WORD ON THE STREET

WORD ON THE STREET NEW ORLEANS 500 SURVEY

How are you attracting and retaining employees with the staffing shortage?

MARGUERITE OESTREICHER

Executive Director New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity

Like many employers, we upped our starting wage to $15 per hour two years ago, but we’ve recognized that retention involves a great deal more than wages. Creating and maintaining a culture of innovation that is not top-down, and that provides opportunities for career growth and opportunity is a high priority. One thing we are looking at is providing staff housing. Housing without roommates is out of reach for many of our employees, so I see this as a logical next step. We’re also looking at an exchange program so our construction team might travel to another affiliate and work there when high heat makes working outdoors here less feasible.

TOM YURA

COO Cornerstone Chemical Company

A broad approach is needed to attract and retain top manufacturing talent in a very competitive market. It’s no longer just pay and benefits. We are focusing more holistically on the ‘employee experience.’ More than ever, employees need to connect with the company they are working with and the leaders within the company. From recruiting, onboarding, flexible work arrangements, wellness programs, active community engagement, and meaningful roles, all aspects of the employee experience need to be addressed. Succession planning and hiring talented people into an organization opportunistically, not just filling a job posting to fill a vacancy, is one way to stay ahead of hiring needs rather than playing catch-up.

NEWS FROM THE TOP Each month, we ask the top business

professionals featured in the New Orleans 500 to weigh in on issues impacting the New Orleans business community. Have an idea for a survey question for the New Orleans 500? Email rich@bizneworleans.com.

We have increased employee benefits and raised pay scales. We pay bonuses to current employees who find new employees for us. We carry referral business cards to give to anyone we meet who could be a potentially good employee.

STEPHEN HALES

Founder, Hales Pediatrics Director, Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank

The extraordinary demands of the past years have challenged every hospital and health care system. To attract and retain the best health care professionals, hospitals must build a healthy and supportive culture and understand and reward employees’ priorities and needs. It isn’t just about base compensation. JOE EAGAN

General Manager Service Corporation International

We are fortunate to have some of the best in the local region currently working with us. Creating a culture where people feel engaged, appreciated and comfortable is always something we strive to maintain. We have been honored with several awards for our workplace culture in recent years.

Iam Tucker

President/CEO/Owner ILSI Engineering

Gordon Stevens,

president/CEO of New Orleans Steamboat Company and Gray Line Tours

We have offered current employees a cash stipend if they recommend a candidate for employment in one of our open positions who ultimately gets hired and makes it past the probationary period. I told them I want more candidates that are just like them. I have an awesome team! I have definitely had to shell out some money, but it’s totally worth it to gain quality candidates that do good work. Good, qualified people are hard to find!

IN THE BIZ

18

DINING Since taking on a beloved culinary enterprise, this chef has been embracing the past.

20

TOURISM There’s an app for that: The latest technology to enhance your New Orleans experience

24

ENTREPRENEUR Awards competitions: Are they worth it?

22

SPORTS

Saints enter 2022 season with lots of question marks, and potential

IN THE BIZ DINING

POPPY TOOKER has spent her life devoted to the cultural

essence that food brings to Louisiana, a topic she explores weekly on her NPR-affiliated radio show, Louisiana Eats! From farmers markets to the homes and restaurants where our culinary traditions are revered and renewed, Poppy lends the voice of an insider to interested readers everywhere.

Making It Like They Used To

Since taking on a beloved culinary enterprise, this chef has been embracing the past.

BY POPPY TOOKER

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse is burning it up in LaPlace!

The food culture surrounding the 72-year-old establishment illustrates the fine nuances of Cajun culture on the German coast. And no one understands and appreciates Wayne Jacob’s role in the River Parish community like Chef Jarred Zeringue, who can trace his own ancestors there back to 1721. The Vacherie native has childhood memories of shopping for andouille at Wayne Jacob’s with his maternal grandmother, Winnie Chauvin. That flavor profile was so essential in her recipes her brother Lewis boasted that with one bite of gumbo he could tell if it was Wayne Jacob’s or not.

Consequently, when Zeringue purchased the business in 2016 with partner Matt Moreland, the entire family pressured him not to “screw it up.” At the time, Zeringue was operating two French Quarter restaurants, but the smokehouse became a passion project for him.

“I set out to celebrate and preserve the food traditions of South Louisiana at Wayne Jacob’s,” he said. “Original recipes are still meticulously prepared in small batches — the traditional but time-consuming way. Our andouille is made of pork, salt, pepper and garlic, enclosed in natural casing, and smoked low and slow over wood.”

Scrupulously authentic, Zeringue is hands-on through the whole process. After harvesting water oak from his family’s farm in nearby Wallace, Louisiana, he splits and cures the wood himself before building and tending the fires, butchering the meat, and stuffing the sausage — just as it’s always been done. He has also expanded the smokehouse’s selection with house-made cracklings, beef and tasso jerky, along with hogshead cheese and andouille chips. Unique to Wayne Jacob’s, the chips are made from thinly sliced andouille, deep fried to a satisfying crunch. Served with Creole mustard for dipping, they’re positively addictive.

After operating EAT New Orleans and Vacherie restaurants for over a decade, Zeringue is now solely focused on Wayne Jacob’s Café, where daily lunch specials like white beans with fresh sausage and crackling cornbread are featured, along with chicken andouille gumbo and other classic offerings. The surrounding property is lush, with blackberries and figs growing among native citrus and pecan trees. Several dozen chickens roam the grounds, providing eggs for the restaurant’s pies and cakes. Photos from a 1950s family boucherie — depicting Zeringue’s courting grandparents — hang in the café next to the original smokehouse cutting boards, which were crafted from ancient cypress slabs. A closeup of founder Nat Jacob’s well-weathered hands adds a particularly sentimental touch. With so much delicious history in the offing, Zeringue was compelled to record his family’s stories and recipes in a new book entitled “Southern and Smoked — Cajun Cooking Through the Seasons.” While conducting historical research at the Louisiana State Museum, Zeringue came across a collection of archival images from the late 19th and early 20th century credited to Olinde Schexnayder, his grandmother’s first cousin. The cache of silver negatives was discovered in a St. John Parish attic in the 1980s and donated to the museum. Among the images is a photo of Zeringue’s family enjoying a summer picnic posing with sticks of andouille sausage casually laid on the blanket as coats dangle from nearby tree branches. In another from the winter of 1899, the family perches on the edge of the Mississippi River, shown nearly frozen over with blocks of ice. Even more precious are family recipes like “keks” — a fried bread that grandmother Anabell Schexnayder Zeringue always made for sleepovers — and great-grandmother Esperance Leroux Chauvin’s Tarte à la Bouille. Zeringue’s contemporary touch is also revealed in light dishes like his watermelon and corn salad, which includes smoked poblano vinegar from Wayne Jacob’s. For Zeringue, the most satisfying part of owning the smoke-

Catch Poppy house is watching third-generTooker on her radio ation customers continue their show, “Louisiana own family’s food traditions —

Eats!” Saturdays using Wayne Jacob’s andouille to at 3 p.m. and Mondays at 8 p.m. on WWNO 89.9 FM. guarantee that their gumbo tastes just like grandma’s. T

IN THE BIZ TOURISM

JENNIFER GIBSON SCHECTER was once a tourist in New

Orleans herself and is now proud to call NOLA home.

There’s an App for That

The latest technology to enhance your New Orleans experience

Drinker’s Edition: Looking for happy hour specials, BYOB options or certain food-anddrink pairings? This app has a great search function and can use your location to show you drink specials just steps away.

BY JENNIFER GIBSON SCHECTER

Technology has made many aspects of travel easier than ever — from price comparison booking websites to text alerts with real-time flight updates. And now, the vast majority of Americans carry miniature computers in their pockets. According to a 2021 study conducted by the Pew Research Center, 85% of adult Americans own a smartphone, while just 35% of them did 10 years prior. When divided by age, 96% of those 18-29 are smartphone owners with no significant percentage decrease until the 50-64 range, which reported 83%, and ages 65+ report 61% smartphone ownership. These trends imply it is increasingly important to provide tech that supports tourism. If someone has a need, there better be an app for that.

Official tourism apps like GO NOLA and New Orleans Official Visitor’s Guide were launched 10 years ago and in the lead-up to the Tricentennial, but they are no longer available for download. That said, cultural institutions like the Preservation Resource Center and The Historic New Orleans Collection, as well as festivals, have continued to develop and offer useful apps that both visitors and locals can benefit from installing. As with all things tech, be sure to check each app’s privacy and tracking information and adjust your settings to your comfort level.

