Propeller Alumni 2016 Class

meet our entrepreneurs.

Propeller Alumni

We’ve been running our accelerator programs since 2011, helping nonprofits and small businesses impact thousands of lives. Our entrepreneurs are working to tackle disparities in community economic development, education, food, health, and water.

2016 Startup Ventures

Charmaine Washington, Chanda Washington, and Joan Surgent

Mothers & Caretakers Mending Family Foundations

A catering business devoted to creating and growing financial and food security safety nets for families fractured by inequality. Charmaine Washington, Chanda Washington, and Joan Surgent comprise the team behind Mothers & Caretakers Mending Family Foundations. Having advocated for her own child in the school-to-prison pipeline, Charmaine Washington has spent nearly ten years working with non-profit organizations involved in juvenile justice. Chanda Washington, daughter of Charmaine, is currently a full-time Specialty Banker at Harrah’s Casino and has been involved with Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) for the past year. Joan Surgent, a native of Louisiana, brings a wealth of experience in finance and accounting having worked as a staff accountant in the healthcare industry for over 20 years. Together, Charmaine, Chanda, and Joan are providing crucial resources for families with children caught in the school-to-prison pipeline through their catering services.

Benjamin Swig & Justin Dangel

Ready Responders

A community paramedicine group improving access and quality to healthcare while reducing response times by integrating part-time Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) into municipal 911 systems (EMS). Benjamin Swig (Co-Founder, COO) Benjamin Swig is the co-founder and COO of Ready Responders. Ready Responders recruits, trains and equips part-time EMTs to improve the emergency response times and the efficiency of municipal EMS systems. He has been an EMT and Paramedic for 15 years and previously worked for New Orleans EMS in that capacity. In addition to pre-hospital care Benjamin has served as public health contractor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Surgeon General. There he supported the training and emergency response effort of the U.S. Public Health Service, Commissioned Corps and was presented with the Surgeon General’s Outstanding Achievement award for his service to the department. Benjamin is a graduate of Trinity College and holds and MPH and MBA from Tulane University. Justin Dangel (Co-Founder, Executive Chairman) Justin Dangel is the Founder of JED Investments, a vehicle that co-founds and invests in socially impactful businesses. He is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of both Ready Responders and Firefly Health. Ready Responders recruits, trains and equips part-time EMTs to improve the emergency response times and the efficiency of municipal EMS systems. Firefly Health provides efficient, digital primary care. He is also an investor and board member at Norton Point a company that makes Sunglasses and other products from recovered Ocean plastic.

Flor Serna & Maya Ramos

Electric Girls

A non-profit organization that develops New Orleans area girls into confident leaders and role models in technology by creating a community where girls can learn science, technology, engineering, and math skills with and from each other. Flor Serna (Founder, Executive Director) Flor Serna, Founder and Executive Director of Electric Girls, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology from Loyola University, with minors in business and computer science. In 2015, as a response to her experience as the only female recording engineer at Vital Sounds Recording, she founded Electric Girls to develop leadership skills in young girls through their learning of electronics and computer programming skills. Electric Girls has served more than 150 girls in the greater New Orleans area. Flor previously taught STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) to fourth – seventh graders at Louise S. McGehee School and is currently the part-time director of the production studio and Mobile Idea Lab at St. Martin’s Episcopal School. Maya Ramos (Assistant Director) Maya Ramos, Assistant Director of Electric Girls, is a candidate for her Bachelor of Arts in Music Industry Studies and Piano Performance at Loyola University. Maya directs all Electric Girls programming. Her interests and expertise in science and technology stem from a year studying biomedicine at UCLA and being a researcher’s assistant at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Sandy Nguyen, Cristina Duong & Katrina Williams

Coastal Communities Consulting

A non-profit organization providing technical assistance, economic development, social services, and disaster recovery services to rural entrepreneurs and their families

Sandy Nguyen (Executive Director)
Sandy Nguyen, executive director, has worked with the commercial fishing industry since 1992, helping more than 1,500 families and businesses in rural communities across the state. She has an intimate knowledge of the fishing industry and the communities that sustain it. Sandy has worked extensively with government agencies, nonprofits, and universities, to provide new technologies to help businesses become more efficient and profitable. Mrs. Nguyen also has helped provide seminars, training, and individual counseling to people with limited-English or education. Mrs. Nguyen is a graduate of the Tulane School of Business and a proud resident of New Orleans East. Daughter of a commercial fisherman, she is owner of a commercial fishing business with her husband, Phuoc (Michael) Nguyen.

Cristina Duong (Senior Technical Assistance Coordinator)
Cristina Duong has been with Coastal Communities Consulting, Inc. since August 2011. She is the Senior Technical Assistance Coordinator, provides a full range of technical assistance services in relation to our core programs. She graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Family Community Services. Cristina is multilingual in Cambodian, Vietnamese, and English and works with Louisiana’s ethnically diverse community of socially-disadvantaged agricultural producers.

Katrina Williams (Program Staff Assistant)
As a Program Staff Assistant at Coastal Communities Consulting, Inc., Katrina Williams is primarily responsible for teaching adult immigrant students the basic fundamentals of the English language through a 12-weeks ESL (English as a Second Language). However, her responsibilities also include, but are not limited to, assisting clients gain access to a plethora of social services, provide hands-on computer literacy training, preparing immigrant clients for US citizenship status and assisting with limited business planning procedures. As CCC continues to expand, Katrina will be able to assist clients with other needs that coincide with both the organization’s and the client’s needs. Katrina received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of New Orleans and is currently pursuing her Master of Arts from her alma mater majoring in Romance Languages.

Guy Packard Seaberg, R. Thomas Seaberg, Chris Prasad & Joseph Santiago

GlassLand Project

An initiative to divert waste glass from landfill to seacoast by educating, adding disposal sites, and custom processing collected glass into graded glass-sand for use by the coastal restoration industry.

Guy Packard Seaberg (Founder, Director)
GlassLand Project founder and director Guy Seaberg, is the founding partner and CEO of TrialVue, LLC, a litigation support company providing courtroom technology services to trial lawyers. A graduate of Georgetown (BA) and Northwestern Law (JD), he has taught trial practice in the USM paralegal certification program and instructed in criminal and civil procedure as Director of the USM Legal Aid Clinic — in addition to training paralegals as digital trial assistants. He conceived and built Stage One experimental theatre at Georgetown University and was founder and Director of Seaberg/Isthmus Gallery and Framing in Chicago and FLUX Contemporary Gallery in Albuquerque, NM. One tough winter in LL Bean’s home-base of Freeport, Maine, he conceived and built the life-saving Rosendo snow-mover device, later conceived and developed in Santa Fe, NM the ArtVuer studio App, and once proudly served as personal assistant to Mr. Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra during their memorable concert series at DAR Hall in Washington, DC. With a wide array of interests and the demonstrated ability to identify and develop better systems, services and products in a range of fields, Seaberg has what it takes to shepherd an undertaking as ambitious as The GlassLand Project to fruition.

R. Thomas Seaberg (CTO)
Partner Tom Seaberg is an electrical engineer from Southern Illinois University, specializing in the design and construction of computerized control systems for manufacturing assembly lines. His clients have included Mercedes-Benz in Montgomery, AL and Ford Motors in Detroit, as well as scores of meat-processing companies throughout the US and abroad. An innovator responsible for several patented improvements and modifications to control and manufacturing components, Tom is less the entrepreneur than the go-to guy for making something work at the outset, or continue working after malfunction. A veritable White Knight, he’s the guy GlassLand needs to design and supervise its glass waste manufacturing and packaging facility – a CTO to depend on for turning mountains of waste glass into suitable sand replacement.

