Jefferson Parish’s seafood industry is under attack
Tekchix founder Norma Jean McClain took a hands-on role in the 2023 remodel of the company’s new offices.
After 95 years, Bottom of the Cup Tea Room’s future looks bright, with current partnerships including The Windsor Court hotel and Commander’s Palace.
Jennifer Couvillon, President of Chamberlain University College of Nursing New Orleans
New
Notables
The Skinny on Fat City
The latest plans to bring the green to Jefferson Parish
Digging A Little Deeper
A look at Disney’s long love affair with New Orleans
Flipping the Calendar
I’ve discovered that July is my January. Let me explain.
For years before I moved here, I lived in a place where winter existed — we had snow and everything. As such, in January the only time I’d spend outside is the mad dash to and from my car, squealing and cursing the whole time. Like the rest of the country, I struggled with new resolutions to eat better and exercise without leaving the house, while fighting off cabin fever with hobbies — I learned to crochet and knit in those years — and house projects.
I have realized this perfectly describes my July now. I’ve just started taking clay building classes at my friend’s new business, Wrenworks Art Studio in Kenner, and am buying up all the fruits and vegetables. I’m also going through the house room by room, ruthlessly chucking things into donation bags in what I’m psychoanalyzing myself is an effort to ease hurricane season anxiety by acting like I’m in control of things. My eldest daughter lives in fear that her room will be next.
In this “July is the new January” vein, it also feels like the perfect time to celebrate new ventures, like the ones our dynamic dozen New & Notables class of 2024 have taken on in the
past year. Is there anything more exciting than stepping into a new challenge? I hope these leaders inspire you as much as they do me and give you hope enough for the future to get through this long summer.
And if you have any coping tips in the meantime that you’d like to share, I’m all ears.
Thanks for reading,
Publisher Todd Matherne
EDITORIAL
Editor Kimberley Singletary
Art Director Sarah E.G. Majeste
Digital Media Editor Kelly Massicot
Associate News Editor Rich Collins
Perspective Writer Drew Hawkins
Contributors Cheré Coen, Larry Dale, Tina Howell, Ashley McLellan, Misty Milioto, Chris Price, Ned Randolph, Sarintha Stricklin, Poppy Tooker, Keith Twitchell
Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne For subscriptions, call (504) 830-7231
KIMBERLEY SINGLETARY
Editor Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com
Getting Spiffed Up
If you’re like me, you look forward to hosting a big event at home or in the office because it gives you a chance to fix and clean things to show off your beautiful space. I remember redoing the entire backyard a few years ago because we were throwing a large party, and we knew the backyard would be overflow. It ended up being the highlight of the day, with more people outside than inside.
As you move around New Orleans right now, the city is in this getting ready mode for the Super Bowl. As you drive from the airport to Downtown and the French Quarter, everything is being worked on and getting polished to impress.
This reminds me of something else that was huge in New Orleans 40 years ago. In 1984, the city hosted the World’s Fair, and while the event itself was an economic disappointment, it spawned the creation of many valuable assets throughout the city, including the opening of the Intercontinental Hotel and Windsor Court. After the World’s Fair, New Orleans was left with a new building that we now know as the New Orleans Ernst N. Morial Convention Center.
All these are assets on the balance sheet of New Orleans producing tax dollars for generations.
Why am I so excited to have the 2025 Superbowl in town next year? Is it for all the attention the city will receive around the world? Is it the economic benefit we’re sure to experience from all the visitors? Sure. But most of all I am excited just to have a clean, beautiful and bright city, even if it’s for just one day, or until the next time New Orleans shows off on the world stage.
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KATE HENRY
IN THE BIZ
DINING
ENTREPRENEUR
Experienced,
Last year, Patrick Brennan brought the culinary family’s name into the coffee business. This fall, he’s planning an expansion.
IN THE BIZ DINING
A Brewing Brennan
Last year, Patrick Brennan brought the culinary family’s name into the coffee business. This fall, he’s planning an expansion.
BY POPPY TOOKER
At just 36, Patrick Brennan shows signs of an entrepreneurial spirit reminiscent of the family’s great patriarch, Owen Brennan.
While Owen hailed from humble Irish Channel beginnings, Brennan grew up in his father, Ralph’s, family-owned restaurants.
When Ralph Brennan opened Bacco, his son’s interest wasn’t limited to eating the pizza — he wanted to learn how it was made, and more. At the tender age of 9, Patrick Brennan sweet talked his way out of summer camp and right into the
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.
pastry kitchen at his father’s Red Fish Grill.
In high school, Chef Gerard Maras took Brennan under his wing at Ralph’s on the Park. A degree from the Culinary Institute of America followed.
His father insisted Brennan be employed elsewhere a minimum of five years before working for the family business, but as Ralph prepared to reopen the family’s flagship Brennan’s Restaurant, newly graduated Patrick begged to come home and cook.
Over the ensuing years he worked virtually every job — from line cook to front-of-thehouse management — until Ralph purchased the former Sucre commissary in 2020 and the former 9-year-old baker found himself with a potentially huge operation. From the iconic muffuletta loaves at the Napoleon House to Brennan’s dinner rolls and desserts, Patrick Brennan was now in charge of it all.
On the very first day the commissary’s ovens were fired for the initial baking, the pandemic shut everything down. Then, when Mardi Gras 2021 was canceled, Brennan developed a king cake business. Over 12,000 king cakes sold that first year, a number which grew to 25,000 in 2023. Following the huge success, Brennan took a long look at his life. Crazy restaurant hours including nights and weekends were becoming increasingly difficult with three small children at home. After he learned Congregation Coffee had closed due to an ill-timed pandemic expansion, Brennan said he “saw an opportunity to move from day-to-day operations into ownership, so I could take nights off to be with my kids.”
Founded in 2015 by restaurant-industry veterans Eliot Guthrie and Ian Barrilleaux, Congregation consisted of an Algiers Point coffee shop with a retail and wholesale roast bean business. Coincidentally, the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group was a Congregation client. Brennan’s restaurant chef Ryan Hacker introduced Ralph Brennan to Congrega-
tion, and it had been the flagship’s house brand for more than eight years.
In November 2023, Patrick Brennan reopened the original Congregation Coffee House in a Victorian storefront on Algiers Point. With a name like Congregation, one may suspect the building was previously a church. Actually, the name has nothing to do with religion, instead referring to a grouping of alligators, similar to “a murder of crows.” The alligator joke carries through Congregation’s blends inspired by the speed of an alligator’s gate. “Low walk” means to slither, “high walk” is a stroll and “gallop” means you’d better run!
All pastries served in the cozy, corner coffee shop from croissants to Danishes, cookies and quiche are sourced from the Ralph Brennan Bakery.
The former baker sees parallels between his former and current professions.
“They’re each an art and a science,” Brennan reflected. “Coffee roasting reminds me of bread baking. They both use two different forms of heat; conduction, as beans touch the hot drum, and convection as hot air moves through them. Developing flavor using air and drum speed along with temperature and time is the art. Replicating for consistency is the science.” Congregation’s in-house roaster, Zoe Underhill, ensures consistency for the entire portfolio of single origins and trademark blends.
Wholesale sales and development fall under the young business owner’s obligations. “We hold cuppings during sales calls, pouring boiling water over the ground coffee, then breaking that layer that forms on top. It’s really fun when the slurping part of the tasting begins,” he laughed.
Catch Poppy Tooker on her radio show, “Louisiana Eats!” Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Mondays at 8 p.m. on WWNO 89.9 FM.
Aside from Congregation’s ever-growing wholesale and online retail sales, Brennan intends to expand into other New Orleans’ neighborhoods. With an eye on Uptown and Mid-City, this fall Congregation will open at the end of Exchange Alley, on Conti Street in the French Quarter. T
is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal.
not
Summer Sports
International events heat up in July.
BY CHRIS PRICE
enerally speaking, July is a slow time on the sports calendar. Sure, there are the usual annual events to look forward to — Major League Baseball has their mid-summer AllStar Game, tennis has Wimbledon, and the National Football League will kick off training camp at the end of the month – but this July is a bit different. Several huge international sporting events are taking place this year that will keep the days packed with action and excitement.
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL?
While American football won’t return until training camps begin later this month, there will be plenty of opportunity to enjoy international football, or soccer. Every four years, international football’s continental governing bodies stage tournaments among their member teams as they gear up for the 2026 World Cup, of which the United States is a joint host, along with Canada and Mexico.
UEFA EURO
The most popular of these worldwide tournaments is in Europe. Germany is host of the UEFA EURO 2024 tournament. The group stage took place June 14-26, and the knockout stage began on June 29 and will run through July
14. The event features 51 matches, 24 teams, and 10 venues. The tournament’s group stage matches will be split between Fox and FS1, while knockout round games will air on Fox.
Top to bottom, these are some of the best international teams in the world. England, where the game was founded, is looking to finally capitalize on its potential and recapture international glory for the first time since winning the World Cup in 1966. With several prominent players set to miss the tournament, the Three Lions will rely on their undisputed leader, Harry Kane, as well as youngsters Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden. France — World Cup winner in 2018 and runner-up in 2022 — is fighting to stay atop the world order. French captain Kylian Mbappe, a 25-year-old forward, and his team are looking to make a huge impact on the tournament. Four-time world champion Germany are trying to return to the upper echelon of international teams. Whichever squad wins the EURO will become a heavy favorite in the 2026 World Cup. It is also the likely international swan song for several European legends, including Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Croatia’s Luka Modric, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, France’s Olivier Giroud, and Germany’s Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller.