TOURS New Orleans Historical: A joint project of University of New Orleans and Tulane University, this app covers many of the lesser-known stories of our past (more than 500 of them) and guided historical tours to accompany the stories.

New Orleans Jazz Houses: Music lovers will rejoice at this app by the Preservation Resource Center. Explore by neighborhood or artist and be guided to birthplaces and homes of New Orleans’ great jazz performers. You can even listen to select songs via the app.

French Quarter Tours: This incredibly well-researched app by The Historic New Orleans Collection helps you explore the French Quarter using themes like Slave Trade and Literature, with place-specific details in the map function.

WINE AND DINE New Orleans Dining: This app is not exhaustive, but it provides restaurant lists in alphabetical order as well as a map that can access your location to show you what is nearby. Many of the restaurants also allow reservations via the app.

Eat Fit: Developed with Ochsner, this app helps diners locate restaurants that participate in the Eat Fit program, a culinary health project that works with chefs to adjust recipes. Since the majority of New Orleans’ most famous restaurants take part, you’ll find them, and healthy menu options, via the app.

GETTING AROUND RTA GoMobile: New Orleans has invested significantly in its public transportation tech. Use this app to track streetcars, busses and ferries, plan ahead with the schedules, and even purchase your rides.

Waze: This crowdsourced map app helps navigate the highways to get here, as well as walk and drive around the city, by providing users with fairly accurate road closure information that includes recent accidents and the latest potholes.

ParkMobile: Most of New Orleans’ parking meters are part of the ParkMobile system that allows you to pay at either a nearby kiosk and leave a receipt in your car, or pay via the app, which has a convenient function to add time without having to go back to your car to feed the meter. A word to the wise: do not mess with New Orleans parking meter attendants.

Uber and Lyft: Ridesharing is relatively easy in the Big Easy and these apps make getting home or back to your hotel seamless, especially after a few drinks. If you intend to partake in our party scene, plan for someone else to do the driving.

SEASONAL WDSU Parade Tracker: This app isn’t just for Mardi Gras, although that is when it is most useful. Visitors can also get information on St. Patrick’s parades, Mid-Summer Mardi Gras, and most permitted parades (not including organized second-lines).

Jazz and Heritage Festival: Find that poor-boy vendor and plan your stages with this easy app.

French Quarter Festival: See above.

Essence Festival of Culture: Personalize your schedule and find the concerts and special events that take place across multiple locations. T

IN THE BIZ SPORTS

CHRIS PRICE is an award-winning journalist and public

relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.

New Era for New Orleans

Saints enter 2022 season with lots of question marks — and potential

BY CHRIS PRICE

With the majority of starters returning and some highly anticipated additions and returns in all three phases of the game, the Saints are in position to be a playoff-caliber team; however, the Black & Gold are facing several questions as they kick off their 56th NFL campaign.

The biggest news of the offseason was the sudden retirement of head coach Sean Payton, which just eclipsed word of running back Alvin Kamara’s uncharacteristic Pro Bowl weekend arrest for allegedly assaulting a man in a Las Vegas casino. The NFL is reviewing Kamara’s case, which has yet to be adjudicated, and could impose as much as a six-game suspension on him at some point this season.

COACHING Dennis Allen was hired as the team’s head coach in February and extends the consistency coveted by the Saints’ front office leadership, owner Gayle Benson, President Dennis Lauscha, and General Manager Mickey Loomis. How well Allen can lead and win over his team will be central to the Saints’ success. He will be assisted by Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi, Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael, and Co-Defensive Coordinators Ryan Nielsen (defensive line) and Kris Richard (secondary).

OFFENSE The Saints finished 28th in the league in total offense in 2021 but should be markedly better this year. Quarterback Jameis Winston completed 59% of his passes for 1,170 yards, 14 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a 102.8 rating before he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 8. It is projected he would have had 33 TDs and 7 picks for the season at the rate he was going when he was injured. The team used four starting quarterbacks over the 17-game season, which rarely translates into postseason play.

Winston looks ready to go, and he has to be excited about the prospect of having former Pro Bowl receivers Michael Thomas — who is returning from an ankle injury that caused him to miss last season — and free-agent signing Jarvis Landry in his arsenal this year. The two add a significant improvement to a unit that will likely include rookie Chris Olave, Marquez Callaway and Tre’Quan Smith. If Kamara gets suspended, look for Mark Ingram to be the feature back in a three-man rotation with Tony Jones Jr. and Dwayne Washington. Clearing the way up front will likely be center Erik McCoy, guards Cesar Ruiz and Andrus Peat, and tackles Ryan Ramczyk and James Hurst. Expect Taysom Hill and Adam Trautman at tight end. Firstround pick Trevor Penning should get work on the line and may push Hurst at right tackle.

DEFENSE The Saints defense finished seventh in the league last year and is expected to be the team’s bedrock again this year. The unit will feature ends Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport and tackles Shy Tuttle and David Onyemata, with Demario Davis, Pete Werner and Zack Baun at linebacker. Cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo and safeties Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu and Marcus Maye will likely make up the starting four in the defensive backfield. Expect to hear familiar names like linemen Carl Granderson and Malcolm Roach, linebacker Kaden Elliss, as well as those of rookies Alontae Taylor (CB), D’Marco Jackson (LB), and Jordan Jackson (DE). In the preseason, it will be fun to see if undrafted free agent Smoke Monday, a rookie safety from Auburn, can catch fire in the secondary.

SPECIAL TEAMS Special teams will be led by kicker Wil Lutz, punter Blake Gillikin, return man Deonte Harty and long snapper Zach Wood.

SEASON OUTLOOK The NFL’s schedule makers have put the onus on the Saints to play well from the get-go.

New Orleans faces its NFC South Division rivals in its first three games — at Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and at Carolina. With QB question marks for the Falcons and Panthers, it looks as if the division will be contested between the Saints and Bucs. Don’t be surprised if the Black & Gold comes out of September undefeated.

October features five games, four of which will be played in the Superdome — Vikings, Seahawks, Bengals, at Cardinals, Raiders. Expect the Saints to go 4-1 or 3-2 in this stretch, with possible losses to Cincy and on the road at Arizona.

November sees the Saints at home against the Ravens, on the road against the Steelers, at home against the Rams, and on the road in San Francisco. This is arguably the toughest stretch of the season. I’m looking at a 2-2 performance.

There are three games in December, at Tampa, bye week, home against Atlanta, and on the road at Cleveland. They should win two of the three.

The Saints close the season in with two games in January — at Philly and home against the Panthers. They’ll likely split these games.

Assuming injuries don’t plague the team again, the Saints have enough talent to post a 12-5 or 11-6 season this year. If they can remain healthy, they’ll compete for the division crown and qualify for the playoffs.

It’s a new era in New Orleans, but it appears the good times will continue to roll. Let’s geaux! T

IN THE BIZ ENTREPRENEUR

KEITH TWITCHELL spent 16 years running his own business

before becoming president of the Committee for a Better New Orleans. He has observed, supported and participated in entrepreneurial ventures at the street, neighborhood, nonprofit, micro- and macro-business levels.

Awards Competitions: Are They Worth It?

Local professionals share their thoughts.

BY KEITH TWITCHELL

MONEY. In both the private and nonprofit worlds, awards occasionally include a financial win. However, this is the exception rather than the rule.

MORALE. “Most of the value is in our own community,” Howell observed. “It boosts morale and commitment to the mission among our staff.”

But what about the costs? Those can include:

Who doesn’t like having a nice plaque on the wall or trophy on the shelf representing some fabulous award your business or nonprofit won?

Almost every award, however, represents time spent filling out nomination or application forms — time not spent generating revenue or advancing your mission.

“It’s important to weigh the value proposition,” observed Marielle Dupré, co-founder of Windowsill Pies. “How much time and expense are required, and what are the potential benefits?”

Like any other cost-benefit analysis, there are many variables to consider. Let’s review some key ones, starting with the upsides. CREDIBILITY. The Pontchartrain Conservancy recently received the EPA’s Gulf Guardian Award, and according to Executive Director

Kristi Trail, “As a science-based organization, it adds to our technical credibility. It’s similar to having a peer-reviewed published paper.”

For Kristin Marshall, digital marketing coordinator for Urban South Brewery, awards can be the little extra something that differentiates a company in a crowded marketplace.

“You put yourself a step ahead of your competitors,” she said. “People know they’re getting a good product.”