Chris Prasad (COO)
Another lawyer by training — specializing in corporate business law — Partner Christopher Prasad now owns and operates Phoenix Recycling, a New Orleans regional company known for its reliability and guaranteed 360 degree recycling of the reclaimable materials it collects. Exchanging suit and wingtips for t-shirt and sneakers, Chris identified the growth potential of the recycling industry early on, started with one truck and a handful of apartment complex owners willing to pay for honest recycling, and eventually bought Phoenix – in dire financial straits but with a brand, a vehicle fleet and a bank of customers. With Chris at the helm, Phoenix has grown to profitability in service of a large NOLA base of commercial customers including most of the large hotels, restaurants and bars in the French Quarter, Dryades Market and dozens of others; his timing in securing these accounts was right on the mark – as waste producers shifted from reluctance to pay for collection to full acceptance of the cost. Faced now with an opportunity to expand commercial glass collection far beyond Phoenix’s current capacity, the challenge of where to process the collected glass, and the evolution of a single local coastal restoration industry to buy reprocessed cullet, Chris is an essential partner in the Glassland Project, anxious to expand collection, build the plant and manufacture custom glass-sand product for coastal restoration. With the experience of day-to-day management of a successful collection company, a prior, last-round-level proposal and pitch for a “Public Space Recycling” venture at The Idea Village, and legal savvy, Chris’s business and growth management skills, industry awareness and existing network serve the project ideally in his service as COO.

Joseph Santiago (CIO)
Partner Joseph Santiago, Glassland’s Communications Director, has 12 years of experience as a teacher and facilitator in a range of industries, including staffing and professional service, manufacturing software, and education management. He’s an expert in designing community learning networks (CLNs) and in utilization of blended environments to establish informational and cultural contact zones. As a digital literacy advocate, Joe’s focus has been on developing programs for those who have traditionally struggled to be heard; accordingly, he has developed materials for documentaries, educational programs and workshops, as well as for social change endeavors like the World Voice Project. With a Masters in Psychology, and ABD status for a PhD in Industrial and Industrial Organizational Psychology, he was the founder and president of Santiago, Inc., established one of the world’s largest global CLNs, was an instructor at the Center for Student Leadership Development at the University of Rhode Island, and is currently the (remote) Director of IT and Communications for the Rhode Island Advocacy for Children Program. An expert in human behavior and motivation, in his “spare time,” Joe has written and published five books of fiction, and he’s one of the select group of outdoorsmen and women to have been honored with the estimable Triple Crown Award from the American Long Distance Hiking Association–West in recognition for completing the Continental Divide Trail (3,100 miles), the Pacific Crest Trail ( 2,650 miles) and the Appalachian Trail (2,160 miles); with relentless focus and stamina, CIO Santiago puts one foot in front of the other … and gets the job done.

Chris Stuckey

Maritant

An innovative sales platform that connects engineers, shipbuilders, and vessel operators with preferred vendor equipment data. Maritant. He is an active committee member of the Gulf Section Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. As CEO, Stuckey focuses on building partnerships and sales, manages equipment data uploading, and leads development of organizational strategy for Maritant. Stuckey studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of New Orleans.

Michelle Erenberg

Lift Louisiana

An advocacy group improving health outcomes for women and children in Louisiana by advocating for all citizens to have the resources, information, rights, and ability to make their own decisions about and have access to reproductive healthcare. Michelle Erenberg has worked as a policy advocate, community organizer, and coalition coordinator for more than a decade. Her past work experience includes community organizing for Planned Parenthood in New Orleans, coordinating a diverse coalition of environmental, community and faith-based organizations across the Gulf Coast in response to the 2010 BP oil spill, and analyzing and educating the public about policies and public engagement opportunities related to ecological and community recovery and restoration. Since 2009, she has served on the board of the National Council of Jewish Women Greater New Orleans Section as NCJW’s Louisiana Policy Advocate, a nationally appointed position, as well as Vice President of Public Affairs and Education. Erenberg has a B.A. in Psychology from Loyola University New Orleans and an MPA in Nonprofit Management from the University of New Orleans.

Benjamin Wellington & Matthew Seibert

Landscape Metrics

A data visualization design studio inspiring public engagement around environmental issues from local water quality to global change by transforming complex datasets into compelling visual narratives. Benjamin Wellington is a principal and co-founder of Landscape Metrics. The company’s technical lead, he directs the development of interactive web-based work and GIS analyses. Through his academic and professional work, Benjamin has come to see geospatial data visualization as a creative endeavor capable of powerfully shaping our perception and experience of place. His interests in data and design, and in the ability of data visualization to inform how we modify the built and natural environments, have driven his past work as an urban planner, writer, and landscape designer. Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Geographical Studies from the University of Chicago and a Master of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University.

Nicholas Reed

Bike Rite

Bike Rite’s mission is to create a quality cycling experience that facilitates the exploration of New Orleans and promotes physical activity across all of New Orleans’ communities. Nicholas Reed is not the typical New Orleans native. Even with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Creative Writing from Xavier University, Nick has always found a way to express himself through fashion and creative writing. With a strong background in promotional marketing, Nick launched Bike Rite, a company that specializes in social rides, bike rentals, and tours in the New Orleans area. Bike Rite has enjoyed rapid growth in its Tuesday night rides, which has grown to over 600 riders in less than one year

Nicholas Hite

Hite Law Group

A law group bridging the “justice gap” in New Orleans by providing high-quality legal counsel at low rates, specializing in serving, protecting, and supporting the health and well-being of the LGBTQ community and survivors of intimate partner violence.

Nicholas J. Hite founded The Hite Law Group in 2013 but has already gained recognition as an expert in his practice field. Nicholas travels across Louisiana to handle cases involving LGBTQ families, Latinx individuals, and unique cases of abuse and assault against adults and children. An advocate beyond the courtroom, Nicholas is often called upon to educate, inform, and reform legal, judicial, and even medical professionals by leading frequent speaking and training programs. Nicholas is Co-Chair of the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) LGBT Diversity Subcommittee, and serves on the LSBA Access to Justice Committee, and Language Access Subcommittee. Nicholas is a native of Hammond, Louisiana and a graduate of LSU and Tulane Law School.

Kenneth Bibbins

PrepWorld

A technology platform focused on using game-based technology to combat disaster trauma in youth. Kenneth R. Bibbins is the Founder/CEO of PrepWorld LLC and the brain behind the PrepBiz gamification concept. He has a wealth of experience in disaster management, emergency preparedness and recovery. He has worked in public, private and governmental programs and has provided first hand liaison to local, state and federal government responses to disasters. He’s a graduate of Tulane University and resident of New Orleans with a focus on serving underserved communities in their preparedness literacy and practical efforts.

Lou Anne White

Louvis Services

A housing solution serving the New Orleans homeless community by repurposing shipping containers into safe, affordable rental housing units where residents can develop financial sustainability and emotional wellness. Lou Anne White is the director of the project. She has worked with the homeless and supportive housing industry for over 15 years. Ms. White is an expert in permanent supportive housing, an evidence-based model that combines affordable housing with flexible services. The model has successfully housed the most difficult to serve homeless individuals. She has provided technical assistance to affordable housing developers, nonprofit organizations, and government agenci

Sheila Sundar

Southern History Project

The Southern History Project The Pitch A non-profit organization increasing the number of students from the American South who graduate college through the development and implementation of engaging, relevant social studies curricula tailored to southern schools. Sheila Sundar began her career in education in 2003 as a history teacher in the New York City Public Schools. She is the author of “Watching the Sky: Human Rights in the 20th Century” and “War and Participation,” the curriculum guides for the documentary films Watchers of the Sky and The Recruiter. She previously directed education programs for the Egypt office of Education for Employment, where she developed civic education programs for youth and trained educators throughout the Middle East on student-centered, participatory teaching.

