Julie Henriquez Aldana serves as an Administrative Assistant Professor of Women’s Leadership and Director of Student Leadership and Engagement for the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University. In this role, she manages all student engagement and leadership development initiatives, and leads both organizational and equity, diversity, and inclusion strategic planning efforts. She earned a B.S. in International Trade and Finance (2003), M.S. in Human Resource Education (2005), and a Ph.D. in Human Resource Education with a concentration in Human Resource and Leadership Development (2017) from Louisiana State University.

Julie’s dissertation research focused on the experience of Latina faculty as they navigate the tenure process, specifically on the role of engagement in successfully achieving tenure. As a Latina and emerging Human Resource Development and Leadership scholar, Julie’s research interests focus on multicultural leadership, cultural competence, and organizational culture in the workplace.

Deirdre serves as Program Officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of OPEN (Orleans Public Education Network). Under her leadership at OPEN, the organization has launched programmatic anchors like the Parent Leadership Training Institute, engaged more than 3,000 New Orleanians, and successfully advocated for development of the ONE APP and increased transparency in the charter application process. A native New Orleanian and product of the city’s public schools, Deirdre Johnson Burel recognizes the importance of investing in public education.

Johnson Burel attended Eleanor McMain Magnet Secondary School and went on to attend U.C. Berkeley for undergraduate study and New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service where she earned a Master of Public Administration in public policy and non-profit management. She brings a career deeply rooted in social justice via educational programming (founding staff member for New Orleans’ first Americorps program, former Director of Franklin Summerbridge, Director of Programs at Urban League of Greater New Orleans) and education policy (Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget Policy Analyst, and Policy Director for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education) to OPEN.

Shelina Davis, MPH, MSW serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) where she oversees the LPHI team and offers strategic direction to ensure health and racial equity; and champion health for people, within systems, and throughout communities. Shelina brings over 15 years of experience in public health, health care systems, leadership development, and health equity. Shelina serves on the Boards of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship – New Orleans, Propeller and CARE: Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity. She was selected as Aspen Ideas Festival Health Scholar, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health Leadership and Sustainability School Fellow, and National Council for Behavioral Health Addressing Health Disparities Leadership Program Participant. In April 2020, Shelina was appointed to Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, Louisiana Prisons Sub-Committee and Louisiana Resilient Commission, Manufacturers Sub-Committee.

Prior to joining LPHI, Shelina served as Assistant Vice President of Practice Improvement at the National Council for Behavioral Health based in Washington, DC, where she led the strategic oversight and development of public health initiatives — supporting community-based organizations as well as federal, state, local and tribal governmental agencies and their workforce in achieving health and racial equity.

Cedric S. Grant has served as a senior executive at each of the three major levels of government. His expertise is in capital development and finance, economic development, general government policy development, water utility and disaster grants management and resilience, urban, transportation and strategic planning. He is a strategic thinker and visionary leader.

When he first worked for the City of New Orleans, he managed the development and sale of a 264 unit single family housing subdivision under a federal infrastructure grant. At the City’s Downtown Development District, he completed the infrastructure redevelopment that ushered in the 1984 World’s Fair. At the Port of New Orleans, he developed the 20-year Port Master Plan which included plans for cruise ship and gaming berths. At the City of New Orleans, he managed the City government of 6,000 employees along the $550 million operating and $200 million capital budgets. He managed the Atlanta regional office for Parsons Corporation, overseeing major road and highway projects. As Deputy Secretary of Transportation for the State of Louisiana he managed the State toll authority, its disadvantaged business program and multi-million-dollar special projects such as the Huey P. Long Bridge Expansion, John James Audubon Bridge and I-10 Twin Spans Bridge Replacement Project. While CAO of Ascension Parish he managed the government and its recovery from Hurricane Gustav, securing $20 million for recovery projects including the acquisition of the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center.