RECOGNITION, PUBLICITY AND AWARENESS. When Windowsill Pies won an award from WYES-TV, “it was the first time we’d gotten public recognition,” noted Nicole Eider, the business’s second co-founder. This, in turn, led to further media coverage.

Urban South recently won a Crushie Award — an international recognition of a brewery’s marketing efforts — from the Craft Beer Marketing Awards.

“People often buy a brand’s personality more than they buy the product, and this award was a chance to show off our brand identity,” said Marshall.

“The bragging rights for a small brewery that comes out on top is huge,” added CBMA co-founder Jackie DiBella-Curry. “The name recognition alone in the global press will help them get to that next step.” NEW BUSINESS/SUPPORT. “We hope it’s a layer of what brings clients to us,” commented Alicia Vial, senior director of strategy for public-relations firm Gambel Communications, “but it’s one of many strategies we use to promote our agency.”

Trail noted that “awards help when putting together grants and talking to funders,” a sentiment shared by James Howell, development director for Boys Town Louisiana. “We tell our donors, ‘This is your award, too.’” TIME. “It can be pretty time-consuming to pull all the pieces together,” commented Vial. “So capacity is a big determination for us.” FINANCES. Costs start with competition entry fees, which Marshall noted “can get pretty steep.” Windowsill Pies was once asked to provide 500 samples for a competition. “It’s not just the time, but the cost of the ingredients, and even space to store the products,” Eider said. Ultimately, the decision to compete for awards should align with an organization’s overall strategic plan and goals. “Be selective. Do your homework,” advised Howell. “Will this award advance your strategy for your marketing and your brand?” “Will it increase awareness? Will it establish you as a thought leader, a community influencer?” added Vial, regarding her agency’s advice to clients. “We recommend applying if it goes back to their goals.” And remember, you may not win. “Know what you’re up against, what kind of quality you need to have,” advised Marshall. “Be honest with yourself, and be willing to take the criticism that comes with it. You may not win an award, but you will get higher knowledge.” Each organization and award is unique, and each competition requires a strategic analysis and decision. But the benefits are there. For instance, when this humble columnist was first approached about writing for Biz New Keith Twitchell’s blog, Orleans, the publisher cited a

“Neighborhood Biz,” appears every Thursday at profile that described me as “an award-winning writer” as having BizNewOrleans.com. piqued his interest! T

PERSPECTIVES

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HEALTHCARE What are some ways you and your health system are trying to reduce the cost of care for patients?

30

REAL ESTATE + INSURANCE Following two years of one hurricane after another, Louisiana homeowners face insurance struggles.

36

GUEST You’ve got a good idea, but Is It a business opportunity? Some tips on how to find out.

32

TECHNOLOGY

The gaming industry is hot, and New Orleans is building a solid place in it.

PERSPECTIVES HEALTHCARE

What are some ways you and your health system are trying to reduce the cost of care for patients?

DR. STEPHEN HALES

Secretary-Treasurer Board of Trustees LCMCHealth

As a physician and board member, my first thought, and LCMCHealth’s focus, is not on cost cutting, but rather on assuring quality of care, patient safety and excellent outcomes. That said, I am convinced that a culture that prioritizes access, patient satisfaction and strong quality metrics will ultimately drive lower cost of care for patients. Effective doctor-patient relationships, emphasizing overall patient health and preventive care, will reliably reduce utilization of high-cost corrective interventions. On the cost side, we work hard to attract and retain the best professional staff, to make effective use of data, and to manage supply chain costs. The past years have been extraordinarily challenging. JOANN KUNKEL

CFO LCMC Health

At LCMC Health, we are committed to providing the best possible care for our patients while addressing healthcare disparities in our community. Our providers look for ways to reduce costs by implementing practices such as Telehealth services, offering prevention and management of chronic conditions, providing patients tools to monitor care at home, and other solutions.

Additionally, we provide financial assistance to qualifying low-income patients for emergencies and other medically necessary healthcare services. This type of assistance is based on a combination of family income, family assets and medical obligations. Focusing on prevention and early detection is key to reducing the cost of care. Regular check-ups with a primary care physician are important. Education is also paramount. As part of Lakeview Regional Medical Center’s commitment to caring for our community, we regularly communicate health tips, encourage screenings such as mammograms and colonoscopies, and provide online health risk assessments to encourage the early detection of diseases. Our “Matter of Balance” classes teach seniors how to prevent falls, and our annual mother/daughter community event provides health screenings, demonstrations and education. These proactive measures help save lives and reduce the cost of care.

Hiral Patel, CEO of

Lakeview Regional Medical Center

DR. MARKALAIN DÉRY

Physician Access Health Louisiana

In industrialized countries around the world, the average amount of monies it costs to cover healthcare annually is about $5,000 per person; in the U.S., that amount is $10,000/ year. Where does that extra $5,000 go? It goes directly into profits. Period. Our healthcare industrial complex prioritizes profits over the lives of people. You may ask, does that extra $5,000 that Americans pay annually get us better healthcare outcomes? No, it does not. But don’t take it from me — here is what the Commonwealth Fund reports: “Despite having the most expensive health care system, the United States ranks last overall compared with six other industrialized countries — Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom — on measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and the ability to lead long, healthy, and productive lives.” We need Medicare for all NOW! At Ochsner Health, our organizational strategy revolves around providing the best experience possible for our patients, and this includes helping reduce healthcare costs. In recent years, we’ve focused our efforts on shifting to value-based care and population health with a significant investment in digital tools to better manage chronic disease. We believe the new model of care should bring healthcare to the patient in a convenient and accessible way. We’re doing this with programs like Ochsner Connected Anywhere, a virtual care platform offering immediate access to a healthcare provider; our Digital Medicine program, which helps patients manage chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes from home; and Connected MOM, which links pregnant and postpartum women with their care team for closer monitoring and fewer in-person visits. We are shifting from reactive to proactive and predictive healthcare, which reduces costs and is better for the whole health of the patient.

WARNER THOMAS

President and CEO Ochsner Health

PERSPECTIVES REAL ESTATE + CONSTRUCTION

When It Rains It Pours

Following two years of one hurricane after another, Louisiana homeowners face insurance struggles.

BY DREW HAWKINS

Over the last few months, five homeoners insurance companies in Louisiana have become insolvent, and many others have pulled out of the state — discontinuing all of their policies at the end of their coverage period. According to Jim Donelon, commissioner of insurance for the state of Louisiana, high premiums and insurance company failures are the result of three factors. “The first is that global markets are experiencing increased catastrophe losses and driving up the cost of reinsurance, which makes it harder for insurance companies to cover their risk and increases the cost we all pay in our premiums,” he said. “The second is the catastrophic property damage losses we experienced in Louisiana following hurricanes Laura and Ida.”

Inflation has also dramatically increased prices for roofers, suppliers and other contractors, exacerbating this issue.

“The third cause is that many homes are underinsured, and premiums go up when insurers adjust the insured value of a home to a more accurate replacement cost value,” Donelon said.

After a succession of major storms in 2020 and 2021, the warnings of an especially active Atlantic hurricane season this year hasn’t helped matters.

“Hurricanes Laura, Delta, Zeta and Ida generated approximately 800,000 property insurance claims and resulted in $25 billion in paid insurance losses,” said Jeff Albright, CEO of Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana. “Many insurers have had all the fun they care to have in Louisiana after these four hurricanes.”

Adding to the pain felt by homeowners now left scrambling, many who have switched carriers have found themselves paying more for the same coverage.

“Fewer insurance carriers are willing to write in Louisiana,” said Chuck Stall, a realtor at GNO Realty. “Some of the reps I have talked to say this is the worst they have ever seen it.”

Albright said the Louisiana homeowners insurance market will likely be in crisis for several years.

“If we are lucky, and don’t have any major hurricanes for a few years, the property insurance market can recover and insurers will begin writing new policies again,” he said. But if we continue to have multiple major hurricanes, insurers may not return — and more may leave.

Currently, the state is doing what it can to help tide people over and provide coverage until the market recovers. The vast majority of canceled or nonrenewed policies are now being written by Louisiana Citizens. Donelon said those whose insurance policy was canceled will be covered by Citizens for claims that occur between their cancellation date and the date their agent solidifies a new policy. T Policyholders need to review their insurance so they understand what their policy does and does not cover. Hurricane deductibles, also known as “named storm” or “wind and hail” deductibles, are typically between 2% and 5% of the insured property’s value, with about a third of our state’s policies having a 5% hurricane deductible. This means that if your home’s value is $200,000, you would be responsible for paying your $4,000 to $10,000 hurricane deductible before your coverage kicks in.

