uproot and move inland. Propeller also works to support minority and local business enterprises establishing Louisiana as a premium market for seafood, constructing vessels, and training the next generation of green infrastructure professionals.
In water, Propeller’s Impact Accelerator focuses on supporting entrepreneurs working in urban water management, coastal restoration, and adaptation or resilience, as well as those working to diversify the local water economy. Propeller prioritizes ventures strengthening the local water economy to increase how the industry represents and includes BIPOC individuals.
Propeller prioritizes solutions that specifically address the following issues in the water focus area:
- Community-level interventions to improve how we live with water, companies or organizations directly addressing environmental disparities for communities of color
- Design or construction of coastal projects in alignment with state coastal master plan, e.g. marsh creation and rock terracing
- Design or construction of green infrastructure for public or private clients
To date, Propeller has accelerated 47+ water-focused ventures by providing access to contacts, contracts, community, capital, mentors, and subject matter experts (financial modeling, graphic design, customer pipeline, marketing, fundraising, etc.). This support has resulted in notable success for these entrepreneurs. Below are some of our notable Alumni.
Propeller Ventures working in this Sector

J&C Marks Enterprise
Jay and Chabry Marks
Areas of focus: Water

Whimscapes
Kellye Schroeder and Mariah Theobald
Areas of focus: Water

Big Shane’s Landscaping and Lawn Care
Trevor Monnie and Racquel Hayes McKay
Areas of focus: Water

Sankofa CDC
Naish Williams, Ronni Johnson, & Rashida Ferdinand
Areas of focus: Water

Garden Picasso
Preston Robinson, Jr.
Areas of focus: Water

Flourish Horticulture and Landscapes
Fabian Harper
Areas of focus: Water

Delta Builds
Dr. Dorothy Nairne
Areas of focus: Water

Nature Study Project
Gerard Perrone
Areas of focus: Water

Kost
Keith Marrero
Areas of focus: Water

Urbanscapes Design+Build
John Coyle
Areas of focus: Water

Glass Half Full
Franziska Trautmann
Areas of focus: Water

Home by Hand
Oji Alexander
Areas of focus: Water

Grounds Krewe
Brett Davis
Areas of focus: Water

Glory Gardens
Rianda “Reedy” Brooks
Areas of focus: Water

Sponge City
Jenny Wolff & Joanna Farley
Areas of focus: Water

The Solutions Journal
Dr. Beth Caniglia
Areas of focus: Water

Louisiana Land Art
Parker Davies
Areas of focus: Water

Gravel Road Builders and Construction Services
Travis Banks
Areas of focus: Water

Delta Flora Native Plants
Lees Hopkins
Areas of focus: Water

Cicada Radio
Asher Griffith
Areas of focus: Water

Bright Side Oysters
Nathan Herring
Areas of focus: Water

New Orleans Stormwater Training Corps (NOSTC)
Oji Alexander, Monique Pilié, Daniel Johnson
Areas of focus: Water

Culinaria Center for Food Law, Policy, and Culture
Pepper Bowen
Areas of focus: Water

Water Block, LLC
Atianna Cordova
Areas of focus: Water

Mastodonte
Arien Hall, Luisa Abballe
Areas of focus: Water

GEM Construction Group
Glenn Moore
Areas of focus: Water

Urban Conservancy
Dana Eness
Areas of focus: Water

Home by Hand
Oji Alexander
Areas of focus: Water

The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
Nathan Lott & Talia Latch
Areas of focus: Water

Teaching Responsible Earth Education
Heather Szapary, Arianne Carson, Chris Lee
Areas of focus: Water

AquaTerra Consulting
Kristen Butcher, Eva Hillmann
Areas of focus: Water

Magnolia Landscape Architecture
David Abadie
Areas of focus: Water

Orleans Resource Center, LLC
William Belisle, Ph. D.
Areas of focus: Water

Marine Gardens, LLC
Michael Boatright, Kristen Boatright
Areas of focus: Water

The Great Delta Tours
Barbara Johnson, M.P.A, FM
Areas of focus: Water

LifeCity
Liz Shephard (CEO), Jessica Nehrbass (Director of Impact) & Molly Richard
Areas of focus: Water

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Deborah Visco Abibou
Areas of focus: Water

Bluefin Data
Andrew Petersen
Areas of focus: Water

Batture, LLC
Robert Mora & Jennifer Snape
Areas of focus: Water

Louisiana Coastal Services, Inc.
Erik Mayo
Areas of focus: Water

Landscape Metrics
Benjamin Wellington & Matthew Seibert
Areas of focus: Water

Maritant
Chris Stuckey
Areas of focus: Water

The GlassLand Project
Guy Packard Seaberg, R. Thomas Seaberg, Chris Prasad & Joseph Santiago
Areas of focus: Water

Coastal Communities Consulting (CCC)
Sandy Nguyen, Cristina Duong & Katrina Williams
Areas of focus: Water

ORA Estuaries
Tyler Ortego
Areas of focus: Water

Martin Ecosystems
Nicole Waguespack
Areas of focus: Water

Hanging Gardens
Colleen Butler & Anthony Mayer
Areas of focus: Water

Coastal Engineering Solutions
Brent Duet
Areas of focus: Water

Coastal Waters Workforce
Christina Quijano
Areas of focus: Water

New Orleans Mosquito Control Board
Claudia Riegel
Areas of focus: Water

Coastal Rewards
Amory Walker
Areas of focus: Water

Public Lab: the Riffle Project
Stevie Lewis
Areas of focus: Water

Magnolia Land Partners
Mark Bernstein
Areas of focus: Water

Greenman Dan
Dan Johnson
Areas of focus: Water

Land Trust for Louisiana
Marisa Escudero & Bridget Kelly
Areas of focus: Water

Louisiana Lost Lands Environmental Tours
Lindsay Pick & Marie Gould
Areas of focus: Water

Goods that Matter
Tippy Tippens
Areas of focus: Water