During his 40-year career, Grant developed billions of dollars of public projects. As the leader of the City of New Orleans post Katrina recovery program he directed the delivery of over $1 billion in facilities and roadwork projects including the redevelopment of the World Trade Center Office building. As leader of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, he led reforms of the organizational structure and increased water and sewer rates to support a $3.3 billion capital improvement program that included a $200 million investment in green sustainable infrastructure. He has undertaken, guided and completed complex projects throughout his career. On an international level, Grant engaged in collaborative initiatives such as the C40 Delta Cities Network aimed at creating resilience and adaptation strategies around the world. He has been a frequent speaker on these subjects at international forums.

Grant is currently president of Grant Management Group, a management services firm providing advisory and strategic planning services to government, private sector and non-profit organizations. He is an advisor to public and private clients where he consults with senior leaders on government operations, strategic growth, business development, water management, resilience and sustainability.

Grant holds a B.A. in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Orleans. He is a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and graduate of an International Port Management Training Course. He is an US army veteran retiring with the rank of Major. Mr. Grant is a Life Member of the International City/County Management Association and a member of the ICMA Advisory Group on Graduate Education. He is the 2019 recipient of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Marks of Excellence Award. He has served on the board of directors of several national organizations. Cedric is married to Bridget Depland-Grant.

Sheryl Kennedy Haydel, PhD, APR earned her doctorate in mass communication from the University of Southern Mississippi – Hattiesburg, an MBA from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a focus in Marketing and an MA in Journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park, and bachelor’s in mass media from Clark Atlanta University. She has worked as a journalist and an award-winning public relations executive. In addition, Haydel serves as a media expert on the use of social media in political and social movements. Twice she has been awarded the Individual Award of Excellence by the Public Relations Society of America’s New Orleans chapter. She also serves as the director of the National Association of Black Journalist’s high school program (JSHOP). Haydel has held both academic and administrative positions at several institutions. Her research examines the role of the Black collegiate press in the pursuit for Civil Rights and the use of social media today for both branding and activism.

Ericka Michelle Lassair aka “Chef Diva” the Founder of Diva Dawg Food Truck is a New Orleans native and graduate of Southern University A&M College and Delgado Culinary Arts. She is a Tory Burch Foundation Fellow/Ambassador and was featured in the January 2017 Vogue magazine alongside Tory Burch. In Cosmopolitan’s “Get That Life,” and an episode of Modern Hero on Amazon Prime, Ericka shares the story of her entrepreneurial journey. The summer of 2017, Ericka was featured in Essence magazine as the Celebrity Chef for ‘Essence Eats’ and had an appearance in the movie “Girls Trip” in the Diva Dawg truck. In 2020, Ericka will be featured on several episodes of WYES TV show Kitchen Queens.

Kim O’Connor Ramsey serves as the Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), a prominent nonprofit organization with offices in New Orleans, LA, and Washington, DC. Before joining NNPHI, Kim launched her career with a four-year tenure at Price Waterhouse. She transitioned to the nonprofit sector as the inaugural Internal Auditor for the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. In this role, she was uniquely positioned to audit all Catholic churches, primary, middle, and secondary schools, as well as various agencies across an eight-parish region.

Throughout her career, Kim has held significant roles in four successive nonprofit organizations, including Internal Auditor, Controller, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Vice President. She is guided by the belief that “nonprofits change lives every day,” and she has worked alongside passionate colleagues to ensure these organizations fulfill their missions.

Kim is a proud alumna of Loyola University, where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting, with a Secondary Concentration in Spanish. She holds multiple professional certifications, including Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), and Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA).  On a personal note, Kim is married to a serial entrepreneur. This partnership has given her firsthand experience with the challenges and rewards of small business ownership, including issues related to staffing, growth, and financial management.