COPA AMÉRICA
Coming in a close second as far as global popularity is the South American championship. This year, the South American governing body (CONMEBOL) invited six teams from the North American governing body to participate in the 2024 Copa América. Joining the 10 South American countries — Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela — will be Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and the United States. In addition to including North American teams in the tourney, this quadrennial international men’s soccer championship will be held entirely in the United States June 20 to July 14, 2024, with games played in East Rutherford, N.J. (New York); Orlando, Fla.;
Charlotte, N.C.; Atlanta; Kansas City, Kansas; Arlington, Va. (Washington D.C.); Houston; Austin, Texas; Glendale, Ariz. (Phoenix); Las Vegas; Inglewood, Calif. (Los Angeles); and Santa Clara, Calif. (San Francisco). The winner will later compete in the 2025 CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions against the UEFA Euro 2024 winner.
Entering the tournament, reigning World Cup Champion Argentina and their captain, Lionel Messi are the stars. Brazil will be without Neymar, so expect forward Vinicius Junior, whose Real Madrid just won the UEFA Champions League, to step in the spotlight. The Yanks will be led by Christian Pulisic, who is looking to pull together a new generation of players into a cohesive and competitive unit. Head Coach Gregg Berhalter’s job may be on the line as the team’s recent results have not matched their expected potential. Gaining more international experience may be the real U.S. goal, considering they are eyeing greater improvement ahead of the coming World Cup.
Both tournaments will begin with groups of four teams. After each team has played their group opposition once, the top two will advance. During the group phase, teams earn 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw, and zero if they lose. In the knockout stage, where there must be a winner, if the scores are tied after 90 minutes, the teams will play two 15-minute halves of extra time. If the scores are still level after extra time, the match will be decided using penalty kicks.
SUMMER OLYMPICS
As if the excitement of international soccer weren’t enough, the pomp and pageantry of 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris from July 26-August 11. The Olympics will feature 10,500 athletes from 206 nations, and 329 events over 32 sports and will be broadcast on NBCUniversal channels. The opening ceremony of the games will take place outside of a traditional stadium setting for the first time, with plans for a parade of nations conducted as a boat parade along the River Seine. It’s all guaranteed to be intriguing, can’t miss TV this summer. T
CHRIS PRICE
When he’s
writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.
IN
entrepreneurial ventures at the street, neighborhood, nonprofit, micro- and macro-business levels.
Boomers Can Be a Boon for Business
Experienced, affordable employees may be easier to find than you think.
BY KEITH TWITCHELL
More than 10 million Americans over age 65 are employed. They are currently the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. By the end of 2024, all Baby Boomers will be at least 60 years old, but 60 isn’t as old as it once was. Boomers are anticipating longer lifespans than their parents had and are existing in a market where job opportunities outnumber unemployed workers by approximately 3 million.
In addition, “People still want to be involved, still be social, still have a purpose,” observed Jennifer Jeansonne, owner of JAJ Consults, a small business recruiting firm. “They want to keep their brains going and be part of something.”
All of this means that for companies dealing with staffing shortfalls, older workers can be a tremendous talent resource. They typically bring experience and expertise, emotional maturity and intelligence, and an understanding of the responsibilities of employment. They can be mentors and teachers for younger staff members and may be better at serving an alsoaging customer base.
“It’s different when you’re working for fulfillment rather than working to survive,” Jeansonne noted. “People who have retired see work more as fun.”
While older workers may require a little extra training to get up to speed on the latest business technologies, they are often more tech savvy than expected, and in general easier to onboard due to their previous workplace experience. Most are looking for less responsibility than they had in their previous careers and are often interested in part-time employment or contract work, meaning they can be an affordable option as well.
Jeansonne added that employers looking to this workforce segment should “be really upfront and honest with potential hires. Paint a realistic picture of the job. Transparency is really key to hiring anyone.”
Certain accommodations need to be considered; for example, older workers may not want to navigate multiple flights of stairs to access the workplace. A comfortable work environment is also essential, and many job seekers in this category want flexibility in terms of days and hours. Many prefer to work at home as much as possible.
Benefits are another consideration. Although health insurance may be less of an issue, since most seniors are on Medicare, vacation time and even grandparental leave tend to be important.
How can employers access this talent pool?
According to Jeansonne, social media may be surprisingly productive, particularly LinkedIn, though she also recommends posting opportunities on everything from Facebook to Nextdoor.
“A lot of the older workforce is not using social media, but if you are looking to fill a role, posting on your networks could lead to referrals for highly qualified, non-traditional employees,” she said. “Also, have as many conversations as possible with people you know about what you need. Reach out to businesses within the profession you are targeting for a specific skillset.”
Jeansonne also recommended contacting independent recruiting consultants to help find available talent to fill a need. She said she maintains a large network of older workers who can fill a variety of roles, from marketing to financial to operations.
While it may take a little extra effort to tap into this employee segment, they are definitely out there: One recent study indicated that about one-quarter of Americans aged 65 to 74 are actively looking for work. Their work preferences are well aligned with the post-pandemic model of flexibility and working at home.
Even this group’s preference for fewer hours matches where Jeansonne feels the workplace is headed. “Fractional work and contract work are the future of the workforce,” she predicted.
For employers struggling to maintain full staffing, these experienced, motivated workers, mature and wise enough to know their strengths and weaknesses, may be a true lifeline.
“The older workforce wants to do the things that they feel they are best at doing,” said Jeansonne. “They can be a great resource for almost any type of business.” T
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
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
BANKING + FINANCE
Pillars of Prosperity
A look at the role of community banks in Jefferson Parish
BY DREW HAWKINS
What makes a bank a community bank? There are lot of ways to answer that question. You could talk about how they’re locally owned. You could talk about how bank managers don’t have to consult outside shareholders to decide what’s best for customers or staff. You could point to the fact that instead of taking deposits from one state and lending it in another, they channel their loans to the neighborhoods where depositors live and work, helping local businesses and communities thrive.
These are all correct and solid answers, but the fundamental difference is that they’re deeply woven into the fabric of community life. These aren’t the towering edifices of national banking conglomerates but rather the intimate branches of community banks, each playing a vital role in the economic prosperity and well-being of the region. This fact rings true in Jefferson Parish as well.
At the heart of community banks lies a commitment to serve the needs of their neighbors. Mark Rosa, president and CEO of Jefferson Financial Federal Credit Union,
DREW HAWKINS is a writer and journalist in New Orleans. He’s the health equity reporter in the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration among public radio stations in Louisiana (WWNO and WRKF), Alabama (WBHM) and Mississippi (MPB-Mississippi Public Broadcasting) and NPR. He’s also the producer and host of Micro, a LitHub podcast for short but powerful writing.
emphasized the roots of these institutions in local communities. He noted that community banks are owned by citizens, fostering a sense of shared purpose and accountability.
“Community banks had their beginnings rooted in locals trying to meet the financial needs of their neighbors,” Rosa said. “They felt there was a purpose, they could fill a void, they knew the markets, people and their businesses.”
John LeBlanc, CEO of Metairie Bank and Trust, underscored the pivotal role of community banks in fostering economic growth, highlighting that deposits in community banks are reinvested within the community, fueling small businesses and driving local development initiatives.
“Those loans provide homes for family and capital for small business in the community,” LeBlanc said. “That’s not the case with national banks.”
Community banks can also make a judgment call and approve loans that they know will help a customer or local business — even, and maybe especially, when a larger, national bank might think it’s too risky. LeBlanc said a great example of this is the insurance crisis we currently face in South Louisiana.
“Local decisions matter,” LeBlanc said. “National banks are going to rely on computer algorithms to determine the credit worthiness of a borrower. They won’t understand the nuances of the community and that nuance is important.
“Living, working, and playing in the community provides us with personal insight into the uniqueness of our market,” he added. “We don’t rely on an algorithm to determine if a project will or will not be successful. We utilize our familiarity with the community to make quick local decisions.”
One of the hallmarks of community banks is their support for small businesses. These institutions serve as lifelines for local entrepreneurs, providing access to capital, financial guidance and essential banking services.
John Zollinger IV, chief banking officer at Home Bank, focused on the importance of relationship banking in empowering small businesses.
“We spend time getting to know our customers and their unique needs so we can customize solutions that help them reach their goals,” he said.
In Jefferson Parish, community banks play a distinctive role in small business lending. With a deep understanding of the local market dynamics, these institutions can offer flexible terms, quick approvals and personalized service. As LeBlanc put it: “Community banks don’t just make loans to small businesses, we are small businesses. Community bankers not only provide financial support in the communities we serve, but we take on leadership roles in civic, recreational and philanthropic organizations.”
Despite their invaluable contributions, community banks in Jefferson Parish face a myriad of challenges in fulfilling their mission, including unprecedented hurdles posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, inflationary pressures and emerging fraud schemes.
“I have never seen a more difficult financial environment than what I am working through now,” Rosa said.
Looking ahead, community banks see opportunities to enhance their impact on local economic development and community well-being. By forging strategic partnerships, investing in technology, and expanding their outreach efforts, these institutions aim to deepen their roots in the community and drive sustainable growth.
Zollinger emphasized the importance of community involvement, noting that community banks not only provide financial support but also contribute time and expertise to local organizations and initiatives.
“If you bank with a community bank, you likely have your banker’s direct phone number or maybe even their cell phone number,” he said. “At a smaller size, we can accommodate that. That personalized service is the key to our success.”
In an increasingly interconnected world, the value of community banks lies not only in their financial services but also in their commitment to the people they serve.