Kristi Givens & Precious Acker

Kids of Excellence Child Development Center

A private, non-profit childcare center providing quality early childhood education and community resources to young children in at-risk communities in New Orleans. Kristi Givens (Owner, Executive Director) Kristi Givens is the Owner and Executive Director of Kids of Excellence Child Development Center. Kristi is a native New Orleanian with 17 years experience in early childcare development. Kristi holds a Bachelors and Master Degree in Social Work specializing in Children and Families from Southern University of New Orleans and a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New Orleans. She has been an instrumental advocate for early childhood for many years, she is an avid learning holding many certifications, a partner with several early childhood organizations, and a trainer to her devoted staff. Precious Acker (Communications and Partnership Manager) Precious Acker, Communications and Partnership Manager, is Native New Orleanian with experience in education, nonprofit management, and community development. She has over 5 years experience in nonprofit management helping organizations plan, collaborate, and develop effective communication tools to establish creative ways to interact with the community. Precious holds a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and Political Science from Agnes Scott College and Master of Arts in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies from Loyola University Chicago. Precious has a passion for social justice with an emphasis in youth development and mentoring, she has an eagerness to problem solve and make a difference in community by contributing to organization with new ideas.

Dr. Lori LeDuff & Nicole Goldin

Well Therapeutics

A New Orleans-based clinic serving patients from all walks of life by providing preventative healthcare and therapeutic services, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, mental health services, adjunctive therapies, and wellness education and classes. Dr. Lori LeDuff Lori LeDuff is a native New Orleanian committed to providing access to quality and affordable healthcare to her community. Dr. LeDuff has worked as a physical therapist in a variety of therapy settings including outpatient orthopedics, inpatient neuro rehab, and hospital based acute care. She received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from LSU Health New Orleans. Prior to returning to school, Lori worked in academic advising and career coaching in a large university setting. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology pre-med from Xavier University of Louisiana and finished from Ben Franklin High School. Nicole Goldin Born and raised in Lima, Perú, Nicole Goldin moved to New Orleans in 2009 to pursue her goal of becoming one of the first professionally trained music therapists in her country. Ms. Goldin received her degree of Master of Music Therapy, as well as her dual bachelor degree in Music Therapy and Psychology from Loyola University New Orleans, and obtained Music Therapy Board Certification in 2014. As the Hispanic Program Coordinator and Assessment Counselor for the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for Greater New Orleans, Ms. Goldin identified the high need for mental health and substance abuse services in the city, especially for minority and under-insured communities such as the African American and Hispanic populations

Haiyan Khan, Vicki Judice, Kimberly Vanwagner & Eva Sohl

Santosha

A sustainable, self-regulated transitional village of small homes focused on providing affordable housing to the homeless community of New Orleans. Haiyan Khan (Founder) Haiyan Khan, a graduate of Kellogg Graduate School of Management is the founder of Never Homeless Again & Santosha Village. He hopes to be part of creative solutions to address the homelessness. Haiyan has extensive experience in development and analytics and hopes to use these skills to fight homelessness in New Orleans. Vicki Judice Vicki Judice is the Executive Director of the Harry Tompson Center, a day shelter for the homeless in downtown New Orleans which provides a variety of services including hygiene, housing, case management and medical treatment to 150-200 persons daily. She has held this position since 2013. Prior to that she served as the Deputy Director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans for 8 years and held other positions with the agency since 1994. She holds a LMSW and has advocated for low-income and homeless individuals for over 30 years. She presently serves on the Louisiana Housing Trust Fund Advisory Council and believes that one of the solutions to the pressing problem of continued homelessness in New Orleans is an increase in low-cost housing options for the poor. Kimberly VanWagner Kimberly VanWagner serves as the Executive Director of the Uptown Shepherd’s Senior Center where she applies over 15 years of professional nonprofit experience to help older adults in New Orleans maximize their quality of life and independence. She also works with area nonprofits as a consultant, grant writer, and researcher. After graduating from Newcomb College at Tulane University, Kimberly worked as a community and labor organizer throughout Illinois. She returned to New Orleans after the federal levee failures and became the founding director of the Freret Neighborhood Center, an innovative community space with programs for and by neighborhood residents of all ages. Kimberly holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of New Orleans with a Certificate in Hazard Policy and is passionate about building resilient communities through education and accessibility for everyone. She lives in the Freret neighborhood with her husband and two-year old son. Eva Sohl Eva Sohl has 12 years of experience working with community development and nonprofit initiatives that promote the dignified treatment of marginalized communities. She is currently the manager of Tibetan House, a cultural gift store and meditation center that supports Tibetans living in exile throughout India and Nepal. She is the co-founder of One World Family International, an initiative that provides ethnic refugees from Myanmar access to education in Thailand. For five years, Eva Sohl worked at the Freret Neighborhood Center, a community gathering space that engaged residents of all ages in programs that focused on leadership development, civic engagement and strengthening social ties within the Freret/Milan neighborhood. Eva Sohl is originally from the Lincoln, Nebraska where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of Nebraska.

Catherine Hudson

University Medical Center Urban Farm

An urban farm on the University Medical Center campus in Mid-City focused on redefining food culture in a healthcare setting to reduce the burden of obesity-related chronic diseases. Catherine Hudson is a mother of two who lives in River Ridge. She has a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology and is in her second year of residency in Internal Medicine at LSU in New Orleans. In the last year she founded the non-profit organization, The HIVE (Health Improvement through Vitality Education). She believes that by creating a more thoughtful built environment we can alter our food culture leading to healthier choices and a reduction in obesity and the heavy burden of related chronic diseases.

Douglas Keller & Aubrey Edwards

826 New Orleans

A project of the non-profit organization 826 New Orleans launching a mobile youth writing center to support the voices of young writers in their own neighborhoods. Doug Keller is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of 826 New Orleans (formerly Big Class), a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for young people ages 6-18 to write and to be supported in their writing. After studying film and writing at Emerson College in Boston, Doug worked in film development with Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films in Los Angeles and Elephant Eye Films in New York, and as a contributing writer to The Onion. In 2009, he moved to New Orleans to teach elementary school, starting Big Class in late 2010 as a classroom project. In 2017, Big Class will become the first Southern chapter of the award-winning 826 National when it opens a Youth Writing Center in the 7th Ward with a Haunting Supply Company as its storefront.

Holly Wherry

Whole Village Art Therapy

Whole Village Art Therapy provides high quality, holistic, community-based art therapy services to foster positive mental health, enhance the well-being of individuals and communities, facilitate a creative approach to healing, and promote access to mental health services regardless of financial hardship or other systemic barriers. Holly Wherry is an art therapist, counselor, artist, and community advocate. Holly is a licensed professional counselor and board-certified art therapist who is actively engaged in creative healing practices locally, nationally, and internationally. She has master’s degrees in both Education and Art Therapy and has spent her career working with under-resourced communities to promote wellness, creativity, education, and resilience. Holly has developed and delivered art therapy programs designed to address trauma for over a thousand students in 10 different public schools in New Orleans. As an experienced professional, Holly teaches and provides training and clinical supervision for art therapists and other mental health professionals. In addition, Holly has developed and continues to supervise sustainable art therapy programs in India and Sri Lanka. Recently, Holly created the Art Therapy Pedalers, a project where she rode her bike and a mobile art therapy trailer across the United States making art with everyone she met.