Jim Donelon,

Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Louisiana

JEFF ALBRIGHT

CEO Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of Louisiana

If policyholders have a good homeowner’s insurance policy with a major insurance company… keep it. There are no good shopping options to find better insurance. If not, rest assured that Louisiana Citizens is a good alternative until the market recovers and insurance companies begin writing new policies in Louisiana again.

CHUCK STALL

Realtor GNO Realty

Work with reputable companies. Sometimes if it seems too good to be true, it may be. Document your home and belongings as we are heading into hurricane season. With smartphones it is easier than ever to shoot video and upload it to any cloudbased platform. That way if your phone is damaged in any way during the disaster, you have those files uploaded and safe. Not only will it help your carrier with your claim, but it could help your builder put it back properly.

PERSPECTIVES TECHNOLOGY

DID YOU KNOW? Louisiana has been in the

gaming business for more than 15 years.

SILICON DELTA

The gaming industry is hot, and New Orleans is building a solid place in it.

BY DREW HAWKINS

New Orleans is known all across the world for its food, music and unique cultural traditions, but it’s also building a reputation as one of the country’s biggest tech incubators. Last year, multiple local companies made high-profile — and high value — exits, culminating with the sale of the analytics company Lucid for roughly $1.1 billion, landing the city its first unicorn. Within the tech industry lies the video game sub-sector, which, thanks in part to incentives from the city and state, as well as the success and support of other tech companies, is on the rise as well.

Many people may not realize how long Louisiana has been in the gaming business.

“I’ve been part of the video game industry in Louisiana since 2006, when I worked for Nerjyzed Entertainment,” said Jason Tate, CEO and co-founder of Pixel Dash Studios, a game developer in the city known for big hits like motorcycle combat game “Road Redemption,” which has sold more than 1 million copies across platforms like PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. “They were one of the first companies to take advantage of the digital media tax incentives from Louisiana.”

Tate said he’s watched the local industry grow over the years, most recently in New Orleans, where acquisitions have brought major companies like Microsoft and Keywords into the region. That’s no accident. Organizations such as Louisiana Economic Development (LED) and Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) have been working to entice more tech companies to come to Louisiana and encourage the ones already here to stay and expand.

Benefits such as the digital media tax — which provides companies with a 25% rebate on their software payroll, a tax credit that GNO, Inc. helped to write — are examples of deliberate and targeted strategies that have helped grow the video game tech sub-sector. And it’s working.

“There has been quite a push from organizations such as LED and GNO, Inc. to bring more companies to Louisiana,” Tate said, “and I believe you will see this continue as the industry in our region matures.”

That support extends beyond initiatives and incentives, too. The city and state are striving to create an atmosphere that is warm and welcoming, hosting events such as Game Fête—a networking event that not only showcases New Orleans but also the existing video game industry.

“GNO (Inc.) and LED help support the industry in a number of ways,” said Jessa Carlson, New Orleans studio head and senior art producer at High Voltage Software, a Keywords studio that has been making games for almost 30 years, for every console, since 1993. High Voltage has created more than 100 games. “Game Fête is one, but they also assist with recruiting and promoting companies to help broaden awareness.”

In another recent example, LED announced a partnership with Unity — a digital platform for creating and operating real-time 3D content — to help area schools train and certify students in real-time 3D skills. Students learn software that allows creators to build and manipulate 3D images without having to wait for a computer to render the images in high resolution, essentially allowing creators to visualize high-fidelity 3D objects in real time. Even if you don’t fully understand what that means, what’s certain is the partnership will be another big boon to the industry, expanding the pool of homegrown potential developers.

That also means more Louisianans are training and finding jobs in a cutting-edge and ever-expanding industry — and they’re staying here to do it. The state of Louisiana is making an investment that will pay off as the digital world continues to grow and as video game technology continues to develop and become more and more popular.

“This partnership with the state has been incredible as it allowed us to hire more people locally and invest in other more experimental projects,” said Dan Clifton, founder and creative director of Top Right Corner, a company that makes game engine solutions for private industry, government entities and educators—developing them for training and educational purposes. “So many local companies have taken part in programs like this across the region and these investments in the tech industry are going to set it up well for the future.”

Top Right Corner is a pioneer of what’s called “extended reality,” or “XR,” the umbrella term that covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and other immersive technologies that can merge the physical and virtual worlds. “We believe that the future of how we learn, train, educate and facilitate will largely “ Right now, you probably have around a dozen companies that are growing and hiring ”and it feels like an exciting place to be. Dan Clifton, founder and creative director of Top Right Corner

depend on programs developed in a video game environment transposed over the real world,” Clifton said.

He added that the success of larger companies like TurboSquid, InXile and High Voltage — all of which bought in to the region’s incentives early and accelerated the local developer talent pool — has allowed new tech companies and startups to take root and grow.

“Over the past five years, a company like mine has been able to exist in their slipstream, hiring employees who have formerly worked at those companies,” Clifton said. “Right now, you probably have around a dozen companies that are growing and hiring, and it feels like an exciting place to be.”

In the video game industry, New Orleans may currently be a medium-sized pond, but the region recently landed a whale. At the end of last year, Gov. John Bel Edwards and video game executive Jeff Strain announced the launch of Possibility Space, a game development studio that will design and build largescale games for a global audience.

Strain is the CEO and co-founder of Prytania Media, an independent, family-owned game development label headquartered in New Orleans and focused on the curation of groundbreaking new games.

“Within our two development studios — Possibility Space and Crop Circle Games — we work to meet the growing demand for innovative games that promote cooperation, positivity and community on a global scale,” Strain said. “We currently have about 50 developers working on new games located in New Orleans and worldwide, on the way to around 200 over the next year.”

Strain is no mere studio executive—he’s a legend in the video game industry. He worked as a programmer for Blizzard Entertainment — the company behind games that have become household names, such as “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo” and “StarCraft.” Strain created the “StarCraft” campaign editor, which was wildly popular, and served as the lead programmer and team lead on “World of Warcraft.”

“I got started in games back in 1996, before video games were considered a ‘real’ profession,” he said.

After years of working for Hewlett-Packard during the day and staying up all night coding his own games with some friends, Strain said his wife, Annie, sat him down and said that if he was going to be up all night doing it, he should make it a career.

“Two weeks later I’d resigned from HP to take a job at Blizzard Entertainment working on a little strategy game called “StarCraft,”” he said, “and here I am 25 years and four startup studios later, making a new generation of games.”

Strain said the pandemic accelerated trends he was already seeing at video game companies. “Distributed development,” which basically means people can work wherever they want to work, was already taking hold in the industry well before the explosion of videoconferencing software like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. He feels that cities like New Orleans — that have a reputation of being a “cool” place to live — will benefit the most from this shift in the industry.

“Our developers, probably for the first time in their lives, have the ability to choose where they live simply based on where they want to live, rather than to be close to a specific job or industry hub,” Strain said. “Annie and I are the best examples of this — we chose to live in New Orleans and build our business here simply because we love the city, the people and the living here.”

And while he admits New Orleans must continue working on public safety, infrastructure and schools — essentials for maintaining a healthy city — Strain said the support and incentives provided by the region, coupled with the city’s musical heritage, historic architecture, artistic curation and general spirit of joy and pride and gratitude means the people coming here will be coming for love, rather than necessity.

“If you have the rare opportunity to just pick a place to live for no other reason than it’s where you want to go, you’re not going to pick Cleveland,” Strain said. “Shout-out to Tennessee Williams.” T

PERSPECTIVE GUEST

CANAAN HEARD is a small business owner, scientist,

guest lecturer and a part owner of his family’s business, Faulk’s Game Calls. He is passionate about Louisiana, investing and small businesses.

You’ve Got a Good Idea, But Is It a Business Opportunity?

A few tips on how to find out

BY CANAAN HEARD

With the pandemic and changing economy, more Louisianians are thinking about creating a business or are in the early stages of running one. If this sounds like you, you may have ideas on what kind of business you want to start or what problem you want to solve, but how can you know if your idea is a solution that people will pay for? What makes something a real, viable business opportunity as opposed to an expensive hobby? The answer lies in basic market research. To get a full understanding of your business idea, a great place to start is by polling the people you know. Share your idea with anyone and everyone you know and ask them if it would be a product or service that they would find beneficial. If they say yes, ask them how much they would think would be a fair price. Don’t be afraid to ask people to play devil’s advocate and poke holes in your ideas and assumptions. You can then use all the information you receive to improve your idea as needed. The important thing to remember here is that you need to take your time. This process should take a few weeks — don’t try to cram it into a few days. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are businesses.