“Being plugged in to the local area keeps us knowledgeable about trends and key players,” Zollinger said. “We have a closer understanding of the needs of the area where you live, where you work, and where you want to open that business.”T
PERSPECTIVES
MARITIME+PORTS
DIVERSE CATCH
DID YOU KNOW? China consumes the largest amount of fish of any country in the world. Chinese citizens consume 57,474 tons annually, four times that of the second place country, Indonesia. Third is India, followed by the U.S. and Japan.
Vietnamese immigrants have long played a crucial part of Jefferson Parish’s seafood industry, which now finds itself under attack on multiple fronts.
BY DREW HAWKINS
In Jefferson Parish, seafood is much more than an industry or an economic driver — it’s a way of life. From the serene coastal waters of Grand Isle to the busy banks of Lake Pontchartrain, the underwater bounty collected by fishermen is a testament to the region’s biodiversity, and that diversity extends to the fishermen themselves.
For centuries, the Port of New Orleans has been the entry point for immigrants arriving in
the country. Many of those immigrants took jobs in local industries — like fishing. Perhaps no other immigrant community has contributed more to the fishing industry in Louisiana than Vietnamese Americans. Among the more recent ethnic groups to settle in the state, many came as refugees, fleeing their war-torn homeland after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
For many newcomers, the fishing industry was an easy transition. They simply had to adapt their knowledge of fishing in Vietnam’s
swamps and coastlines to those of Louisiana. Today, almost two-thirds of Southeast Louisiana’s commercial shrimping fleets are made up of Vietnamese Americans.
Their contributions didn’t stop at simply being laborers, though. Vietnamese immigrants also brought with them their recipes and cooking techniques, infusing them with traditional Southeast Louisiana cuisine.
“There is a plethora of Viet-Cajun fused dishes such as crawfish fried rice and of course, Viet-Cajun crawfish with lemongrass and ginger additions to the boil,” said Katrina Williams, special programs coordinator at Coastal Communities Consulting, a nonprofit that works with commercial fishermen and Asian-Americans who have needed assistance
with business development, social services and disaster recovery assistance.
Reminiscent of a famous shrimp scene from the 1994 film “Forest Gump,” Williams listed dozens of Vietnamese dishes that make great use of local seafood — of course, shrimp included. From goi cuon tom thit (shrimp and pork spring roll), lau hai san (seafood hot pot), goi tom (shrimp salad), and banh canh tom (shrimp udon noodle soup) to banh bot loc (Vietnamese steamed tapioca shrimp dumplings), cua rang me (crab with tamarind sauce), and hu tieu nam vang (Vietnamese seafood noodle soup with pork), the list is literally too large to include here (and you should definitely try some of these if they’re unfamiliar).
For Williams, the fusion was only natural, following the same pattern of cultural blending that has occurred throughout Louisiana’s history. Indeed, gumbo itself is the result of African, European and Native American ingredients and culinary practices. She pointed to the region’s sizable Croatian-American fishing community as another recent example. “They’ve left their mark on the oyster culinary culture here,” she said of the Cvitanovich family, which owns and manages Drago’s Restaurant, famous for its charbroiled oysters.
Despite their contributions, Vietnamese fishermen, and fishermen in general in Louisiana, face many challenges. For starters, imported seafood, which often lacks the quality and flavor of local catches, has become more prevalent. In addition, shrimp prices have significantly dwindled over the years.
Additionally, Williams said environmental impacts also pose serious challenges to the industry, like saltwater intrusion and both manmade and natural disasters. There are also industry regulations, license price increases, catch and size limits, inflation, maintenance costs and difficulty obtaining capital.
“And sadly, an overall low morale is negatively affecting fisherfolks,” Williams said. “Their pleas for help are seemingly endless and falling on deaf ears.”
There have, however, been efforts to help meet these challenges and ensure the longterm sustainability of the seafood industry in Jefferson Parish. Recent legislation has passed in an effort to curb the demand for imported seafood, particularly that bought by restaurants and grocery stores. The proposal also includes a variety of changes to strengthen the state’s seafood labeling laws with new prohibitions against misleading marketing and new requirements for restaurants and other eateries that serve shrimp and crawfish.
“
Their pleas for help are seemingly endless and falling on deaf ears.
”
Katrina Williams, special programs coordinator at Coastal Communities Consulting
Other recently passed bills that hope to give the local industry a boost include one that prohibits any public or private schools that receive state money from serving foreign seafood to students, another that calls for an additional seafood importer license that will base its fee on the volume of seafood being imported, and a third to improve testing on imported fish for public safety and impose fines for violations of health codes.
Additionally, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries administers grant programs for commercial fishermen. Currently they’re processing applications for the Equipment Modernization Grant Program, which reimburses eligible entities up to $30,000 for past and future equipment purchases that promote industry sustainability. This includes equipment that decreases environmental impacts such as TEDs (turtle excluder devices).
There’s also help from local organizations, which Williams said have played a huge role — like Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission (JEDCO).
“It’s good to see that local economic development incubators such as JEDCO have developed a fishery-specific loan program, whereas before fishermen had little to no options when it came to securing capital.”
Jerry Bologna, president and CEO of JEDCO, said the seafood industry is vital to the region, and protecting vulnerable communities is crucial to protecting it.
“We can see the influence of Vietnamese and other immigrant communities at every level of this industry,” he said, noting the 2022 opening of Crawlins Seafood in Terrytown, a restaurant that specializes in Viet-Cajun cuisine, which JEDCO helped fund.
“We’ve funded similar projects throughout the region in recent years,” Bologna said. “We’re seeing more and more of these types of restaurants open, which really showcases the cultural diversity found within this industry, and on a larger scale, in Jefferson Parish.”
Bologna echoed Williams’ concerns about imported seafood and the impact of disasters like Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry. He said that’s why JEDCO launched the Seafood Enterprise Assistance (SEA) Fund, a loan program tailored to meet the needs of commercial fishermen and fisheries related businesses.
“We also secured a $100,000 Technical Assistance Grant from Louisiana Economic Development to further assist seafood businesses through business retention meetings, industry partnerships, business attraction, supply chain development, marketing and events,” he said.
Through that funding, JEDCO was able to host a tour of its new off-bottom alternative oyster culture in Grand Isle to connect the farmers with several local chefs and restaurateurs. Bologna said the trip has already resulted in more restaurants carrying local seafoods.
For Bologna, supporting the fishing and seafood industry in Jefferson Parish is a no-brainer. The region’s food culture is one of the largest exportable industries in Jefferson Parish, he said.
“That includes food manufacturing. However, it begins with our harvesting of the raw products along our waterways,” he said. “The seafood industry in Jefferson Parish plays a vital role in our economic success. We are doing everything we can to ensure its long-term sustainability.” T
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Recent Highlights from LSU
Details on the university’s discovery of a new, non-addictive pain treatment and an exciting educational milestone.
The following abridged news items can be found in their full length on BizNewOrleans.com.
LSU HEALTH NEW ORLEANS DISCOVERS NON-OPIOID HELP FOR PAIN
On May 17, LSU Health New Orleans announced the discovery and clinical advancement of a new non-opioid therapeutic candidate for treatment of acute, chronic and neuropathic pain and migraine headaches.
Dr. Nicolas Bazan, Boyd professor and director of the LSU Health Neuroscience Center of Excellence, led the team that made the discovery. The new pain therapeutic does not have the organ toxicity or addiction potential of other currently-available pain therapeutics.
“Our research offers hope for millions suffering from pain while also providing a pathway to counteract addiction,” Bazan said in a press release. “This extensive study also
validates the entrepreneurial and translational potential of the research conducted at the LSU Health Neuroscience Center of Excellence. By understanding and harnessing the brain’s own mechanisms, we are addressing the opioid crisis by developing safer, more effective pain management solutions for people worldwide.”
LSU Health New Orleans has exclusively licensed the patents defining the family of non-opioid pain therapeutics to South Rampart Pharma to advance this new, safer painkiller to the market. With support from institutional, federal, and venture funding, the lead compound (SRP-001) now has successfully demonstrated safety and efficacy in Phase 1 human clinical trials. Recently, the FDA granted Fast Track designation for SRP-001 for acute pain treatment, acknowledging its potential to address a critical unmet medical need and ensuring the drug will advance into more comprehensive clinical trials.
“The quest for innovative pain solutions is critical, driven by the extensive prevalence of pain conditions affecting up to 27% of adults
worldwide, including over 51 million adults in the U.S.,” said Dr. Hernan Bazan, CEO and co-founder of South Rampart Pharma. “Existing treatments such as opioids, acetaminophen, and NSAIDs pose risks of addiction and toxicity with overuse, so we are eager to advance SRP-001 into Phase 2 randomized and controlled studies for acute and neuropathic pain in the second half of 2024.”
LSU ONLINE & CONTINUING EDUCATION CELEBRATES 100 YEARS
Over the last century, LSU’s continuing education programs have had more than 2 million enrollments in a wide range of courses.
“As the pace of change accelerates, continuing education plays a crucial role in helping individuals stay competitive in the ever-evolving job market,” said LSU Executive Vice President and Provost Roy Haggerty. “LSU Online & Continuing Education has been instrumental in providing learners with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their careers while also improving lifestyle and personal wellbeing.”
In addition to popular professional development courses like Fundamentals of Supervision, which has been offered for 60 years, and an Online Distance Program that allows students — including those not enrolled at LSU — to earn college credits toward their degrees through virtual classes, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute offers a variety of classes and activities for adults 50 and older. Classes include yoga and aquatic exercise, as well as history and literature courses and field trips to cultural attractions designed to keep senior populations active and engaged. There are OLLI chapters in Baton Rouge, St. Francisville and Slidell, and offerings are specialized within each.