Christine Neely & Melanie Richardson

Training Groups

A nonprofit providing evidence-informed educational programming to assist families and professionals with understanding how rich learning experiences and positive child-adult interactions in the first few years of life are instrumental to later success and overall child well-being. Melanie Richardson Melanie Richardson is a native New Orleanian who has been working in the fields of mental health and education for over 20 years. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Specialist in Community College Teaching from Arkansas State University. Melanie is committed to educating families and professionals and removing institutional disincentives, impediments, and other barriers in order to increase the academic success of minority and low-income students. By creating and implementing innovative and proactive programming designed to provide resources, social services and academic support, Melanie has witnessed first-hand how people will prosper when given unconditional support. Christine Neely Christine Neely has been in the field of Education for over 20 years and has always worked to improve standards and provide resources to families and students. A New York Native, she received her undergraduate degree from Tulane University and remained in New Orleans to receive her Master’s in Education from Loyola University. Christine has spent over 15 years serving as lead teacher in grades PK-3rd while working closely with administration to mentor new teachers, develop curriculum and make the switch to Common Core. Her time in the informal education sector as Public Programs Manager for Audubon Zoo and most recently as the Education Director of the Louisiana Children’s Museum allowed her the opportunity to implement different community based approaches to foster early childhood development and parental support. Christine has presented at national conferences and conducted workshops about literacy development, hands on education, and Brain Architecture and Mind in The Making Seven Essential Skills. She volunteers her time serving New Orleans Kids Partnership, is an active member of P.E.O International which promotes educational opportunities for women worldwide.

Erik Mayo

Louisiana Coastal Services

A multi-disciplined professional service firm assisting clients in the coastal parishes of Louisiana in transactional legal services, land broker services, and grant management while promoting environmentally-friendly usage of Louisiana’s coast. Erik A. Mayo is owner of Louisiana Coastal Services, Inc. (LCS) and plays an administrative and operation role in each of LCS’ divisions. Prior to establishing LCS, Mr. Mayo practiced law in both the U.S. military and in the private sector. Mr. Mayo places heavy emphasis on risk management discipline throughout LCS’ divisions. Mr. Mayo uses this risk management focus, combined with his passion and commitment to Louisiana’s coastal issues, to structure LCS as a premier professional service provider in south Louisiana, acquiring contracts with the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Louisiana Land Trust.

Jeanette Bell

Garden On Mars

A non-profit urban garden project to increase access to fresh produce and promote financial self-sustainability for residents of Lower 9th Ward by providing them with the tools, resources, and knowledge to grow fresh food and flowers. Jeanette Bell is an expert gardener who’s been growing flowers, veggies, and fruits on vacant lots in New Orleans for over 25 years. She was awarded a 2015 People’s Health Champion for her urban gardening efforts. “At 71, I’m living proof that gardening keeps a person healthy and happy.” Her favorite flower is the medallion rose.

Elia Brodsky, Jaclyn Williams, Dr. Claudia Copeland, Dr. Amitha Dasari, Dr. Leonid Brodsky

Pine Biotech

A big data machine learning platform for biomedical and molecular data to enable research and development of personalized therapeutics and diagnostics for cancer and infectious diseases. Elia Brodsky (CEO) Elia Brodsky is the CEO of Pine Biotech. His background is in entrepreneurship, business development, technical writing, planning, visual communication, and marketing. His education includes training in many areas, including business analytics, basics of finance and accounting, and data-driven marketing and planning, from the Harvard Business School, Bar-Ilan University, and Tiltan College of Visual Communications. He has managed development, engineering, design, and marketing teams, and conducted corporate planning, including initial startup phase development, non-dilutive, seed and angel fundraising, and product-market fit development. Jaclyn Williams Jaclyn Williams has a Masters degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Southern Mississippi, with published research in gene expression analysis in Amblyomma ticks, and their microbiome. She has been working with Pine Biotech for the last year, assisting with data analysis, educational projects, and working with clients. Her teaching experience includes biology for nursing students and molecular entomology.

Seth Descant & Chris Fry

Descant Ranch Food Hub

A blueberry farm and food hub in Washington Parish connecting local farmers with the resources and information to promote long-term financial and agricultural sustainability in the region. Seth Descant is an international professional for a leading environmental produced water separation company in the Oil and Gas Industry. Seth Descant has seen and experienced first-hand environmental atrocities as well as the impact on the local under-developed communities. Mr. Descant brings his knowledge of ever increasing environmental compliance standards, practical problem solving abilities, and intense drive to see a job done well to implement into Descant Ranch; this is why Descant Ranch will become the leader in carbon neutral blueberry production and processing.

Paris Woods & Sarah Payne

College Beyond

A nonprofit that acts as the connective tissue between students, families, high schools and higher education by leveraging the power of relationships to guide students through the academic, social, and financial transition from high school success to college persistence. Paris Woods (co-founder & Executive Director) Paris Woods is co-founder and Executive Director of College Beyond. A first-generation college graduate, Paris earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Harvard University where she studied African American Studies and Education Policy & Management. Paris worked in college admissions, financial aid, and student advising at Harvard, before moving to New Orleans to become the founding Director of Alumni Support for New Orleans College Prep Academies. As a result of her work with NOCP, Cohen College Prep became the #1 open enrollment high school in the city of New Orleans sending students to college. Paris has been honored in Gambit’s 40 Under 40 and as an Innovation Award recipient by the Alliance for Diversity and Excellence. Paris’s and Sarah’s work together supporting New Orleans students has been featured in numerous news outlets including the Times Picayune, Hechinger Report, Education Week, and WWLTV Channel 4 News. Sarah Payne (co-founder & Director of Strategy) Sarah Payne is co-founder and Director of Strategy for College Beyond. Prior to starting College Beyond, Sarah served as the founding Director of College Counseling at Cohen College Prep High School, where she directed College Prep’s college readiness programs and supports and served on the school leadership team. She has worked in state government, education non-profits, and as a middle school teacher, and holds bachelor’s degrees in International Relations and French from Wellesley College. She is a doctoral student in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where her research is focused on college persistence and post-college outcomes.

Sharessa Garland & Ecoee (Joan) Rooney

Sugar Roots Farm

A non-profit urban farm fostering physical wellness and positive environmental impact in metro New Orleans through farm-to-fork education and sustainable, free-range agricultural methods. Sharessa Garland moved to New Orleans in 2010 from New York state with over seven years of animal-husbandry and farming experience then worked at Audubon Zoo for five years. As a parent, she quickly identified the need for a place where children in the metropolitan New Orleans area could learn about farming, humane animal husbandry, and where they could meet and interact with farm animals in their own environment. She worked hard to identify a location within Orleans Parish where she could make her vision a reality and where she could share the values that farming can bring forth. With support of members of the community, she was able to purchase the land to create Sugar Roots Farm in October, 2014. With the support of volunteers from the community, Garland cleared the land and built enclosures, shelters, and basic infrastructure. Sugar Roots Farm has since become a destination for many school-aged children to learn about farming and farm-to-table concepts. She obtained a non-profit status for Sugar Roots Farm in January of 2016. Sugar Roots Farm was selected as a venture in the Propeller Accelerator program in the Fall of 2016. She was sought out and served as a workshop presenter on backyard chickens at the 2016 Farm To Table Experience in New Orleans.