If at the end of this process you still think your idea can be turned into a business, then it’s time to map out a future for it. Start by creating a budget, timeline and a plan of action. Your budget should include basic items like what you will need for insurance, product development, office space if needed, taxes, etc. Remember that every business is unique, so budgets can look very different.

Once you’ve mapped out and created a budget, you need to finance it. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to do this. Depending on the stage of your idea or business, funding can be found by using personal savings, asking friends and family for a loan, and reaching out to angel investors, family offices, venture capitalists, or private equity firms. Each group generally has their own criteria for investments or loans. Remember, depending on whom you approach for financing, you may have to give up some ownership.

Early-stage investors can be valuable not just for their financial contributions. Generally, they also serve as a mentor to a founder who can benefit from that person’s skills, suggestions and their network. According to Forbes. com, 90% of startups fail, so startups need to welcome all the help they can get. Having a solid network of people who’ve started and run companies before can be the difference of whether you become a success story or just another statistic.

Here in Louisiana, our talent is leaving and starting businesses in other places. One of the biggest messages I want to put out there is that you don’t have to have attended business school to start, or run, a successful business. Business school is great, but people of all backgrounds and levels of education have ideas that can be turned into businesses. Most just don’t know what to do or where to go.

Fundraising for and investing in startups is taking hold in Louisiana. Angel investor groups are springing up throughout Louisiana and its helping to make an impact on the local economy. New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and Shreveport all have angel investor groups. Entrepreneurs pitch to angel groups in hopes of getting an investment.

The best way to meet investors is networking and building good relationships. New Orleans hosts New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, which is attended by business owners, entrepreneurs and investors. Most universities have business pitch competitions as well. Investors attend these events to meet entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Startups are keeping Louisiana’s best and brightest in the state. One such example is Logan Meaux, a Louisiana native who founded Mallard Bay — a Baton Rouge-based startup that allows users to book a hunting or fishing trip online with vetted guides and charters — after he booked a poorly guided hunting trip.

I got my start in the business world by taking the medical research I did and turning it into a training business. I started training people in my garage in Baton Rouge. I kept at it and slowly added more services. T

CAPTAIN NEW ORLEANS

His brother may be Marvel’s new “Captain America” on screen, but for almost 10 years, DR. CALVIN MACKIE has been busy on the ground helping New Orleans youth find their own super powers

as he tackles one of the biggest problems New Orleans — and the nation — faces. Now he’s looking to take things to the next level, and he needs your help.

LATER THIS MONTH, twin sisters Ani and Malaya Mitchell will officially begin their freshman year at Texas A&M University. Ani will be studying to be an environmental engineer, while Malaya has chosen to become a physician. The two may be on different paths, but both will be able to chase their dreams thanks to a total of $320,000 in scholarships (covering full tuition of $40,000 a year for each girl) that they received as the recipients of the first full tuition scholarships the university has offered for STEM NOLA participants.

The Mitchell sisters’ recent triumph is an example of what STEM NOLA’s founder, Dr. Calvin Mackie, says is the power of creating “that mythical cradle-to-career pipeline that people talk about, but I’ve never seen anyone actually do.”

The twins’ road to success started when their grandmother happened to catch a segment on the news about how a local man was bringing hands-on STEM experiences to inner-city youth. Excited, she called the twins’ mother and told her to get the girls — then eighth graders — involved. After building their first robot and remote-control car at the organization’s annual STEM Fest, the girls were hooked. They continued to participate in the organization’s STEM Saturdays, STEM Fests and summer camps, eventually becoming STEM Fellows and even serving as president and secretary of SGA (Stem Global Action — the overarching rebrand created last summer when the organization decided to expand its efforts across the world).

Next year will mark 10 years since Mackie, a native New Orleanian, held his first community event. In that time, STEM NOLA has engaged 100,000 students starting in pre-kindergarten, 20,000 families and 2,150 schools across the United States and in five other countries, as well as countless STEM professionals.

It’s an impressive accomplishment, but it’s only the beginning for Mackie. In his words, “The scale of the solution must meet the scale of the problem,” and that means thinking big.

Currently operating out of offices on the Xavier University campus and a 10,000-square-foot space at the headquarters of Liberty Bank, STEM NOLA is in pre-construction on a 40,000-square-foot space in New Orleans East that will eventually serve as the STEM Innovation Hub for Black Excellence. Expected to break ground in January 2023, it will house laboratory space, classrooms, meeting spaces and 21st century technology to expose, educate, train and connect students to STEM careers and skills. The project is supported by donations from Ochsner Health and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, but is still in need of funding.

Hoping to add further to the economic reinvention of the area, In March, Mackie’s brother, Anthony — an actor who plays the first Black Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — announced that he had purchased 20 acres across the Interstate 10 Service Road from the site of his brother’s future innovation hub. He plans to use the space as headquarters for his new production company, East Studios LLC.

The innovation hub is only step one of Mackie’s plans in New Orleans East. The goal is to ultimately create a $100 million STEM District — which will include a STEM education center, hotel, water park, amusement park, sports complex, and warehouse and distribution center — at the abandoned 227-acre site that once housed Six Flags and Jazzland.

“We’re trying to build what I want to call the Epcot of STEM,” he says. “I want it to be like an immersive experience for families where they can come and be immersed in the technology of the 21st century.”

In addition to serving as a much-needed economic engine for a long-struggling area of New Orleans, Mackie sees the Innovation Hub and STEM District as a further step toward righting a wrong that has long bothered him.

“We live in a nation that makes sure every Black and brown boy touches a football before the age of 4 and no one questions it,” he says. “Little boys and girls, regardless of their age or where they live, are playing sports in school and accessing sports easilty out of school with the hopes and dreams of one day being one of the 250 that get drafted in the NFL or becoming the next Tiger [Woods] or the next Serena Williams.”

BLACK, HISPANIC AND FEMALE WORKERS UNDERREPRESENTED IN STEM FIELDS

Percentage of American workforce that is BLACK: 11% (no growth since 2016) Percentage of Black workers in STEM fields: 9% (up 1% since 2016)

Percentage of American workforce that is HISPANIC: 17% Percentage of Hispanic workers in STEM fields:

8%

67% of those employed in STEM fields are WHITE and 13% are ASIAN WOMEN earned 85% of the bachelor’s degrees in health-related fields, but just 22% in engineering and 19% in computer science as of 2018.

SOURCE: 2021 STUDY BY PEW RESEARCH CENTER, “STEM JOBS SEE UNEVEN PROGRESS IN INCREASING GENDER, RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY”

The reality, of course, is that these success stories are extremely few and far between — and at a time when employers struggle to fill real, well-paying jobs in STEM fields.

“In athletics, if a guy is strong as an ox, fast as a rabbit and in the backwoods of West Virginia, somehow LSU can find him,” he says. “And I’m saying we have to do the same type of thing. We don’t know where the STEM geniuses are…so we have to go in and put STEM in everybody’s hands just like we do football and see who resonates with it, who responds to it. Then we mentor and coach and create the pathways where they can go on and create a better future for themselves and for the community.”

Mackie says the problem New Orleans has seen with the increase in crime over the past year — a good portion of it committed by juveniles — arises from a lack of opportunity.

“I call it the belief gap,” he says. “COVID exposed it and that’s what we’re trying to close. I’m trying to give kids hope, before they believe that there is no hope. That’s why we’re working day and night. It happens in a lot of low-income communities. People come in and poke kids and then they never show up. You give people hope when you keep showing up. I kept telling my wife, ‘Believe me. Give me three years. If we keep showing up, people are eventually going to believe that we are real.’”

It’s been almost 10 years now and Mackie has more than proven he’s in it for the long haul — and able to get results. In addition to the Mitchell twins, he notes that one of the first children the organization started tracking was a boy who began participating in STEM NOLA programs in the ninth grade. That boy is now a mechanical engineer working for Lockheed Martin to build an F35 fighter jet.

“Troy — he actually owes me a steak dinner,” he laughs. “I haven’t gotten my dinner yet.”

When talking about the impact STEM NOLA has had, however, Mackie quickly gets serious.

“Emotionally, sometimes it’s overwhelming when people come back, and we see them and we have pictures of them when they were little, and now they just got an $80,000-a-year job. That’s the dream, right?” “We have put over $2 million, now $2.5 million, in the hands of college students because we pay them and train them to come out on Saturdays and for afterschool programs to work. They can come and give back to the community. And then we surround the college students with STEM professionals where they can make those connections.”