LSU Online & Continuing Education is also expanding its offerings into new and emerging fields. There are, for instance, five new certificate courses related to legal medical cannabis.
“We are staying relevant by providing training to industries that are both well established and emerging,” said Lisa Verma, senior director of professional development at LSU Online & Continuing Education. T
PERSPECTIVE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
LARRY DALE is the executive director of the Jefferson Business Council (JBC). He may be reached via email at ldale@ jeffersonbusinesscouncil.com.
Business Leaders Are Taking Action in Jefferson Parish
Who is the Jefferson Business Council and what do they do?
BY LARRY DALE
Founded in June 1991, the Jefferson Business Council (JBC) is a private, nonprofit organization of Jefferson Parish business leaders who take action to encourage, promote or enhance the economic posture, social welfare and economic environment of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and the River Region. Its reputation is universally known by business and government.
The JBC is fully funded by membership dues and accepts no outside funding, which allows the organization to be independent of any funder, grant or governmental entity. This independence translates into fearless support for issues deemed by the JBC to be
important to the economic development and health of the parish and state. The organization wields a great deal of influence that is used to help further the strength of business and the community.
The JBC is active in all areas of Jefferson Parish economic development, as well as all facets of government. The council’s general membership meets monthly, during which a guest speaker addresses a current issue, and its executive committee meets bimonthly. The meetings are held in Bonvenu Bank at 3908 Veterans Boulevard in Metairie.
A membership drop-in breakfast with elected officials takes place every second Tuesday of each month in the Bonvenu Bank conference
room in Metairie. The cost is covered by the JBC. Members are welcome anytime between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. for breakfast and casual conversation — the event has no guest speakers or agenda. These breakfasts are designed to foster communication and rapport among Jefferson elected officials and the Jefferson Business Council.
While the JBC does not endorse candidates for political office, members contribute heavily to the campaigns of local and statewide candidates.
Recent highlights from the JBC include work with industrial partners and the Jefferson Economic Development Commission (JEDCO) in 2024 — along with the leadership of the Jefferson Chamber — to contribute to the regulations on industrial rezoning. In 2023, the JBC conducted a Jefferson Parish Quality of Life Survey and published the results in print and electronically on the Jefferson Business Council website.
Other issues supported by the JBC include school board and education improvement, early childhood education, insurance affordability, proper expenditure of parish funds, and parish and state governance.
The JBC collaborates with surrounding parish business councils, as well as JEDCO and Greater New Orleans, Inc., and convenes the Southeast Louisiana Coalition of Business Councils. It is governed by a chairman and executive committee. The executive director also serves as the chief operations officer.
Fred Preis, Esq., senior partner of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP, is the 2024 chairman of the Jefferson Business Council.
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A MEMBER?
Membership in the JBC is by nomination through a current member and nominees must meet certain criteria both for company size and the nominee’s capacity as the decision maker for his/her organization. After vetting by the membership committee, the nominee’s information is presented at a subsequent meeting for a vote of the full membership. Presently, there are 70 members from a wide range of businesses. T
SARINTHA STRICKLIN, PHD, is the executive director of Jefferson Ready Start Network. She may be reached by phone at (504) 650-9016.
Lack of Childcare Costs the Jefferson Parish Economy $180 Million Every Year
Help from businesses is needed to address the funding gap.
BY SARINTHA STRICKLIN, PH.D, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JEFFERSON READY START NETWORK
Earlier this spring, Councilmember At-Large Scott Walker and Jefferson Ready Start Network (JRSN) hosted a panel discussion entitled “Focus on the Future,” with community leaders. The panel included Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng; Sheriff Joseph P. Lopinto III; Superintendent James Gray, M.Ed.; and University of New Orleans economics professor Alí Bustamante, Ph.D. Panelists discussed early care and education and their impact on Jefferson Parish’s families, workforce, economy and broader community.
The forum highlighted the critical need for business community involvement. Approximately 70% of children from birth to age 5 have both parents, or their single parent, employed full-time. Despite this, working families still struggle to afford quality early care and education. When parents can’t afford childcare, they can’t show up to work, which affects local businesses and the economy. It costs Louisiana businesses $762 million per year and leads to a $1.2 billion annual loss for the state economy.
Bustamante emphasized that the correlation between early education breakdowns and economic prosperity cannot be overstressed. In Jefferson Parish, these breakdowns amount to about $180 million annually. Supporting early care and education is a forward-thinking approach to economic development.
As Councilmember Walker stated, “We can’t kick the can down the road; we must address this issue now.”
Lack of access to early care and education is not only a local issue but a state and national crisis. Long-term sustainable funding is needed to ensure all children in Jefferson Parish have access to quality early care and education, enabling more families to work.
The Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund (the state matching fund) made it possible for local entities like JRSN to receive a dollar-for-dollar match for local funds raised to provide public seats. While we have joined our colleagues from Rapides, Natchitoches, Caddo and East Baton Rouge parishes, to name a few, in capitalizing on this match, for Jefferson Parish it is not a sustainable plan. Parishes like Orleans are finding alternative solutions,
passing a millage in support of early care and education in 2022 that (with the match) raised almost $43 million for our neighbors.
Jefferson Parish faces significant gaps in early care and education services. Of the approximately 25,000 children from birth to 5 years of age, as many as 15,000 are from economically disadvantaged families. On a good day, only 5,000 receive publicly funded care. This lack of access mirrors the state and national landscape. The crisis is real and predicted to worsen before it improves.
THE ROLE OF JEFFERSON READY START NETWORK
Jefferson Ready Start Network (JRSN) is a coalition tasked by the Louisiana Department of Education to increase access to high-quality early care and education locally. Our advisory board is made up of individuals with backgrounds in business, education, fundraising, health care and local government. We use local data and our community’s unique needs to develop strategies to enhance early care and education in our parish.
A child’s earliest life experiences have a profound impact. Ninety percent of brain development occurs before age 5, making early years critical for growth and development. Highquality early care and education can significantly improve outcomes. Children who participate in quality early childhood programs are 25% more likely to graduate high school; those who don’t attend quality preschool programs are 70% more likely to be arrested for a violent crime by age 18.
Jefferson Parish businesses are impacted daily. While many high-quality early education programs exist, they have long wait lists, with hundreds of children in line for a seat. Despite federal, state and local investments, large gaps remain. Businesses must be part of the solution until long-term sustainable funding is secured.
Involvement in early care and education is a strategic investment in both the current and future workforce and economic stability of Jefferson Parish. By supporting early education, businesses can help create a more prosperous community for all. To learn more visit JeffersonReadyStartNetwork.com. T
MARCUS BROWN
Marcus Brown
Chair, Super Bowl LIX Host Committee
by KELLY MASSICOT
ON FEB. 9, 2025, New Orleans will host the Super Bowl for a record-tying (with Miami) 11th time at Caesars Superdome. This colossal feat will occur as the result of a lot of work and support by multiple entities, especially the Super Bowl LIX Host Committee, led by the New Orleans Saints and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation. One of the founding sponsors of the committee is Entergy, whose executive vice president and general counsel, Marcus Brown, is serving as the chair of the host committee executive committee.
The all-volunteer committee is responsible for all aspects of the event, down to hotel blocks and tens of thousands of parking assignments, as well as garnering excitement and buzz ahead of the big game.
“There are a lot of people in this city who are excited about it,” he said of the big game. “So whatever work I have to do is going to be small in comparison to all the things that people are stepping up to do. I’m a bit of a coordinator, but there are people doing real work around this.”
In addition to hosting such a global event, the lasting impact after the Lombardi trophy has been claimed is not lost on Brown and his team.
“Every time you have a Super Bowl in your city, you’re auditioning to have another,” said Brown. “And the city, the state in particular, are focused on this economic development. You’re going to have all these owners and people from all over the world coming to the city. So, we’re trying to put together a plan that has an economic development component to it that goes beyond Super Bowl itself.
“This will be broadcasted to the world,” Brown continued. “Everybody has either been to New Orleans and will see us on TV, or they want to come to New Orleans. The value of coverage of the city for those two weeks is unmatched.”
Dr. Christopher Lege CEO, Touro
by NED RANDOLPH
TOURO STILL WANTS TO BE the place where babies come from, but it is increasingly serving them as they age, noted Dr. Christopher Lege, who was officially named the hospital’s new CEO April 30 after serving as interim CEO and chief medical officer.
“The fastest growing population in New Orleans is actually the senior population, those 65 and over,” said Lege. “As such, we’ve been evolving over the past several years, creating programs specifically to meet the needs of that population. We feel like that is what our identity is going to be as part of LCMC.”
Touro Infirmary merged with Children’s Hospital New Orleans in 2009 to form LCMC Health, a
nonprofit system that currently manages eight hospitals in Louisiana.
Before assuming the role of Touro’s chief medical officer, Lege served as primary care medical director and chief medical officer for Crescent City Physicians. He earned his medical degree at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. His residency was at Tulane Medical Center.
Lege’s top priority in 2024 is improving access to care at Touro’s 28 community clinics and promoting preventive care. That means educating people on where and how to access care beyond the emergency room.
“Staffing is certainly a challenge,” he says. The pandemic not only worsened a national staffing shortage, but it also affected community outreach and education. Now that we’re on the other side of it, we can get back to connecting at events and outreach that shows Touro’s important place in the community,” he said. “We’ve been here 107 years.”
Liz Hefler
Greater New Orleans Regional Director, Hancock Whitney Bank
by TINA HOWELL
AFTER 20 YEARS working on the commercial banking side for Hancock Whitney Bank, including most recently as the group leader of middle market and commercial banking, Liz Hefler stepped into a new role as the bank’s Greater New Orleans regional president on August 1, 2023.