2016 Growth Ventures

Kathryn Wollan & Jennifer Sclar

Clear Health Analytics

Clear Health Analytics empowers consumers to make smarter health insurance decisions by providing clear and unbiased cost comparison information. Their web-based tool, also available through EnrollAmerica, estimates typical annual health care usage for 27 common illnesses and chronic diseases, ultimately providing the consumer with an estimate on out-of-pocket costs for each potential health plan. Kathryn Wollan leads operations and consumer-focused design at Clear Health Analytics. She was a panelist for A Look Into the Crystal Ball: Innovation, Opportunity and the Future of Enrollment, Enroll America’s State of Enrollment conference plenary panel. Prior to her work with Clear Health Analytics, Kathryn was historic preservationist, and has over a decade of experience in public policy and cultural heritage planning and conservation. She has worked in both the public and private sectors and has expertise managing large government projects. With her background in interdisciplinary design efforts, she has a particular interest in human-centered design, and is responsible for making sure that the unbiased, data-driven information CHA is creating is communicated to consumers with clarity and simplicity. Kathryn is a graduate of Barnard College and holds a M.S. from University of Vermont. Jennifer Sclar leads consumer-directed product development for Clear Health Analytics. She recently served on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Plan Choice Decision Support Advisory Group and was a TedMed panelist. Prior to her work with CHA, Jennifer spent many years prosecuting civil cases on behalf of consumers and shareholders against large financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and health insurance companies. She is passionate in her desire to give consumers access to the information they need in ways that are useful and intuitive. Jennifer is a magna cum laude graduate of Barnard College and a graduate of Columbia Law School.

Johanna Gilligan & Mike Kantor

Grow Dat Youth Farm

Grow Dat Youth Farm nurtures a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. Since inception in July of 2010, Grow Dat staff and youth in our programs have converted a 7-acre portion of the former North Golf Course in City Park into the largest urban farm in New Orleans and engages 50 young adults annual to farm 2.5 acres of land, harvesting around 20,000 pounds of food each year. Johanna Gilligan began her food education over ten years ago at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In 2006, she returned to New Orleans to work with the New Orleans Food and Farm Network and later launched her own consulting business, Clean Plate Projects, LLC. Her most visible work as a consultant was school food reform with middle-school youth at the non-profit Rethink, which generated national attention and was eventually profiled on HBO’s “Weight of the Nation.” In 2011, Johanna founded Grow Dat Youth Farm in collaboration with Tulane University. Since its inception, Grow Dat has become the largest farm in New Orleans, employing more than 150 young adults to grow over 40,000 lbs. of food. Johanna has received many awards for her work, including the City Park Presidential Award, Tulane University’s Young Alumnae Award, New Orleans CityBusiness’s Woman of the Year nomination, Gambit’s 40 under 40 award, and Tulane University’s Scott Cowen Service Award. A native of New York’s Hudson Valley, Mike Kantor grew up with a single growing season and a pair of ice skates. Mike is a fundraiser, marketer, and anti-poverty and food justice advocate. At Grow Dat, he works to build a community of participants and investors, and champions a vision for youth leadership development grounded in the meaningful work of growing food. Prior to his present role, Mike worked as the Communications & Public Affairs Director for a regional food bank, as a project manager for an urban agriculture and youth education program, and as a political organizer on a national environmental justice campaign. He holds a master’s degree in Geography from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College.

Colleen Butler & Anthony Mayer

Hanging Gardens

Hanging Gardens constructs cradle to grave green infrastructure systems that are net-zero for potable water consumption for local property owners, developers, and municipal entities such as the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. Since inception, Hanging Gardens, LLC has designed, engineered and provided products to capture approximately 1.2 million gallons of stormwater is various regions across the United States. Dr. Colleen Butler is the New Orleans Sales Representative for Hanging Gardens, LLC, a technical manufacturer and distributor of green infrastructure products for stormwater management. Prior to this role, Dr. Butler was the Executive Director at Bayou Land Resource Conservation and Development Council, an environmental non-profit focusing on clean water and habitat restoration projects in multiple locations across southeast Louisiana. Dr. Butler received a B.A. in Biology from Boston University and a Ph.D. in Biology from Tufts University. She was the project lead to design, install, and maintain the first green roof at Tufts University. Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to public education about science and the environment.

James Graham

Healthy School Food Collaborative

The Healthy School Food Collaborative is a consulting company that specializes in knowledge of National School Lunch Program meal pattern requirements, providing schools and organizations with services including: food vendor management, State and Federal regulation compliance support, procurement, and assistance to become school food authorities (SFA). These services relieve schools from administrative and compliance burdens related to standards and regulations of the USDA and ultimately aim to decrease obesity rates through the provision of healthier foods options. James Graham serves as the Executive Director of the Healthy School Food Collaborative, where he acts as an expert interface between schools to negotiate and solve contractual and business related issues related to food service. James received his J.D. from Loyola University of Law, and an MBA and M.Ed. from the University of New Orleans.

Nicole Waguespack

Martin Ecosystems

Martin Ecosystems is an environmental technology company that manufactures and supplies BioHaven® Floating Technology and EcoShield™. Their products provide cost-effective solutions for a variety of environmental challenges including stormwater and wastewater treatment, shoreline protection, and habitat restoration. Martin Ecosystems was founded with a desire to protect and restore the Louisiana coast, and Nicole has been a partner in the company since its beginning in 2008. A graduate of Louisiana State University, Nicole’s science background allows insight into how Martin Ecosystems products work, as well as what it takes to bring them to market. She has been instrumental in expanding the product lines into new markets, including shoreline protection, wastewater and stormwater treatment. It is her hope that Martin Ecosystems products will provide her children the opportunity to grow up experiencing the remarkable beauty of the Louisiana Coast, just as she did.

John Fraboni & Max Gaudin

Operation Spark

Operation Spark is a code school offering programming to prepare primarily low-income individuals for employment in the Greater New Orleans area’s technology sector, connecting graduates with opportunities from entry-level internships to full time careers as software engineers. With over 20 years of professional experience in software development, John Fraboni has worked for a diverse set of clients including Tabasco, Tulane University, Riley Foods, Oreck Vacuums, The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Microsoft, Ernst and Young, Disney, and Sony. Beginning in 2009, his work in the video game industry in Montreal contributed to some of the most successful games on social platforms. Mr. Fraboni holds a Bachelor of Music from McGill University and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. He toured extensively from 1998 to 2012, performing notably at the Hollywood Bowl, the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center, Massey Hall, Roy Thompson Hall, the Orpheum, the National Art Center of China, The Canadian National Arts Centre, Expo 2012, and most recently toured the Opera Houses of China. Mr. Fraboni is also the recipient of performing arts awards from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Manhattan School of Music, International House New York, as well as the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (a Juno award, the Canadian equivalent of Grammy). In the past year, as CEO of Operation Spark, John won the NEOW Education Pitch and 4.0 Schools’ Launch accelerator, and was invited to the White House three times. He has lived in Montreal, New York, New Orleans and Toronto. Max is a native New Orleanian, software developer, and founder and CEO of two local technology startups, Sidework and Airpnp. He is an active member of the New Orleans technology community and organizer of 1 Million Cups New Orleans. As COO, Max focuses on overall strategy, fundraising, volunteer happiness, building partnerships, and keeping John on his toes. Max enjoys bringing his business savvy mindset from the for-profit world and injecting it into Operation Spark. Max studied Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism at the University of New Orleans.