Reuben Teague is a Director in the Impact Investments group in the Corporate Social Responsibility Department at Prudential. He is responsible for sourcing, underwriting and managing investments that meet Prudential’s social value criteria while providing risk-adjusted financial returns. Prudential Impact Investments manages a portfolio of more than $450 million in investments and typically originates between $150 million and $250million in transactions annually. The group has a goal of reaching a $1 billion portfolio by 2020. Prior to joining Prudential in 2013, Teague was co-founder and principal of Green Coast Enterprises, a triple bottom line real estate development and project management firm based in New Orleans. He participated in the development of over 1,000 units of sustainable, hazard-resilient affordable housing and over 50,000 square feet of commercial space aimed at restoring needed community resources to the greater New Orleans area.

He previously was an adjunct professor in Tulane University’s Masters of Sustainable Real Estate Development program. Teague has an AB degree in economics from Princeton University and a JD from New York University School of Law. He was an Echoing Green Fellow in 2008. Teague is a board member of Advocates for Arts Based Education.

Rochelle Wilcox has been an early child care professional for over 18 years. Her advocacy for early learning started in the classroom as a teacher and led her to her current position as the Executive Director of the Wilcox’s Academy Early Learning Center. She comes super-charged with an educational background including an Associates of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Education in Urban Society. In 2013, she became the first childcare provider to sit on the board of Agenda for Children. Rochelle is a 2017 Propeller Accelerator Alumnae.

Matt originated the idea and co-founded TurboSquid in 2000 as one of the web’s first digital marketplaces for stock media, which was acquired in 2021 for $75M. Before TurboSquid, Matt entered the 3D industry as a founding partner and senior producer of 3D visual effects for Chimera Digital Imaging, a visual effects and 3D animation firm.

In 2005, he contributed the idea and co-authored the legislation for the Digital Interactive Media incentives for the state of Louisiana, widely cited as significantly contributing to the city’s entrepreneurial renaissance. More recently he co-chaired New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s transition team as she took office in 2018. Matt serves as Chairman of the Board for the New Orleans Startup Fund, and as a trustee for the RosaMary and MFW Foundations. His awards and recognition include being named “Technology Leader of the Year” for Louisiana by the Governor’s Office, and induction into the “Business Hall of Fame” by Junior Achievement. Matt graduated with a degree in History from Brown University in 1994 with a personal emphasis on software engineering. He is a member of the 2014 Class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute.

He previously was an adjunct professor in Tulane University’s Masters of Sustainable Real Estate Development program. Teague has an AB degree in economics from Princeton University and a JD from New York University School of Law. He was an Echoing Green Fellow in 2008. Teague is a board member of Advocates for Arts Based Education.

Andrea Zayas is Chief of Collaboration & Partnerships of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, the nation’s advocacy organization for charter schools. Andrea advised philanthropy, non-profits, and schools through her consulting firm, Upstream Education for several years, designing novel strategies and leading change. Prior to consulting, Andrea worked for the Ballmer Group as National Director for K12 where she developed and executed the organization’s education portfolio strategy. In 2018, Andrea joined the Boston Public Schools and led the district through the pandemic as Chief Academic Officer and solidified the district’s commitment to the science of reading and the passage of college and career aligned graduation policy. Andrea previously worked at the KIPP Foundation where she led professional learning for the network’s C-suite leaders. Earlier in her career, she founded La Cima Charter School, a dual-language and social justice focused charter in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She served as a charter authorizer in the Klein-Bloomberg administration in NYC writing the city’s first charter accountability handbook and taught in arts and literacy classrooms in the South Bronx. She began her work with charter schools managing start-ups for an Education Management Organization that partnered with non-profits led by people of color to support them in opening the school of their dreams. Entrepreneurship, community, and justice are core values that drive Andrea’s work. She was appointed by President Biden as Commissioner of the White House Initiative for Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, and currently serves on the board of Propeller, a nonprofit that helps entrepreneurs grow their nonprofits and small businesses to tackle social and environmental disparities in New Orleans. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, her master’s from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Urban. Education Leadership at Xavier University of Louisiana.