Established in 2011 through a merger of Hancock Bank in South Mississippi and Whitney Bank in New
DR. CHRISTOPHER LEGE
CEO // Touro
LIZ HEFLER
Orleans, Hancock Whitney Bank is headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi and operates more than 230 financial centers throughout the Gulf Coast, including 47 in the Greater New Orleans area. Hefler works at the bank’s regional headquarters, located in the Central Business District.
As Greater New Orleans Regional President, Hefler and her team are responsible for continuing to strengthen relationships with their longtime clients throughout the region while introducing Hancock Whitney’s broad spectrum of financial services to new individuals, families and businesses.
“[This role] will allow me to engage with my colleagues on a regular basis, which will make me a better and more informed leader,” she noted.
The New Orleans native, who attended Academy of the Sacred Heart, started out as a commercial banking trainee with Hancock Whitney in 2004 after graduating from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in economics. She also serves on the boards of several New Orleans area nonprofits, including the Bureau of Governmental Research and Stuart Hall School for Boys.
Hefler said she is excited for the opportunity to help grow Hancock Whitney’s relationships with both their customers and potential new clients.
“I am privileged to work with a great group of bankers and clients, which makes it easy to respond to challenges as they arise,” she said. “Our plan is to strengthen relationships with our longtime clients throughout the region while introducing Hancock Whitney’s broad spectrum of financial services to new individuals, families and businesses.”
Tamara Kennedy
Chief of Staff, Port of South Louisiana
by CHERÉ COEN
AFTER YEARS of working in human resources for a variety of industries, New Orleans native Tamara Kennedy found her true calling at the Port of South Louisiana 10 years ago. It was here at America’s leading grain exporting port district, which services the industrial region between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, that Kennedy began to be relied upon for organizational development, efficiency efforts and port productivity.
At the end of March, it was announced that Kennedy was moving into the role of the port’s chief of staff, working in business development, public relations and marketing, government affairs and, naturally, human resources.
“We are the second largest port in the western hemisphere,” Kennedy explained, adding that 60% of the nation’s grain travels through the port. “We were doing those numbers before, but no one had heard of us. But not anymore. Now, we’re doing the job of telling our story. We are open for business and telling people how important this port is to not only the state but the whole country.”
When Kennedy arrived at the port, the staff was 75% male. Today, thanks to the company’s opendoor policy and DEI efforts in hiring diversity and more females in executive-level positions, women make up 40% of the staff.
Her advice to women entering the workplace and wanting to move up is to be assertive, voice opinions and question why women are not more present in places of power.
“Never be ashamed to ask for your seat at the table,” Kennedy said.
TAMARA KENNEDY
CHIEF OF STAFF // Port of South Louisiana
John Bailey
Director, Stennis Space Center by
KEITH TWITCHELL
IN HIS 25 YEARS at the NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, John Bailey has managed technology, communications, engineering, science and strategic business development at the facility. After serving as acting director since January, Bailey was officially named the space center’s director on April 29.
“One neat thing about Stennis Space Center is you get the opportunity to do a lot of different things,” Bailey observed.
The center comprises 13,000 acres, plus an additional 25,000-acre buffer zone. In addition to NASA, approximately 50 other entities are located there, including state and federal agencies, academia, and commercial enterprises. The center employs approximately 5,200 people.
“I’m managing and running a federal city,” explained Bailey, “and I’m kind of like the mayor of the city. It’s unique within NASA.”
One big challenge for Bailey is “managing the culture shift from where we were to where we want to be,” he said. “Most of the work is now commercial rocket testing, and a commercial company’s priority is timeto-market. It took some retooling to make this shift to being more flexible, more nimble, less bureaucracy.”
“It’s been exciting to look at our organizational structure and efficiency,” she said. “That’s what I’m so proud of. And the change of our company’s structure. We can now all sit at our table with our CEO (Paul Matthews), the first African American CEO at a port in the state.”
JOHNBAILEY
With the commercial sector as the main growth track for Stennis, Bailey is also responsible for developing new business. The high levels of security and privacy at the facility, including its considerable amount of restricted air space, are big selling points.
Coming from an Air Force background, Bailey maintains a strong interest in flight, and his other major responsibility is overseeing the rocket propulsion testing. Topping this list is the engines for NASA’s new Artemis program.
DIRECTOR // Stennis Space Center
“We tested all the engines for the first four Artemis flights,” said Bailey. “Artemis 2 will send astronauts around the moon, and with Artemis 3, we will put boots on the moon.”
The publicity from these moon flights will help Bailey reach his goals of attracting more private sector rocket propulsion testing and expanding the federal city footprint.
“We really want people to know who we are and what we do,” Bailey concluded. “We do not want Stennis to be a best-kept secret.”
Elizabeth Tilton
Founder & CEO, Oyster Sunday and OS
Benefits
by KIM SINGLETARY
MORE THAN 11 million people work in the U.S. hospitality industry, but only 32% are offered employer-sponsored health coverage.
That sobering truth inspired New Orleans native Elizabeth Tilton to marry her experience in both the culinary and business worlds to try and make a difference. After launching Oyster Sunday in 2019 — a kind of corporate office for independent restaurants — Tilton’s latest venture, OS Benefits, debuted last year, offering the first affordable health insurance and wellness benefits marketplace made for the hospitality industry by the hospitality industry.
Using economies of scale, Tilton said OS Benefits has been able to negotiate rates with providers to offer hospitality employers nationwide access to five different plans that start at a few hundred dollars a month.
Tilton also offers employers the opportunity to participate in OS Benefits’ Wellness Marketplace. Brokering deals with more than 25 nationwide vendors, the company offers benefits relating to preventive care, continuing education, mental and physical wellness, family planning, culinary tools, and apparel for just $35 per employee.
“This includes everything from dog walking and childcare to teeth aligners, to women’s health, continuing education, kitchen knives, and aprons, and so forth,” said Tilton. “All of the benefits we offer are either free, or between 20% and 80% off depending on our partnership.”
The offerings have quickly gained attention, with Fast Company listing OS Benefits among their most innovative companies of 2024.
For Tilton, it’s all about making a difference in her hometown.
“I love the city, and it means a lot to me to build a company in and of New Orleans as well,” she said. “One in eight residents are in hospitality in New Orleans, and that’s a lot of our population that needs to be protected.”
TILTONELIZABETH
FOUNDER & CEO //
Oyster Sunday and OS Benefits
SHAWNAYOUNG
Shawna Young
Chief Executive Officer, Camelback Ventures
by TINA HOWELL
IN APRIL, Shawna Young was named chief executive officer of Camelback Ventures, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase access to opportunities for entrepreneurs of color and women by investing in their ventures and leadership while advocating for fairness in their funding.
“I’m profoundly excited about continuing (founder) Aaron Walker’s vision to drive a more equitable entrepreneurship ecosystem,” said Young. “I am particularly eager to champion Camelback’s unique approach, which emphasizes holistic support, seed funding, mentorship and community building. These pillars not only empower women and entrepreneurs of color but also cultivate a vibrant ecosystem for their ideas and organizations to flourish.”
Young has dedicated her career to empowering individuals and driving social change as a social impact entrepreneur and leader. While serving leadership roles with Ada Developers Academy, Scratch Foundation, Duke University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Young built a passion for supporting others and creating systemic change.
In 2020, she co-founded Onyx Black Wealth Collective, a nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on helping people build wealth through community discussions on financial planning, home ownership, investments and estate planning.
Part of the organization’s efforts to create a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem and offer diverse founders the support and resources they need to thrive is hosting the annual Guardian Summit in New Orleans. This year’s two-day conference was held May 8-9 at the New Orleans Jazz Market and Virgin Hotels New Orleans. In addition to networking events — which included hosted dinners around the city — attendees delved into topics including “Leveraging VR to Amplify BIPOC Stories” and “Building Transformational Schools.”
Young said she sees a bright future ahead.
“With our dedicated team, partners and the incredible community of entrepreneurs we serve, I am confident we can build a future where everyone has the opportunity to innovate and succeed.”
Muieen Cader
Program Director, New Orleans BioInnovation Center
by KEITH TWITCHELL
BEFORE LANDING in New Orleans, Muieen Cader gained experience in multiple industries, including health, science and angel investing, as well as international experience in far off locales Singapore and Uganda. For Cader, the new program director at the New Orleans BioInno-
vation Center (NOBIC) as of February, variety is truly the spice of life.
“I see a lot of opportunity existing in New Orleans,” he said, “and this position offers a lot more variety than a typical venture capital role. I can help companies as well as the city.”
NOBIC is a nonprofit business incubator focused on supporting innovation in the broad field of bioscience.
“Anything that touches food and agriculture as well as health qualifies as bioscience,” Cader explained. “It can cover anything from cancer diagnostics to cultivated meats.”
A key aspect of Cader’s work is promoting interest in biosciences, including a program launched recently with Junior Achievement and YouthForce NOLA that serves approximately 100 high school students across the city.
“The high school programming will lead to more STEM students, which leads to more bioscience entrepreneurs,” observed Cader, “and it will help develop the bioscience ecosystem in a broader sense.”
Another program Cader manages is the BioChallenge pitch contest, which provides opportunities for entrepreneurs from all over the world.
“There is a strict application process, with rules and industry-specific themes,” he said. “It may include everything from healing technologies to vaccines.”
As part of NOBIC’s recent grant from JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Cader recruited life science company founders from across the U.S. for a panel at Essence Festival of Culture 2024. This panel, and accompanying networking session, will allow these
DEAN // Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine
SEOANE
DR. LEONARDO
founders to tell their stories and inspire the next generation of life science entrepreneurs.