Tyler Ortego

ORA Estuaries

ORA Estuaries grows oyster reefs into living coastal protection infrastructure by deploying innovative technology designed to break waves and grow faster than sea level rise. Since 2010, ORA Estuaries’ work has resulted in over 3 miles of oyster reef shoreline. Tyler Ortego is a coastal engineer and entrepreneur with a passion for commercializing promising environmental technologies. Mr. Ortego uses his prior experience as a water resources engineering consultant to identify opportunities, navigate red tape, and get proprietary products specified into public sector contracts. Tyler also has a great passion for oysters. This delicious delicacy is as wondrous in the water as it is on the plate. Having successfully implemented projects that use living oyster reefs to protect coastal wetlands, Tyler is now tapping into the burgeoning mitigation banking and water quality credit trading industries to make sure our oysters are thriving for generations to come. Tyler Ortego is the winner of the 2014 New Orleans Water Challenge and Entrepreneur Week’s 2015 Big Idea Challenge. He is an active member of the Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers Institute.

Pearlie Harris & Tim Harris

Royal Castle Child Development Center

Royal Castle is a five-star, National Association for the Education of Young Children accredited childcare center providing high quality education and care to 100 diverse infants and young children through a holistic approach that encourages parental involvement.

Rashida Ferdinand & Rosamar Torres

Sankofa

Sankofa provides locally grown whole foods through community-based fresh markets to improve access to healthy food and support positive cultural norms for health and wellness. Rashida Ferdinand is the founder and executive director of Sankofa. A fifth-generation homeowner and visual artist in the Lower 9th Ward, Rashida comes from a family of community health practitioners and social justice leaders. She founded Sankofa with a team of community stakeholders in 2008 to create a local environment that promotes positive health and environmental sustainability. Sankofa’s food access programs focus on building a healthy food system in vulnerable communities of New Orleans. These efforts are designed to ensure resilience, community empowerment, and equity. Rashida is a graduate of the fourth cohort of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program and currently represents Sankofa on the Xavier University LaCats New Orleans Community Advisory Board, the LSU and SU Ag Center Orleans Parish Advisory Leadership Council, Mid South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center on Health Disparities, Greater New Orleans Water Collaborative, and New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee. Rosamar Torres is Sankofa’s Programs Manager. She oversees program development in the areas of food access and health education. She represented Sankofa in the Lots of Progress Competition, during which Sankofa received 1st place, along with land to develop a fresh food market in the Lower Ninth Ward. She graduated from Tulane School of Public Health.

Maggie Riddell & Gabrielle Alicino

TrueSchool

TrueSchool Studio is a research and design team partnering with schools, districts, and organizations to enable frontline educators to design innovative models, tools, and strategies. Together, we hypothesize, research, and imagine ‘true’ or fully realized schools—places of limitless potential for people and learning. Maggie Riddell’s experience intersects education and innovation. She taught high school English in New Orleans and immediately developed a passion for working with students and teachers to drive change in schools. Maggie has coached teams of eDesigner intrapraneurs from 95 schools in three cities to develop and implement solutions for their students and communities. She has also coached entrepreneurs through 4.0 Schools’ Essentials Program and Fast 48 Bootcamp at Tulane’s Taylor Center. Locally, Maggie is a founding member of the regional strategy team for Leadership for Educational Equity and the Transformational Teaching Fellowship through Teach For America. Maggie holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina. Gabrielle Alicino’s experience draws on community development and education, and is grounded in a passion for social justice. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Urban Studies, Gabrielle was awarded the Fox Leadership Fellowship to work directly with nonprofit leaders in New Orleans. During her time as a Fox Fellow, Gabrielle worked at Catholic Charities to develop a collaborative care program and went on to manage Providence Community Housing’s NEWCITY Neighborhood Partnership, a coalition committed to collaborative planning and information sharing for the economic and community development of New Orleans. Through her work as a Fox Fellow, Gabrielle developed a strong commitment to the city of New Orleans and was asked to serve on the board of Broad Community Connections, an organization committed to revitalizing the neighborhoods along Broad Street via fresh food access and health education, economic opportunity, and the built environment. TrueSchool has collaborated with 1,100+ educators to prototype and pilot innovations to drive student achievement, collectively impacting 47,143 students.

Libby Fischer

Whetstone Education

Whetstone Education builds technology to drive teacher growth. Whetstone’s classroom observation platform is where schools capture, track, and analyze teacher data in order to personalize professional development with targeted feedback, resources, and goal-setting. Libby Fischer is the CEO of Whetstone Education. A graduate of St. Louis University, Libby taught Spanish in the Mississippi Delta with Teach For America before joining Revolution Foods, where she supported school partnerships to provide healthy lunches to students. After a few too many cold winters, Libby returned south to join Whetstone Education as Director of Growth. She moved into the role of CEO in the fall of 2014 and is thrilled to be partnering with the country’s foremost thought leaders on instructional development. She was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Education in January 2016 and is a founding board member of Elan Academy Charter School in New Orleans.

Jason B. Horne & Monica F. Horne

XS Martial Arts Dojo

XS Martial Arts Dojo enhances positive leadership, crime prevention/intervention, life skills, bully awareness/prevention, self-esteem, character building and discipline for youth and adults by offering martial arts training through after school programming, all day camps, physical education programs in schools, and a Leadership Training Academy for military veterans and former athletes. Master Jason B. Horne is the founder and master instructor of the MA-KIBO-KARATE-DO system of XS Martial Arts Dojo (XS MAD). He received his associate’s degree from Delgado Community College, and served in the United States Military for 21 years. Master Horne has dedicated over 25 years of his life to martial arts, holds a 6th-degree black belt in various styles, and has been inducted into the Martial Arts World Hall of Fame twice (2008 and 2010) for his humanitarian work. Master Horne is also the founder and executive director of S.O.N. (Save One Now), a non-profit organization that focuses on families and the youth of the New Orleans area. S.O.N. reinforces XS MAD’s anti-crime efforts in schools and communities throughout the city. He graduated from the first cohort of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, and has impacted over 1,000 students. As the business manager of XS Martial Arts Dojo, Monica F. Horne is responsible for developing the after school program and summer camp curricula. She demonstrates a positive “can do” attitude for all the children she comes into contact with. Monica believes in Master Jason Horne’s vision of a community of well-rounded children who possess respect for themselves and others. She left the workforce to homeschool her two sons and devote her time to the family business. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Southern University of New Orleans.

William Stoudt

Youth Rebuilding New Orleans

YRNO purchases blighted homes, employs opportunity youth to supervise youth in the homes’ renovation, and sells the constructed homes to teachers at a significant discount in exchange for their continued service to the educational system. Youth outcomes include high quality job training, career readiness, and economic self sufficiency. William Stoudt, former Executive Director of Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, is a New Orleans native and graduate of Tulane University. Before joining the staff, William worked as the Director of the Board and helped found the organization immediately after Hurricane Katrina. He believes that engaging local youth and providing real educational opportunities are necessary to facilitate New Orleans’ continued growth.

Eliel Oliveira & Salvatore Peraino

LHS Solutions

LHS Solutions, Inc. improves the healthcare clinical research process, expedite the understanding of health conditions and treatment options, and contribute to the creation of a learning health system. Salvatore J. Peraino II, CPA, is cofounder and the Finance Director of LHS Solutions, Inc., a technology company headquartered in New Orleans, LA committed to delivering software and services that streamline the patient acquisition process of clinical trials. In his role, Sal manages and quantifies company resources, oversees and directs financial reporting, and identifies known and potential barriers that may impede the corporation’s overall mission and directive. Sal earned an M.S. and B.S. from Louisiana State University with a concentration in accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Louisiana, and has extensive financial, single audit, operational, and internal control auditing experience with major clients from the healthcare industry, including Lafayette General Medical Center, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, and Rapides Regional Medical Center. His nonprofit clients include Tiger Athletic Foundation, Louisiana Hospital Association, and The ARC Acadiana. During his seven years in public accounting, Sal led his firm’s sponsorship of the Beta Alpha Psi accounting organization at LSU and was regularly invited to speak on the intersection of accounting and auditing. He led sustainability efforts for the REACHnet program at Louisiana Public Health Institute with the objective of converting a grant driven revenue stream program to a value based service revenue program. He lives with his wife, Brittney, and their son Giorgio in Metairie, LA. Eliel Oliveira started his first technology company when he was 15 years old. Raised in a poor area of northeast Brazil, he worked his way to college, achieving two graduate school degrees at Tulane University. Eliel has managed technological development in cancer research in partnership with the National Cancer Institute, as well as the construction of a state-of-the-art cancer research facility in New Orleans. He currently leads clinical research recruitment and patient engagement technologies that contribute to the creation of a learning health system.