Mackie says the power of these success stories returning to their communities helps make the dream feel achievable for others. Elevating a child from a STEM Saturday to a lucrative career, however, means addressing a wide array of roadblocks, including plain old teen apathy.

“My boys, when they got to the ninth grade, they said, ‘Look, Daddy, we’re not coming to STEM Saturday anymore.’ So, I had to find a way to keep them engaged,” he says. “Kids tend to disengage around ninth grade, so we created something called a STEM NOLA fellow. For those kids who come through the funnel, who participated before, who want more immersion, or more experience in some area, we invite them to volunteer for STEM Saturdays. We give them a $100 stipend when they participate in a module, and they get exposed to companies and engineers. We’ve had sessions with the Bioinnovation Center, and EBR Architects did a three-day session on adaptive design. UNO’s Coastal Research and Environment did a three-day session where we took them out to Venetian Isles

Left: Ani and Malaya Mitchell — STEM NOLA’s latest big success story. Right: A rendering of the future STEM Innovation Hub for Black Excellence.

IT PAYS TO STUDY STEM

STEM workers who majored in a STEM field in college average HIGHER SALARIES than those who did not:

$101,100 vs. $87,600

Highest and Lowest Earning STEM Fields by Median Annual Earnings: COMPUTER OCCUPATIONS

$105,300

ENGINEERS

$102,200

LIFE SCIENTISTS

$66,540

SOURCE: UPPER CUMBERLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL 2021 and they got in a boat and did some planting…We give them more immersive experiences from ninth to 12th grade to try to keep them loaded in the pipeline.”

When it comes to the next step, getting into college, STEM NOLA is also there to help.

“We give kids access to application writers, consultants, everything they need. We’re actually about to partner with Robert Smith — the wealthiest Black man in America. He’s created a website where kids can go and find internships, so we are marshaling all of our college students and our high school students into his portal.”

And the final step? College to career? STEM NOLA is still there.

“We have put over $2 million, now $2.5 million, in the hands of college students because we pay them and train them to come out on Saturdays and to work after-school programs,” he says. “They can come and give back to the community. And then we surround the college students with STEM professionals where they can make those connections.”

Mackie says at the heart of what he’s doing lies the simple act of leveling the playing field.

“We’re trying to do for our kids what middle-class people do for their kids all the time,” he says. “They put them in camps. They give them all this exposure and let them find themselves, right?… I have a belief that the last thing a parent wants is to know that another kid is getting something that their kid isn’t. We can fill that gap. And if we can show them that with integrity, with authenticity, with vitality, they will respond. That’s what we’ve been doing, and people have responded.”

They have responded, not just in New Orleans, but across the country and around the world. Spurred by the reports of an external evaluation that found that 69% of the New Orleans nonprofit’s K-12 students improved their performance in math, science and reading after one year in a STEM NOLA after-school program, last December the organization was chosen to partner with a Tanzania-based youth-led initiative aimed at expanding career options for younger generations called ProjeKt Inspire.

“We’ve also engaged a group in Ghana through a young man whom I’ve known a long time,” says Mackie. “I mentored him through the National Black Engineers. Once COVID hit, he reached out and said, ‘You know, I have these kids, please help me.’ So, I started shipping them all these kits.”

The “kits” are hands-on science kits similar to the ones that Mackie used to fill his garage with when he first started teaching STEM to neighborhood kids. When purchasing them became cost prohibitive, he decided to save money by making his own.

“My boys became like the chief technology officers, and they would test all these kits and tell me, ‘This is too hard,’ or ‘It’s just not going to do it,” he says. “So, we started building our own kits. For instance, we built these boats out of Styrofoam and hobby motors for like $5, where other people were selling them for $25. There’s no way I can engage 100 or 200 kids at $25 a kid. But if I could make these boats for $5 in my wife’s kitchen, then we could make it affordable for sponsors in poorer communities.”

Far beyond helping him save money, STEM NOLA’s science kits have become an added source of revenue.

“People are buying our kits all across the country,” he says. “As a matter of fact, we’re looking at spinning off a whole for-profit company just to produce the kits because we can’t keep up. Last summer a major school district wanted 90,000 kits a day for 16 days!”

After a board member introduced Mackie to Boston Consulting Group, the group provided a business plan for the kits. They also provided guidance on STEM NOLA’s upcoming innovation hub, which he hopes to have up and running by summer 2024.

“I want colleges to come here and recruit young people like they do these athletes,” he says.

Of course, the key to all of Mackie’s big plans is financial support.

“We’re in the city budget,” he says. “We receive anywhere from $40,000 to 50,000 from the city a year. And then we also have some great partners, including Entergy, Ochsner, Boeing, Chevron, AT&T and the Kellogg Foundation. This is long-term workforce development for them. They understand that we have to start creating engagement. What we’re doing has to become a part of the lexicon and the DNA of our kids.”

For companies moved by STEM NOLA’s mission, Mackie says he welcomes the opportunity to help them create something special for their employees.

“We’re definitely looking for volunteers,” he says. “We want to engage with companies, to help them reconnect with the community, give their employees an authentic experience within a community. But also, what we want is a genuine partnership with companies. We want to know their needs, to build for them. For Chevron, for instance, we do a chemistry day. For Entergy we do a transmission and power day. That’s why the employees like it, because they come out and say, ‘This is what I do.’”

Just like he encourages companies to form partnerships with STEM NOLA, Mackie says he’s also excited to work with other local organizations on workforce development.

“I’m not trying to do it all by myself,” he says. “I’m trying to build something that can support what organizations like GNO, Inc. are doing, for example, with offshore wind energy. We’ve been teaching kids about windmills and making windmills now for eight years. Other organizations are creating pathways and we’re driving people to those pathways. We’re trying to create a platform where these groups can come and present an audience to them who said they want this, and then they deliver. That’s how we create the pipeline for the DXCs and IBMs and everybody else.”

MORE ABOUT MACKIE

EDUCATION

Dr. Calvin Mackie holds a bachelor’s of science in mathematics from Morehouse College, as well as a bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech.

WORK

The first Black professor at Tulane University to become tenured, his work while at the university included research related to heat transfer, fluid dynamics, energy efficiency and renewable energy. His 11-year academic career ended in June 2007 with the disbanding of the engineering school due to financial hardship from Hurricane Katrina.

APPOINTMENTS BY LOUISIANA GOVERNORS

Board member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Board member of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Council member of LaSTEM Advisory Council (Former chair of) the Louisiana Council on the Social Status of Black Boys and Black Men

AUTHORED BOOKS

“A View From the Roof: Lessons for Life and Business” and “Grandma’s Hands: Cherished Moments of Faith and Wisdom”

MOST RECENT AWARD

2022 President’s Award from the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE)

Linterest and a little aptitude, and a large number of well-paying jobs are available across the tech spectrum.

“Our program has students of all kinds,” said Ralph Russo, program director of the Information Technology Program at Tulane University. “We have continuing education, people changing careers, and adult education, along with the freshmen.”

Tulane’s offerings concentrate in the realm of information technology (IT), but Russo pointed out that even that specialization “crosses virtually all fields. There are IT jobs in banking, energy, LOOKING FOR A CAREER that averages more than media, gaming, legal, retail, government and twice the median annual wage of all other occu- nonprofits. Just about anything you’re doing in life pations and eclipses them all in projected growth? right now has an IT component.” Look to computer and information technology. For individuals considering IT careers, prior According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis- experience in a business or industry may give them tics, “Employment in computer and information an advantage if they return to that field with their technology occupations is projected to grow 13% newly acquired tech skills. from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all “Tech is a great option for anyone,” said Kelvin occupations.” In May 2021, the bureau found that Gipson, director of workforce IT at Delgado the median average wage for computer and infor- Community College. “The top-paying jobs in Louimation technology occupations was $97,430, vs. siana right now are tech-based.” $45,760 for all other occupations. Gipson sees Delgado’s tech-focused workforce Another great thing about tech is there is such a training as an opportunity to build community. wide array of both educational and job opportunities. “Tech-related jobs provide a good salary, which Based on the selection of tech-related courses and diminishes the economic wealth gap in New tracks available at some local institutions of higher Orleans. And these jobs are more resilient in times education, programs range in timeframe from one of economic downturn. Tech is a way to grow a day to four years. The field literally reaches from stronger workforce in this region.” outer space to below the earth’s surface. The accessibility of tech training is an asset However, for those who are preparing to launch emphasized by Tina Tinney, chancellor of Nunez careers, or perhaps change them, two constants Community College. “People can upskill or reskill emerge: The tech field is open to anyone with the in a short period of time with a very limited investment, and make themselves very marketable in the workforce,” she noted. “Tech provides a lot of opportunities for people to enter into career paths.”