Building the bioscience future in New Orleans is clearly a passion for Cader, and his view of that future is bright.
“I think NOBIC has a lot of momentum right now,” he said, “and I think it will really take off going forward.”
MUIEEN CADER
Dr. Leonardo Seoane
Dean,
Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine
by NED RANDOLPH
THE DEAN of the new Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine understands the transformational opportunity before him.
“It’s going to change downtown New Orleans forever,” said Dr. Leonardo Seoane. “To be able to lead something like that is incredible.”
Set to be the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) medical school in the Gulf South and only the fifth in the nation, the medical school currently plans to welcome its first class of 50 students into Benson Tower after preliminary accredication, which takes several years. Seoane hopes to raise a $150 million endowment for faculty and scholarships to support up to 100 medical students per year.
The program, which will be housed in BioDistrict New Orleans inside the Benson Tower next to Caesars Superdome, will also partner with New Orleans schools to boost coursework in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
“Our strategic advantage is our diversity,” said Seoane, who is a first-generation Hispanic immigrant. “Black and brown students can see a path to becoming a physician. Students realize that I can be a doctor, there are doctors that look like me. There are doctors that speak Spanish like I do. There are doctors that come from my community.”
Xavier University, with its 3,400 student body, already sends more African Americans to medical school than any other U.S. university.
In addition to addressing an acute shortage of physicians nationwide, research has shown that improving diversity in medicine leads to improved outcomes for underrepresented minority patients.
The program would also add a third medical school downtown, which would make New Orleans unique among U.S. cities its size, said Seoane, who noted, “That can be an incredible catalyst.”
PROGRAM DIRECTOR // New Orleans BioInnovation Center
Dr. Kathy Johnson
President, University of New Orleans
By KELLY MASSICOT
AT THE BEGINNING of the fall 2023 semester, Dr. Kathy Johnson was appointed president of the University of New Orleans (UNO). She is the school’s eighth president, and the first female president in it’s 65-year history.
Johnson comes to the university after 30 years at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where she ended an eight-year run as executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer.
“The University of New Orleans has a mission that I have spent the vast majority of my career helping to support,” said Johnson. “As an urban public research university, it combines the importance of knowledge creation, discovery and translational research with an equally important role of providing pathways to an affordable education for students from many backgrounds.”
A few months into the job, Johnson notes that there is no higher priority on the agenda than stabilizing and nourishing the university’s enrollment.
“We must do this by better supporting and retaining the students that we admit, along with seeking out opportunities to connect our strong academic programs with prospective learners from around the region, as well as throughout the world,” she said.
Johnson is well aware of the far-reaching effects of the university, which has educated students from all 64 Louisiana parishes, all 50 U.S. states, and more than 140 countries.
“It’s incredible how frequently I run into our alumni, and they invariably share a story with me about the impact that the university has had on their
PRESIDENT // University of New Orleans
DR. KATHY JOHNSON
lives,” she said. “It is truly a gift, as well as a huge responsibility, to steward the university knowing these stories and the impact that our faculty and staff have had.”
Susan Bonnett Bourgeois
Secretary, Louisiana Economic Development
by MISTY MILIOTO
WHEN GOV. JEFF LANDRY appointed Susan Bonnett Bourgeois as secretary of Louisiana Economic Development in January 2023, it was with the understanding that she would reimagine and run the state agency’s approach to economic development. Bourgeois — who previously served as founder and president of the North Shore Community Foundation for 17 years, and as the first business executive to chair GNO, Inc. — is perfectly poised for her new position.
In addition to learning how to navigate state government, and growing a proficiency and passion for strategic planning, project development, teambuilding and public service, she also has a track record of tremendous growth.
In June, the passage of SB 494 marked a major step forward in fostering economic development excellence in Louisiana. The bill allows LED to quickly reorganize and develop a new strategic plan for economic growth in Louisiana.
“The competition among states to attract business investment has never been more intense,” she said. “[Our mission] is to drive capital investment, job creation and wage growth in every region of our state [by] helping companies and educators meet the challenge of recruiting, training and sustaining a pipeline of skilled workers capable of excelling in an increasingly diversified economy.”
With this directive, Bourgeois is harnessing the strengths inherent to Louisiana and addressing challenges in a new way.
“No other state can match our strategic location and powerful infrastructure, which allow extraordinary access to global and domestic markets,” she noted. “But we need to do a better job of telling the world, and our own residents, our story. [This] is my charge, and LED’s challenge.”
Bourgeois plans to diversify the oil and natural gas industry in response to growing demand and global market dynamics via prioritization of energy investment and support for energy innovation. She also plans to capitalize on the agribusiness, manufacturing, bioscience and healthcare sectors; automotive parts production (especially electric vehicle battery materials); and data center, telecommunications and cybersecurity markets.
Ethan Melancon
Advocacy Director, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
By KEITH TWITCHELL
IN HIS LENGTHY PUBLIC POLICY CAREER, Ethan Melancon has worked on some of the most important issues in Louisiana, from education to economic development. But none carries the existential weight of his new role as advocacy director for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL).
“As the land erodes, so does our culture,” Melancon observed. “Saving our coast is saving our culture.”
A Thibodaux native now residing in Baton Rouge, Melancon’s family has lived on the south Louisiana bayous for generations.
“I have a passion for our coastal areas,” he said, “and this was the perfect time to combine that with the skills I have from years of working with the Legislature.”
This experience includes everything from being a legislative aide to Rep. Charles Boustany to working with the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Louisiana Department of Education. He stepped into his current role this past March, where he is responsible for the coalition’s legislative strategies and advocacy at the federal, state and local level.
Melancon described his biggest challenges as “getting everyone to understand the issues we face, and at the same time, understanding the movement patterns of both our opposition and our stakeholders and trying to find the common interests. Coastal restoration is a controversial space, and it requires a lot of strategy.”
Central to this is ensuring that the coastal master plan is funded and implemented, with a focus on restoring land-replenishing processes.
One new initiative for CRCL is its Coastal Leadership Institute, which will provide training in four areas: the ecology and science of the coast, coastal culture, the coastal economy, and the politics surrounding it all. The program will combine classroom and experiential learning, with the purpose of building a cohort of future advocates and even state leaders.
Melancon is also responsible for coalition outreach, and he regards people as the biggest resource in his work.
“I’m excited to tap into these populations along the coast,” he said. “The human story tells a bigger story than the science.” T
ETHANMELANCON
ADVOCACY DIRECTOR // Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Skinny THE ON
Fat City
Being in “fat city,” has long been a slang term for doing really well. Unfortunately, Metairie’s Fat City hasn’t lived up to its name for some time. Efforts have been made over the years to change things around, however, the latest of which is an exciting green space and beautification project that’s received $13 million in funding.
BY KIM SINGLETARY PHOTOS BY ADRIENNE BATTISTELLA
all
along the west side of Lakeside Shopping Center in Jefferson Parish, the largest and busiest mall in the Greater New Orleans region, sits approximately 100 acres of land in Jefferson Parish known as “Fat City.” Its footprint is bordered by Veterans Memorial Boulevard to the south, West Esplanade Avenue to the north, Division Street to the west and Severn Avenue to the east.
In the early 1970s, the plan for this prime location was to transform it into the “French Quarter of Jefferson Parish,” complete with bars, music clubs and restaurants. Unfortunately, by the late 1980s, Fat City was rife with crime and drugs.
From 2009 to 2014, Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng — who was then serving as councilwoman-at-large for Division B, which includes Fat City — made the revitalization of the area her prime focus. She persuaded the city council to adopt a strategic plan for Fat City as part of the parish strategic plan, led rezoning efforts to encourage mixed-use development, set earlier closing times for bars and shut down establishments that were frequently the cause of calls to the police. In 2014, she received an award of excellence for her efforts from the American Planning Association.
In the past 10 years, efforts have continued to move Fat City in a better direction. In 2019, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office spent $6.2 million on the 1st District station at 3620 Hessmer Avenue and the Entergy substation at the intersection of West Esplanade and Edenborn avenues was enhanced. In November 2022, $14 million paid for widening sidewalks and adding bike lanes on Severn Avenue to make it more pedestrian friendly.
This past February, District 5 Councilman Hans Liljeberg appropriated approximately $13 million of Community Development Grant funding to Fat City.
To learn more about what this new funding will mean for Fat City, Biz New Orleans spoke recently with Liljeberg and Dana Pecoraro, chair of the Metairie Business Development District.
Dana, could you talk a bit about the Metairie Business Development District?
Dana: Sure. The Metairie Business Development District was seated about 10 years ago. It’s a nine-member board with appointments from the Jefferson Parish Council, the parish president, the sheriff, the state senator and state representative. Our purpose is to improve the business environment in Fat City from every perspective — from cleanliness to helping businesses reopen, redevelop, and changing the streetscape and the landscape to improve the area.
How is it funded?
Dana: We receive a pinch of the taxes from several of the businesses within the district in order to fund our activities. This year, that’s about $300,000. Previously, we only had a tax associated with the Macy’s, which generated anywhere between $150,000 and $170,000. In the last year and a half, we increased it to include the Michaels, Floor & Décor, and a few other smaller businesses, which should double our income.
What has MBDD been doing with the funds?
Dana: Over the last 10 years, we had accumulated enough funds to begin to acquire property on the corner of Hessmer Avenue and 18th Street with the purpose of developing a corner-to-corner park. The thought and guidance from many urban planners is that creating green space leads to the redevelopment of everything around it. That has been our mission for the last 10 years — to acquire property to develop it into green space.
You own a business in Fat City. What attracted you to the area?