2017 Growth Ventures

Robert Mora & Jennifer Snape

Batture

An engineering design firm that focuses on meeting community-based needs through water-based infrastructure. Robert Mora, PE, PLS, ENV-SP (Founder & Managing Partner) A professional engineer and land surveyor, Mr. Mora is a founder and managing partner at Batture LLC. Batture is an engineering firm focused on infrastructure planning and design. He has been actively involved in the the New Orleans Professional Chapter of Engineers without Borders and currently serves as the Chapter President. He is a member of the Greater New Orleans Water Collaborative, currently serving on their steering committee. Jennifer Snape (Managing Partner) Jennifer Snape is a Managing Partner in Batture, LLC, a civil engineering and land surveying firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jennifer graduated from Tulane University with her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. She received a Master’s Certificate in Coastal Engineering from Old Dominion University. She has been working as a civil engineer for over 13 years. In 2016, Jennifer was selected as one of fifty Women of the Year by New Orleans City Business and she was awarded the Outstanding Young Alumni award by Tulane University School of Science and Engineering. Jennifer has co-authored two books on Louisiana/Engineering History, Louisiana’s Oil Heritage and Huey P. Long Bridge. Jennifer is involved with multiple non-profit and professional societies, including Groundwork New Orleans, where she has been on the board and acted as treasurer for 4 years, Society of American Military Engineers, where she has held board positions for three years, Engineers Without Borders, and American Society of Civil Engineers.

Chris Sylvain & Cynthia Sylvain

Best Life Pharmacy and Restaurant

A New Orleans-based pharmacy and restaurant that offers city-wide delivery of nutritious meals and prescription drugs, with a focus on providing in Diabetes and HIV/AIDS care. Chris Sylvain Chris Sylvain has been a community pharmacist for 34 years working in a major chain as a pharmacy manager, store manager and diabetes trainer before starting Best Life. He is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at Xavier where he has focused on nutrition and herbal medicine. He is the pastor of Faith Church. He hosts wellness programs on WYLD and WBOK radio stations and the NOATV television station. Cynthia Sylvain Cynthia Sylvain is a Clinical Social Worker who has worked with youths and adults for the past 32 years and currently is a school social worker. Her family owned Dot and Gladys Restaurant which was a successful soul food restaurant in uptown New Orleans for 13 years. She teaches on stress and wellness in churches and other venues to help people live better lives.

Andrew Petersen

Bluefin Data

Cupcake Fairies is owned by a native New Orleanian sister duo creating delectable custom confections. Cupcake Fairies are best known for their appearance on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars and have also featured their treats at the historic French Market, the Riverwalk, Essence Gospel Show, and the Super Bowl. Husband, uncle, entrepreneur, and traveler. His current goal is to build a system that globally brings the seafood community and government together. Reaping the benefits of technology will help improve processes that directly impact the oceans along with the wildlife within. To do this, it’s all about building a culture around people who are passionate about this vision and are willing to make changes for the better during the toughest times.

Paris Woods & Sarah Payne

College Beyond

Deborah Visco Abibou

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana

The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program collects discarded oyster shells from restaurants to be used as a tool to protect the coast and regenerate local oyster populations. Deb leads CRCL’s Volunteer Habitat Restoration Program and our Oyster Shell Recycling Program. She joined CRCL in 2015 and is a broadly trained ecologist. She earned a PhD from Tulane University. Originally from New York, she received her BS in Environmental Biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2006 and gained ecology/conservation experience in Dominica (West Indies), Australia, California, and New Hampshire before beginning her graduate studies in New Orleans. She has managed multiple projects, secured funding, directed field crews, authored papers, and taught science at all levels. Most recently, she has served as Lead Bird Bander and Programming Director with the Woodlands Conservancy in Belle Chasse.

Laura Stein & Jeremy Guyton

Dancing Groups

A nonprofit organization that provides physically and artistically rigorous dance training at its studios and in schools with a focus on social-emotional development, physical health, leadership skills, and social justice. Laura Stein (co-Founder & Executive Director) Laura Stein is the co-Founder and Executive Director of Dancing Grounds. She also teaches Work It Out, Dancing Grounds’ flagship hip hop dance and fitness class and teaches arts integration workshops for KID smART. Laura previously worked for Community Works of Louisiana as a Site Director and Teaching Artist. Prior to moving to New Orleans, Laura lived in New York City, working in education policy and management. She was Director of Education & Production at Dancewave (2010-2011), NYC Executive Director of RISE (2007-2009), Education Pioneers Fellow (2007), Policy Associate at New Visions for Public Schools (2005-2007) and Program Assistant at the Social Science Research Council (2003-2005). In 2010, she lived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she helped create a girls’ Hip Hop program for Tiny Toones. She received her Masters in Public Administration (M.P.A.) from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service in 2008 and her B.A. in the College of Social Studies from Wesleyan University in 2003. Laura cultivated and developed her true love of dance at Wesleyan, where she studied hip-hop, modern, West African dance and ballet. She subsequently studied hip-hop and street jazz in New York, Los Angeles and London. Jeremy Guyton Jeremy Guyton is a dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist currently serving as the In-School Education Coordinator for Dancing Grounds. He also teaches 2nd-grade dance at Akili Academy of New Orleans. A Los Angeles native, he attended Georgetown University where he received a B.A. in Theatre and Performance Studies in 2012. While at Georgetown, he danced with Groove Theory, a hip-hop team, for three years. Prior to joining the Dancing Grounds staff, Jeremy taught Kindergarten (2012-13, 2013-14) and K-3 Dance (2014-15) at Success Preparatory Academy. He is currently a company member of KM Dance Project and B.U.K.U. Dance Krewe.

Seth Descant & Chris Fry

Descant Ranch Food Hub

April Dupre

Footprints to Fitness

A wellness company that organizes fitness, wellness, and nutrition classes to promote and improve accessibility to healthier lifestyles. April Dupré is a New Orleans native with 14 years of experience in the health & wellness industry, including having a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Physiology. April is also a former New Orleans Saints Saintsation and loves educating others through her passion of dance, fitness & wellness. Her motto: TREAT YA’ SELF! She’s been featured in several local magazines, including being recently selected as one of Gambit’s 40 Under 40 recipients. April’s devoted her entire life to helping others take charge of their lives while finding a healthy mind, body, and spirit balance.

Dr. Lana Joseph

High Level Speech & Hearing Center

A speech and hearing clinic that provides increased access to patient-centered, hearing-related healthcare. Dr. Lana Joseph received her Bachelor’s degree from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana and her Master’s degree in Health Care Management from the University of New Orleans. She also received her Doctor of Audiology degree from Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri, whose program is ranked third in the nation in Audiology. In addition, Dr. Joseph has previous training and experience in management and patient care. She has served as a health care management consultant for a local clinic and worked closely with the Region 1 Director at the Louisiana Office of Public Health in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has also served as a consultant to audiologists throughout the country. She has four years of clinical audiology training at several major hospitals, clinics, and private practice facilities in Houston, Texas, New Orleans, Louisiana, Saint Louis, Missouri, and a one year residency experience at a very successful private practice in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Joseph has also published several articles in various blogs and audiology magazines including Audiology Practices and Hearing Health and Technology Matters. ? Dr. Joseph has a great attitude, caring personality and a niche for building trust with patients and long lasting relationships with health care professionals.