Tinney also pointed out that both tech training and tech careers “offer a lot more flexibility as to what you can study and where and when, and where you can work when you do enter the workforce.”

AS A FOUR-YEAR SCHOOL with graduate programs, Tulane offers the most advanced tech-related training and degrees. A bachelor of science degree includes 15 specialized courses among the 40 total required; tuition is $1,788 per course, though many students qualify for a 20% discount, as well as other possible financial aid.

A master of science degree requires 10 or 11 courses, while graduate certificates require four to six courses, some of which can then be applied towards an MS. Tuition for these offerings is $3,474 per course, again with discounts and aid potentially available.

Within its IT program, Tulane has four main areas of concentration: Cybersecurity, Application Development, Product and Program Support, and Enterprise Systems and Cloud.

“We have a pretty wide range of programs for students to choose from,” Russo said, adding that many of the courses are created in consultation with partners in industry. “I ask these executives, ‘If a student learns this, does it help in your world?’ This leads to applied learning that helps when they apply for that first job.”

Tulane’s programs include more than 400 lab experiences, and the university has even created a fictitious company to offer students real infrastructure and real problems that need to be solved. As students progress, they move on to projects for real world companies and university departments.

In the four-year context, Tulane students get what Russo called “the three-legged stool of academic education, applied learning, and experiences like internships and volunteerism.” Along with the bachelor’s and master’s degrees, students can earn a variety of industry-specific certifications in the programs.

Coming out of school, Russo said that students can expect starting salaries in excess of $50,000 per year. Those with master’s degrees and in-demand certifications “can be looking at six figures pretty early,” he added. “Companies are lining up to hire our graduates.”

Russo noted the IT fields most in demand include “cloud services, governance and process, product owners and managers, data-related [fields] like analytics and AI [artificial intelligence], and cybersecurity,” where he noted, “there are many more slots there than people available to fill them.”

DELGADO’S GIPSON AGREED that cloud storage and cybersecurity provide many opportunities. “As long as we have computers, we’re going to have cyber-attacks,” he pointed out. And along with AI, “virtual reality is going to be an area of huge demand.”

Along with classroom courses, some of Delgado’s programs include internships, an aspect that the college is actively expanding. While the two-year associate’s degree costs around $17,000 (though considerable student aid is often available), Delgado offers certification-only options that can cost as little as $399. Timeframes for these range from four days to eight to 12 weeks. “College is not for everyone,” Gipson observed, adding, “The tech-based industry certifications will get you the interview. Once you get in with a company, they may help pay for a degree.” Unsure if tech is a fit? Delgado offers resources to assist people in deciding if they want to enter the tech field, including podcasts, webinars and even its own YouTube channel. The college will even connect people interested in tech careers with graduates who have entered the workforce already to provide first-hand insights on the career opportunities.

Gipson estimated that students who graduate with an associate’s degree can expect starting salaries in the $45,000 to $50,000 range for positions like help desks and tech support, while those in the higher-demand fields like cybersecurity can anticipate starting off around $60,000 to $70,000, especially if they complete an internship as part of their studies.

“[We offer] an affordable way to get into the tech industry,” concurred Delgado’s Gipson, “and the future workforce in New Orleans lies in tech-related positions.”

WHILE the first two schools are most heavily focused on information technology, Nunez’s courses encompass a much wider spectrum within the tech field. “We have 24 programs of study that are career- and tech-oriented pathways,” said Chancellor Tinney. Nunez also offers two-year degrees and specific certifications. Nunez has drawn on its St. Bernard Parish location to create one particularly high-demand program: Aerospace Manufacturing, for which it partners with Boeing at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility. The only program of its kind in Louisiana, it involves one year of classroom and technical training followed by a second-year, paid internship at Boeing. More than 50 students have completed the program and entered the workforce, with average starting salaries of about $52,000.

Another region-specific track is Nunez’s Coastal Studies GIS program, a new offering that will graduate its first class this year. Similarly, with broadband access about to expand throughout Louisiana following an influx of federal funding, Nunez has begun offering a fiber optics technician program. Their “drone academy” leads to an FAA pilot’s license for flying drones, a skill currently in demand with local industries ranging from real estate to film to oil and gas.

“What I love about these programs is that most of the skills are transferable within industries,” Tinney said. “For example, the aerospace skills are relevant in almost any mode of transportation. This means you have multiple avenues for employment once you get that credential.”

Industry certification programs may range from a few days to a few weeks. Fees vary accordingly, with some programs costing as little as $500. Full tuition is $4,500 per year, but Tinney emphasized that “most students qualify for some kind of financial aid. We look first to fund our students.”

For those who complete their associate’s degree, she added, “most of them come out making in excess of $50,000 for a two-year investment, with very little debt.”

FROM THE LENS

54

GREAT WORKSPACES Lucullus Antiques moves to Bywater and targets the next generation of collectors

64

NEW ORLEANS 500 Chris Reade, president of LookFar and Carrollton Enterprise Services

58

WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

Hoping to provide COVID weary kids with some much needed support, a local mother-and-son duo’s passion project is finding success.

FROM THE LENS GREAT WORKSPACES

LUCULLUS ANTIQUES 915 Kentucky St., Bywater

decorationslucullus.com Facebook: facebook.com/decorationslucullus Instagram: @lucullusantiques

ANTIQUES FOR A NEW ERA

Lucullus Antiques moves to Bywater and targets the next generation of collectors

BY MELANIE WARNER SPENCER PHOTOS BY SARA ESSEX BRADLEY

In 2019, Lucullus Antiques — a French Quarter fixture for 38 years — moved to Bywater. The new iteration is housed in a lightly renovated warehouse that owner and antiques dealer Patrick J. Dunne bought 28 years ago. The approximately 8,000-square-foot space includes a design showroom, warehouse, workshop and atelier. The relocation was part of a plan to reach the next generation of antiques buyers, meet them where they are and introduce them to the world of antiques.

“We realized the younger clients were not that enchanted by coming to a crusty old French Quarter store,” said Dunne. “The antique biz is ever evolving. We decided on a warehouse format where there is sort of a wow factor of coming to a warehouse opening the door and

The newest iteration of Lucullus Antiques is housed in a lightly renovated warehouse that owner and antiques dealer Patrick J. Dunne bought 28 years ago. Dunne opened his shop in the French Quarter 38 years ago. The recent move is part of a long-range business plan to attract the next generation of antiques buyers.

Decorator-stylist Kerry P. Moody was part of the team that designed and staged the new space, which was painted a contemporary gray/ green color for the renovation. It features a small anterior courtyard which Dunne says is a nod to the company’s New Orleans spirit. The approximately 8,000-square-foot space includes a design showroom, warehouse, workshop and atelier.

QUICK LOOK

Date of opening

Company, 1984; New location, 2019

Square footage

Approximately 8,000

Persons in charge:

Patrick J. Dunne, antique dealer; Nathan T. Drewes, interior designer; Kerry P. Moody, decorator-stylist; Michelle Gray, art and antiques consultant

Interior design

Dunne, Nathan T Drewes, Kerry P. Moody finding some 17th-century antique. It was a conscious decision.”

Dunne took a break from his summer buying trip in France to share a few details about this most recent incarnation of his business.

Biz New Orleans: What was the biggest design challenge (if any) and how was it overcome?

Patrick J. Dunne: The biggest challenge was to move from the charm and scale of the French Quarter shop and try to find a new idiom of style in this warehouse and make it make sense. I do think it was successful, due to [interior designer] Nathan [Drewes] and [decorator-stylist] Kerry Moody. It is not a pretty building, but somehow, they were able to make a charming and esthetic experience.

What is the standout feature of the design and why?

The standout is being able to pull off the contrast of the fine and ordinary. We have crystal chandeliers hanging from steel girders. It’s a playful contrast between the envelope and the contents. We didn’t want just a jumbled-up warehouse where things were dirty and stacked everywhere. On the other hand, we didn’t want to stucco the interior and create a mini-Versailles. We wanted to play with the industrial elements of a warehouse and style them for the 18th and 19th century.

How would you describe Lucullus Antiques and its core clientele?

Because of our modest longevity, our core clientele is the neighborhood. When I say the neighborhood, I mean Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. People of taste who are interested in collecting as opposed to just decorating.