Dana: When I moved my business to Fat City in 2008 no one thought it was a good idea because it was deplorable. Across the street was a bar that had lost its liquor license and then reopened as a teen club. The building that I bought — the back door was missing, there was a mattress in one of the rooms with someone sleeping on it. The yard was full of junk. It was a former engineering firm that was no longer open. I had to renovate the entire building.
What attracted you to the property then?
Dana: My company’s an outdoor advertising company, and the goal for me was to find a location that was central for not only my maintenance people, but for my employees. I wanted a spot that we could easily hop on the interstate and get to any location within the city within 15 minutes, and that’s what Fat City allows us to do.
Have you seen things improve since 2008?
Dana: It’s light years different. I guess because I’ve been here so long, the change is so gradual that you don’t appreciate it as much. But when you look back at the photos of what it looked like and you look at it now, it’s just unbelievable. Most of the seedier bars that were here are now engineering firms, architectural firms. It’s quite different. We have a long way to go, but we’re getting there.
What does Fat City look like now?
Dana: Half of the area is mostly apartments, and the other half is comprised currently of businesses. We’ve got restaurants, architectural firms, engineering firms. I’m an advertising business. We’ve got a school uniform supply warehouse, an Orange Theory across the street from my business.
“THE IDEA IS TO CREATE KIND OF LIKE WHAT YOU WOULD FIND IN NEW ORLEANS’ WAREHOUSE DISTRICT — A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN JUST WALK RIGHT OUT YOUR FRONT DOOR AND FIND A MULTITUDE OF
RESTAURANTS
AND SHOPS AND SUCH.
We’re also close to where the sheriff built his new substation a couple of years back, which is beautiful. It’s a multiuse building with the sheriff occupying the top half and two businesses at the bottom.
What do you consider to be the biggest problems with Fat City now? Is it a lack of green space?
Dana: There has been no green space in Fat City, but now we have a contiguous piece of property that is 42,900 square feet, that is anchored by the new sheriff’s station. That will be the park.
The 42,000-square-feet of open space, what was that previously?
Dana: This is one of my proud points: Fourteen different property owners sold their properties to us for this to come together for the sheriff’s building and for the park property.
Here I must give a plug to Jeffrey Feil, who owns Lakeside Mall. He wrote us a check for $300,000 to give us the seed money to help us start buying the property to develop the park. We did a presentation, and he wrote us a check and said, ‘There’s more money where this came from. Once you make some progress, come back and see me.’
Tell us about the park, what’s it going to be like?
Dana: The current idea is for it simply be a leisure park, something like Lafayette Square, where people
can just enjoy it or come to whatever we decide to program, whether it be free music, free movies, you know, free children’s events.
The first step is to hire the landscape architect, who can collaborate with the Jefferson Parish District 5 Council, Cynthia Lee Sheng and the board and the community to figure out what’s the best and highest use and how we design that.
Hans, why did you choose to appropriate $13 million in Community Development Block Grant funds for Fat City?
Hans: It’s money that must be used for disadvantaged areas, and Fat City is one of the few areas in District 5 qualifies. But also, I grew up not too far from Fat City, about eight blocks east of Causeway Boulevard, so I’ve watched how it changed through the years… I really do think we can turn it around… It’s close to the lake, close to the airport. You have North Shore access; you have the city of New Orleans next door. It’s got the bones to be something really special.
Dana: We’ve already had one developer come to us and propose a multiuse building on the opposite corner of 18th and Hessmer because he knows we’re going to develop a park across the street.
Hans: Dana has been visiting and researching a lot of parks.
What parks have impressed you?
Dana: I love Klyde Warren Park in Dallas. It’s an enormous park that’s built over an interstate but components of it would fit very nicely in Fat City. There’s Sunnylands Park in Ranch Mirage, California — that design, I think, would work great in our space because it has a center, flat ground space that is surrounded
by trees, and then sub gardens surrounding that initial ring of trees. The park that we have is big enough for a walking path to go around it. In addition to being used to build the leisure park, the CDBG funds will also help make street and drainage improvements. What specifically are you looking at?
Dana: We’re hoping to add parking. And with parking, we’ll do some bump outs that will include green space to define the parking area on the side streets. Beneath that bump out, we’ll be able to add small drainage retention ponds. The goal is to widen sidewalks and add trees and on-street parking.
Can you talk about the 17th Street beautification project?
Hans: We’re spending $200,000 there to beautify that area with better landscaping, and I think it’s just going to make it a nicer entranceway to Fat City.
Is that being done as part of the $13 million?
Dana: No. Hans gave us an additional $200,000 this spring to make those improvements out of his district funds.
What will that look like?
Dana: There are currently no trees on that street. Lakeside Shopping Center is condensing some parking spots so that we can add larger trees on their property. As you enter from Causeway Boulevard, that entire first island you see right now is grass that’s going to be re-landscaped, and trees are going to be added and landscaping and at some point. We’ll also have a piece of sculpture art.
If you go a little bit further, there is a turn lane that leads to the post office, which is not needed. We’re going to use that to create additional
green space, and that will also be planted with trees and landscaping. It’s going to completely change the look of 17th Street.
You mentioned Lakeside Mall. How are they connected to the project?
Brian Lade [regional manager at the Feil Organization] is the vice chair of the Metairie Business Development District. I’m the chair this year. Tommy Cvitanovich [owner of Drago’s Seafood Restaurant] was the former chair for the last few years.
What about housing? Jefferson Parish struggles with an older housing stock, particularly when it comes to luring younger residents.
Dana: Tampa has a park called Hyde Park not far from the waterfront. That does what I think most of us are hoping we can eventually do in Fat City, which is have a multiuse building where you’ve got retail at the bottom and maybe apartments or condos on top, directly adjacent to the park. Hans: The idea is to create kind of like what you would find in New Orleans’ Warehouse District — a place where you can just walk right out your front door and find a multitude of restaurants and shops and such.
What’s the timeline for all of this?
Dana: As I understand it, the funds from the parish level are approved, and they are now in the hands of the state. The first phase of the funds should be in our hands, either the Metairie Business Development District or Jefferson Parish, within the next six months. That would enable us to start construction on the park. The other funds will probably flow through within the next year to 18 months.
The strategic plan mentions another park besides the 42,000-square foot one.
Dana: Yes. That’s one that we haven’t acquired yet, but it is included in the plan. That is where we would like to put something similar to Paley Park in New York City. It’s at the corner of 18th Street and North Arnoult Road.
The State of Louisiana has a program that if you acquire green space and guarantee that it will remain green space, they will fund half of the acquisition cost. We’ve spoken with the park director of the State of Louisiana, and he’s very excited about the two different park opportunities we have within that area.
What do you think all these improvements to Fat City will mean for the parish?
Hans: One of the things that you hear a lot about is Jefferson Parish having an aging population, and so it’s important to make sure we have housing and services for the elderly. But at the same time, we need to do something to attract young people and keep them here.
Fat City could be a really great place where you can walk to the grocery store, walk to a great restaurant, bike to the lake. It’s got the bones to be something really special. If we can accomplish all the things that we want to, that’s where we’ll be headed.
Dana: Jefferson Parish is safe. People want to be here because it’s safe. We want to make it not only safe, but more attractive and appealing. This is hopefully the start of that change.” T
THE JUNE 28 OPENING OF DISNEY WORLD’S TIANA’S BAYOU ADVENTURE RIDE IS JUST THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF THE GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT GIANT’S LONG LOVE AFFAIR WITH NEW ORLEANS.
BY KIM SINGLETARY
Walt Disney never planned to locate Disney World in New Orleans. That urban legend was officially debunked by Jack McGuire, who served as city director of public relations under former New Orleans mayor Vic Schiro. In a letter to the editor published on Nola.com last October, McGuire stated that the threat of hurricanes was a major factor in the decision. Instead, Disney expressed his deep love for the city through the creation of Disneyland’s New Orleans Square.
Opened in 1966, New Orleans Square was the last project Disney saw to completion before his death just a few months later. It is home to what are still two of the park’s most popular rides — Pirates of the Caribbean, which opened in 1967, and the Haunted Mansion, which opened in 1969.
Long after Disney’s death, however, his company has continued the New Orleans connection. While there may not be a New Orleans Square at Disney World, the 47-square-mile resort is home to not one, but two New Orleans-themed hotels that comprise Disney’s Port Orleans Resort. The resort boasts the largest number of rooms of any on Disney property — 3,056.
Port Orleans — French Quarter opened in 1991, followed by Port Orleans — Riverside in 1992. They are connected by the man-made Sassagoula River.
A more recent example of Disney’s love for the Crescent City can be found in the July 28, 2023, release of the film “Haunted Mansion.”
Based on the ride, the movie was filmed in New Orleans and features a long list of well-known actors including Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito and Owen Wilson, Winona Ryder, Dan Levy and Jamie Lee Curtis. The film showcases iconic New Orleans locations including Jackson Square, Lafitte Cemetery No. 2, Napoleon House, Royal Street and Lafitte’s Blacksmith Tavern.
Flipping the script this time, instead of creating a movie based on a ride, Disney’s newest ride is a complete rework of Splash Mountain based on its 2009 animated hit “The Princess and the Frog.” The film marked a few firsts for Disney — its first Black princess, and the first princess to be based on a real person (famed chef Leah Chase) from a real place, New Orleans. It also features the voice talents of famed New Orleans resident John Goodman.
A LITTLE DEEPER GiNG
THE DISNEY AND CHASE FAMILY CONNECTION GETS “SPICIER”
Tiana is also the first Disney princess to own a business. At the end of “The Princess and the Frog,” Tiana opens her dream restaurant, Tiana’s Place. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, the ride, is set in 1927, about a year after the end of the film. The ride tells the story of how Tiana has since grown her business by purchasing an aging salt mine and creating a company called Tiana’s Foods.