Kristi Givens & Precious Acker

Kids of Excellence Child Development Center

THE PITCH A private, nonprofit childcare center that provides high quality of education to young children, ensures readiness for school for all children by using developmentally appropriate practices, and invests in the development of the whole child, through cooperation of the school, family, staff, and community. Kristi Givens (Founder & Executive Director) Kristi Givens serves is the Owner and Executive Director of Kids of Excellence Learning Center. At Kids of Excellence, we envision a world where every child has equal access to quality education; our mission is to provide the highest quality education to students in our community to prepare students for kindergarten and beyond. She provides executive leadership of all staff, training, coaching, strategic planning, and oversees daily operations for two centers. With over 17 years of experience, Kristi is an instrumental advocate in early childcare development community. Kristi holds a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of New Orleans and a Master’s and a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work specializing in Children and Families from Southern University of New Orleans. She is also a Louisiana Pathways Child Care Development Trainer at the highest level, and is a Licensed Child Care Health Consultant. She also holds an Accreditation from the University of Queensland in Level 3 Primary Care Triple P working with Positive Parent Program and holds a National Administrator Credential and CDA PD Specialist for Council for Professional Recognition. Precious Acker (Communications and Partnership Manager) Precious Acker, Communications and Partnership Manager, is a Native New Orleanian with experience in education, nonprofit management, and community development. She has over 5 years experience in nonprofit management helping organizations plan, collaborate, and develop effective communication tools to establish creative ways to interact with the community. Precious holds a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and Political Science from Agnes Scott College and Master of Arts in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies from Loyola University Chicago. Precious has a passion for social justice with an emphasis in youth development and mentoring, she has an eagerness to problem solve and make a difference in community by contributing to organization with new ideas.

Dr. Calvin Mackie

STEM NOLA

A nonprofit organization that grows future innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs through inspiration, engagement, and exposure in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Dr. Calvin Mackie is one of the nation’s most prolific young STEM and Educational Motivational Speakers and Leaders. He is an award winning mentor, an international renowned motivational speaker, and a successful entrepreneur. His message as a mentor, speaker, entrepreneur and former engineering professor continues to transcend race, gender, ethnicity, religion, and time. His passion and talent is totally devoted to helping people unleash their greatness and transcend personal and societal barriers. Operating under the premise that exposure and experience are two important parameters of success, he utilizes unique strategies and methodologies to motivate and inspire. Calvin Mackie has lectured widely throughout the United States, helping people change the way they think about achieving their lifelong dreams through education in general, and STEM specifically. A professional speaker, in 1992 he co-founded Channel ZerO, an educational and motivational consulting company and has presented to numerous civic, educational institutions and Fortune 500 corporations. Over the last 16 years, Dr. Mackie has presented to numerous school districts, educators, universities and corporations across the America. In 2004, Dr. Mackie received the 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in a White House Ceremony. In 2005, he was the featured speaker for the six regional forums for The College Board and the opening speaker for the 50th Anniversary of Advanced Placement (AP) Conference. Mackie has addressed the National School Board Association, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) , National Science Foundation (NSF) and is a frequent speaker at national teacher trainings, school districts, mentoring and technical development conferences. Most recently, Mackie has been lecturing internationally in Kuwait, Nova Scotia and Quebec Provinces of Canada.

Rochelle Wilcox

Wilcox Academy of Early Learning

An early childcare center located in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward that promotes the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development of children to give them the confidence and the tools that will guide them on their life’s journey. Rochelle Wilcox has been an advocate and participant of and for high quality early care and education over 18 years. She has an Associates of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education, a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration on Education in Urban Society and in 2013 she became the first childcare provider to sit on the board of Agenda for Children. During her tenure in the early education sector she has performed the gambit of positions from classroom teacher to Executive Director. From this experience and her education was born the philosophy of nurturing the “whole child” which means to promote the physical, cognitive, social-emotional development of young children and provide support to our parents through community resources, partnerships and parent education.

Liz Shephard, Jessica Nehrbass & Molly Richard

Lifecity

A sustainable development platform that makes social and environmental impact profitable through its simple business assessment and green business certification program. Liz Shephard (CEO) Liz is trained as an energy rater, water policy analyst, LEED Green Associate, and facilitator. After graduating with honors and distinction at Carleton College, Elizabeth was hired by her college as an Environmental Studies Associate to serve as the school’s sustainability coordinator, where she also built connections to the city of New Orleans. Originally from the Gulf Coast, Elizabeth moved to Louisiana to teach Earth Science and worked in the environmental non-profit field for nearly 3 years. Daughter of two independent business owners and as a previous steering committee member of Social Entrepreneurs for New Orleans (now Propeller), Elizabeth is passionate about making business sustainable. She leads the Green Chamber of Commerce Green Committee and serves on event committees for greening the Superbowl, NCAA events, and other special conferences like the USGBC Green Build Conference. She serves as Chair of the Caring for Creation Committee at Rayne Memorial Methodist Church and is an active community member. Recently, Elizabeth was chosen as one of the top 50 Business Women of the Year by CityBusiness, a local New Orleans newspaper. Jessica Nehrbass (Director of Impact) Jessica’s passion is employing social enterprise models for community development. As the Social Enterprise Consultant for LifeCity, she is excited to share her technical skills to improve local business’ social and environmental impact. This passion grew over her last four years in Washington, D.C. where she completed a one-of-a-kind Masters degree in Social Enterprise at American University’s School of International Service. She also facilitated an international development program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before returning to New Orleans where she was born and raised, she conducted a community needs assessment for a women’s empowerment social enterprise in Costa Rica. She has lived in four countries and is proficient in Spanish and French. Jessica’s other passions include learning about Latin American cultures and growing her Christian prayer life. She holds a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in Economics from the University of Richmond. Molly Richard (Account Manager) Molly Richard is an Account Manager for LifeCity. She has a background in local food systems, community organizing, event planning, and campaign management. Molly is a native of Lafayette, LA, and an alumni of the University of Southern Mississippi, where she graduated with a B.A. in World Religion and a minor in Human Rights. She served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest in Billings, Montana, working with farmers and ranchers to protect water and land rights. Molly returned to Louisiana to manage the Lafayette Farmers and Artisans Market at the Horse Farm. She also worked as a Housing Case Manager and Community Engagement Coordinator for Catholic Services of Acadiana, an organization dedicated to ending homelessness in the Acadiana region. A strong believer in the power of collaborative impact, Molly is excited to work alongside companies, individuals, and organizations in setting and achieving measurable goals to build a more sustainable New Orleans.

Andrew Prat

Southern City Farm

A local urban produce provider operating a climate-controlled indoor urban farm, providing sustainably grown produce that is harvested within a single day of reaching its customer’s table. v

Sharessa Garland & Ecoee (Joan) Rooney

Sugar Roots Farm

While going through the Propeller program, the staff was so informative, so well versed in so many aspects of business. They were able to help me truly create a map, plan and propose an opportunity to transform this wonderful building we’re standing next to, into what it will soon be and will come into fruition by the end of this year 2020. I couldn't have done this without the guidance of Propeller.

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