How do you set yourselves apart from organizations doing similar work in the city?

Part of it, in terms of why our clients come back to us, is in fact the level of knowledge. From the beginning, I made a commitment to have an intellectual context to the business. If you came for a visit, you would notice that a good deal of the wall space is dedicated to books that are research materials. [It’s about] the content of what we are selling, but also the fact that we are a smaller store — very select. There’s no filler. I puzzle as much over a set of six glasses as I do an armoire that cost over $6,000. The thing we get the most feedback on is how precise and organized Nathan is.

How do you promote a positive work atmosphere for the staff?

I don’t know why they keep sticking with me. That’s a good question. I don’t like to use the notion of employees as family because families are very dysfunctional. I’ve avoided that parallel. But I do give them complete freedom. I never criticize a decision that might not be the best and I’m very heavy with the praise when they do fabulous things, which is often. I’m very grateful for their help. I don’t feel like they work for me. I feel like they are just working for a business I’m part of. I think one of the attractions is continuity. When we shrunk the shop, no one had been there for less than 15 years. I would say our model is antiquated, but maybe that’s best for antiques.

What are your biggest challenges?

The biggest challenges at the moment are the mood of casualness that has pressed into every aspect of American business — not returning calls, not following up. At all levels, whether it’s ordering fabric or transport, [the struggle is] having people be willing to be on time and coherent. On the supply side, that is the biggest challenge right now, because I’ve always taken the business side of it very seriously. On the demand side, the most challenging thing is that the internet has created a certain level of

expectation and impatience that we find difficult to satisfy. [It’s about] adapting to a more Caribbean kind of life, and New Orleans is that on steroids.

What goals are you looking to meet in the next 12 months?

Our goal is to continue to expand our design work and to reach out to a larger, younger clientele and get them interested in things that are substantial. It’s a numbers game to get people interested in what we do. It is for antique dealers in general. To stay in business, it has to be interesting to me; it has to be fun. Antiques are not sacred relics of the true cross. They are meant to be useful and playful. T

”“Antiques are not sacred relics of the true cross. They are meant to be useful and playful.

Patrick J. Dunne, Lucullus Antiques owner and antiques dealer

FROM THE LENS WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

Tracey and Everett Wiley created Cool Kids Collective as a way to manage school stress, boost kids’ confidence and navigate COVIDrelated anxiety.

COOL KIDS COLLECTIVE

Instagram: @thecoolkidscollective Etsy: Cool Kids Collective Affirmation Cards

ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT

Hoping to provide COVID weary kids with some much needed support, a local mother-and-son duo’s passion project is finding success.

BY ASHLEY MCLELLAN PHOTOS BY EDMUND D. FOUNTAIN

What would it be like to get a daily pep talk to help you through your day? Your own personal Ted Lasso to coach life’s ups and downs? A pregame Drew Brees warmup chant every morning?

That’s what the new, locally created Cool Kids Collective strives to do not only for school-age children, but for parents, educators and commu-

Cool Kids Collective affirmation cards are designed to

nity members looking give kids’ mental to deliver a little pick- health super me-up with big impacts. powers through comic book-

Launched in March inspired graphic 2022, Cool Kids Collec- and bright, bold tive, a set of inspirational inspirational affirmation cards, is the creation of Tracey Wiley catch phrases they can take with them throughout and her 9-year-old son their day. Everett. The brightly colored deck of cards carries a different message of empowerment and encouragement, stemming from Everett’s own need to navigate school, remote learning and the stresses of the pandemic.

After witnessing the struggles that Everett was having, Wiley and her kids started a daily routine of positive reinforcement, creating mantras such as, “I am loved,” “I am a smart kid,” “I will turn my dreams into reality” and “I have so much to offer the world.”

Wiley turned her family’s routine into a set of affirmation cards and Cool Kids Collective was launched with the mission to “help kids release their inner superhero with the power of positive thinking.”

“Everett and I had a pretty good idea of how we wanted these cards to look,” said Wiley. “We knew we wanted them to be colorful and fun. Everett wanted them to have a superhero feel, so we sketched up an idea, found a designer and Cool Kids were born,” Wiley said. “I found an online printing company to execute the creation. Cool Kids is 100% self-funded.”

Cool Kids is truly a family business, with Tracey and Everett teaming up to complete orders.

“Right now, this is a one-woman show. When we receive an order, I am the one printing the labels. If Ev is around, he is the one responsible for packing the cards up and getting them ready for me to drop them off at the post office. He is very involved in the process.”

The first run of decks was an immediate success and sold out almost immediately on the business’s Etsy page, according to Wiley.

“The launch was such a success and took us by surprise when we sold out in two days,” she said. “Everett and I were floored by the positive response. Since the launch, things slowed down a bit, but the sales have been consistent.”

Wiley’s creation is founded on the power of affirmations, which have been proven in multiple psychological research to be useful in decreasing stress, increasing academic achievement, and even creating positive physical habits such as eating more fruit and vegetables.

COVID-19 IMPACTS ON KIDS’ MENTAL HEALTH American Psychological Association 2022 Trend Report: “Mental health crises are also on the rise. From March 2020 to October 2020, mental health–related emergency department visits increased 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% for those ages 12 to 17 compared with 2019 emergency department visits, according to CDC data.”

“In a 2020 survey of 1,000 parents around the country facilitated by the

Ann & Robert

H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, 71% of parents said the pandemic had taken a toll on their child’s mental health, and 69% said the pandemic was the worst thing to happen to their child.”

Affirmation cards, and self-help books, are indeed on trend and continue to be big business as communities emerge from COVID-19 restrictions. According to a July 2021 report from Publisher’s Weekly, “Adult nonfiction unit sales rose 15.6% in the first half of the year, driven by increases across most subcategories. Sales of self-help books had the largest gain, up 32.1%.” With a quick Google search online, one can find affirmation cards designed specifically for people who like unicorns, artistic decks that emphasize dreams, funny cards with swear words, and on and on.

Cool Kids Collective takes this power of positivity and tailors it to youth.

“Our target audience is honestly any adult looking to make a positive impact in a child’s life,” said Wiley. “I know that sounds cliché, but we feel any kid can pick these cards up and feel uplifted and inspired. Now, the design is definitely geared toward a younger demographic, but the messages are for anyone. When Everett

WAYS TO SUPPORT KIDS’ MENTAL HEALTH, ACCORDING TO NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Create a sense of belonging. Promote resilience.

Teach and reinforce positive behaviors and decisionmaking. Encourage helping others.

Encourage good physical health. Ensure access to school-based mental health supports. Provide a continuum of mental health services.

Tracey and Everett created the Cool Kids Collective card decks to be used not only at home, but in the classroom by educators and anyone who regularly works with children. They are designed to provide gentle encouragement and coaching through positivity.

and I came up with Cool Kids Collective, the idea wasn’t just for parents. We were creating a tool for educators, social workers and mental health professionals to hopefully use.”

The impact of creating the Cook Kids Collective cards has been huge for Wiley as an entrepreneur and a leader, but also for co-creator Everett, and the entire family.

“Watching something that [Everett] had a big hand in creating be received so well by friends and strangers has shown him that his ideas and thoughts matter,” Wiley said. “For me, it’s reassurance that I am doing exactly what I was called to do, inspire others. My children are always watching my husband and I, who is also an entrepreneur. It’s very important that we show our kids what hard work and determination look like.”

While the cards are currently available exclusively online, Wiley hopes to expand.

“Cool Kids Collective is a movement,” she said. “We are dedicated to helping and inspiring kids to unleash their inner superheroes with the power of positive thinking. To do that, we can’t just be online. The next move is to get [these cards] into major retailers and schools.” T

REAL ESTATE

FROM THE LENS NEW ORLEANS 500

DID YOU KNOW? Reade founded Carrollton Enterprise Services in 2004 and LookFar in 2015. Under his leadership, the companies have emerged as leading technology development firms. Carrollton has tackled a diverse portfolio of enterprise-level projects, and LookFar has worked with nearly 200 startups, including many of the key companies in Louisiana’s startup ecosystem.

Chris Reade

President of LookFar and Carrollton Enterprise Services

What’s your favorite “hidden gem” restaurant

or bar? We hit up Taqueria Corona on Magazine regularly

What’s something surprising about you?

My degree is in English: creative writing, not in computer science.

What’s the best advice

you’ve received? What can you do but try and not be naive?

What’s your favorite

snoball flavor? Big fan of wedding cake

Fitness routine? I play a whole lot of volleyball.

Go-to cocktail or

beverage? Bourbon, soda, lime