This new storyline created the perfect opportunity for the Chase family and Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. Inside the ride’s obligatory gift shop is a section devoted to the sale of a new line of seasonings from the restaurant.
The line was launched at the park with the opening of the ride, and will also be available at Emporium, Disney World’s main gift shop, as well as at Disneyland — where the ride is set to open later this year. They will also be sold online, and at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. The line includes four seasonings used in the restaurant, including Fried Chicken Seasoning, Seafood Seasoning, Gumbo Base and Meat Seasoning. The Dooky Chase Cookbook, written by Leah Chase, will also be for sale.
At the global media preview of the ride, Edgar “Dook” Chase IV — who, in addition to being Leah Chase’s grandson, is the owner/president of Chase Concessions, LLC, and executive chef at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant — shared that if Disney patrons enjoy their “taste” of New Orleans enough to make the visit to his family’s restaurant, they’ll notice a few connections back to the ride.
“Disney has been gracious in giving us a lot of the
artwork along through the ride — small pieces that we showcase in the restaurant,” he said.
Chase explained the family’s experience with Disney has been overwhelmingly positive.
“This relationship has been going on for such a long time,” he said. “They interviewed my grandmother multiple times for the film. And then, four years ago, [our family was] interviewed and started doing the tours and talking about Tiana’s Bayou Adventure…It’s been a great involvement with [Disney] because they truly have just focused on getting it right, telling the true, authentic stories.”
TELLING OUR OWN STORY
To make sure they “got it right” when it came to portraying the feel of New Orleans, Disney enlisted the help of many local artists, including New Orleans native Sharika Mahdi, who provided four pieces of concept art used to help Disney imagineers create the ride. An art teacher at Albert Cammon Middle School and R.K. Smith Middle School in the St. Charles Parish Public School system, Mahdi has showcased her work throughout North America. Two of her pieces are part of the late Dr. Maya Angelou’s art collection.
Another local artist, Varion Laurent, was commissioned to create the official gallery piece for the ride. During the media preview he explained how the opportunity has been part of a renaissance for him.
“I lost all my work in Hurricane Katrina... I had zero identity as an artist,” he said. “It reinvigorated something inside of me when I got back to
my work. I started to create new things and it was like the universe was waiting on me when I did.” Serving as a kind of enormous welcome mat for the ride, a vertical mural on the exterior depicts a collage showcasing Tiana’s journey to creating Tiana’s foods. It was created by Malaika Favorite, a native of Geismar, Louisiana in Ascension Parish. The 74-year-old LSU grad’s large collection of work includes commissioned pieces for organizations like The River Road African American Museum and The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Since music is such a central part of New Orleans culture, the queue for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure’s features a whopping 18 songs, including both favorites from the film and original music created in collaboration with award-winning New Orleans natives PJ Morton and Terence Blanchard.
Four-time Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, record producer and keyboardist for the band Maroon 5, Morton also wrote and produced a new original song called “Special Spice,” which plays during the Mardi Gras party at the end of the ride.
Seven-time Grammy-winning trumpeter and St. Augustine grad Terence Blanchard played all the alligator character, Louis’ trumpet parts in the film, and composed the music for the ride.
The work of New Orleans artists can also be seen in both an aesthetic and functional element of the ride. Third-generation master blacksmith Darryl A. Reeves, owner of Andrews Welding and Blacksmith Shop in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward, handcrafted the weathervane that can be
seen atop the hill in the beginning of the ride.
“It’s not just a weathervane, it actually serves as a grounded, functional lightning rod,” he said.
Reeves said Disney caught up with him during Jazz Fest in 2023, where he was continuing his more than 20-year tradition of blacksmith demonstrations.
“Disney was great to work with,” he said. “They left everything about the design up to me. I actually made two pieces — one for Orlando and one for California.”
Reeves specializes in metal restoration on pieces that can go back as far as the 1700s. For the weathervane, he said he purposely inserted a message using Adinkra symbols, originated by the Gyaman people of West Africa.
“There are three symbols in the weathervane,” he said. “The top one is the symbol for endurance; the second relates to Mother Earth and how if you take care of it, it will take care of you; and the bottom symbol is about knowing where you come from, respecting it and learning from it.”
MEANWHILE, ON THE WEST COAST…
While Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is still a while from opening at Disneyland, the princess and her New Orleans flavor have already been a part of the park for a few years. Named for Tiana’s
DID YOU KNOW?
mother, Eudora’s Chic Boutique Featuring Tiana’s Gourmet Secrets opened on Sept. 20, 2022, on Royal Street in New Orleans Square. The store features New Orleans goods, accessories and cookbooks, including by Leah Chase.
A year later, on Sept. 7, 2023, Disneyland opened Tiana’s Place Restaurant, also in New Orleans Square. The quick-service restaurant’s menu includes items like beignets stuffed with lemon icebox pie filling, gumbo, a beef po’boy sandwich and muffuletta sandwiches and salads. The food was influenced by New Orleans native Lindell Skinner, who serves as operations manager of food and beverage for Disneyland Resort.
In addition to the impending opening of its own Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, in March Disneyland announced it will also be opening two more shops themed for the film, Ray’s Berets — based on the film’s beloved Cajun firefly, Raymond — and Louis’ Critter Club, named for the film’s trumpet-playing alligator, who is in turn named after famed New Orleans trumpeter Louis Armstrong. Opening dates for both have yet to be announced.
And if all of this wasn’t enough Tiana news, Disney has announced it will also be debuting a new animated series called “Tiana” on its streaming service Disney+. Originally slated for 2023, the new release date has yet to be announced.
On April 17, Leah Chase’s daughters received some special Disney love. Stella Chase Reese was proclaimed an honorary Disney imagineer and Leah Chase Jr., was given a framed photo from the recording session where she lent her voice to some of the music for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.
A WARM, NOLA RECEPTION
At the June 10 special preview of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure New Orleans — as
could be expected — brought the party. Saints football stars Drew Brees and Cam Jordan were in attendance, along with approximately 55 members of the Chase family. Following a day of rides, Disney hosted a soiree which culminated in a live musical performance by NOLA favorite Tank and the Bangas.
Also in attendance were members of The Historic New Orleans Collection and New Orleans & Company — who have both worked closely with Disney representatives on the ride. All had nothing but praise for the experience.
“We are so grateful for our long-standing partnership with Disney, most recently for the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a beautiful tribute to the city of New Orleans and State of Louisiana, as well as Leah Chase and the iconic Chase family, our cuisine, music and culture,” said Walter J. Leger, IIII, president and CEO of New Orleans & Company. “Our New Orleans delegation truly took over Walt Disney World, producing powerful viral moments and publicity for our destination!”
Leger expressed hope that all the new attention to the 15-year-old film will reinvigorate Disney fans from around the globe and persuade them to experience the real thing for themselves.
“The ride is a sensory immersion into our culture,” he said, “which will inspire the millions of families and culture seekers who visit Disney each year to also plan trips to New Orleans.” T
FROM THE LENS
62
GREAT WORKSPACES
in the 2023 remodel of the company’s new offices.
70
NEIGHBORHOOD GEM
After 95 years, Bottom of the Cup Team Room’s future looks bright, with current partnerships including The Windsor Court hotel and Commander’s Palace.
72
NEW ORLEANS 500
Jennifer Couvillon, President of Chamberlain University College of Nursing New Orleans
66 WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?
A startup called Cantaloupe aims to level up hiring and retention in the hospitality industry.
Tekchix founder Norma Jean McClain took a hands-on role
A WORK OF HEART
Tekchix founder Norma Jean McClain took a hands-on role in the 2023 remodel of the company’s new offices.
BY MISTY MILIOTO
BY SARA ESSEX BRADLEY
After working in both the information technology and staffing industries for more than 25 years, Norma Jean McClain decided to start Tekchix to provide IT recruitment services for businesses of all sizes across the United States.
“I wanted to create a company that truly focused on two things: positive experiences for our clients, candidates and employees, and exceptional outcomes,” she said. “I am proud that we have achieved both, and we are committed to continuing this high level of service.”
McClain started Tekchix — previously located on Metairie Road — in September 2017. While the offices there were cozy and non-traditional, McClain didn’t realize how cramped the staff was in the space until she found a new office space on North Causeway Boulevard.
“When I first saw the space, I wasn’t sure it would be right,” she said. “It hadn’t been updated recently, and it took some imagination to envision what some new paint and flooring could do. My awesome real estate agent, Austin
Norma Jean McClain, founder and president of Tekchix, took on the role of interior designer, carefully choosing colors, furniture and artwork for the IT recruitment company’s office.
PHOTOS
“
” I wanted to create a beautiful space that would feel both welcoming and professional. I wanted our team to enjoy walking in each day and feel inspired. and uplifted.
Lavin, helped me think that through. The floor plan was perfect for us, and the extra space was much needed. I didn’t think that traditional office space would work, but Austin convinced me it was what I needed at this time for my company, and he was right. I initially didn’t want to be on Causeway, but it has turned out to be a perfect location. Also, the Jefferson Chamber is fantastic.”
Working as a collaborative company with five other staff members, McClain needed comfortable meeting space. As such, a conference room was a key component.
“I am on the phone a lot, so I [also] needed an office [where] I didn’t disturb the team,” she said. “A recruiter’s job is stressful, so we also needed a space to decompress, [and] we needed a space that had plenty of windows to let in the sunlight.”
McClain, who worked through her landlord, the Feil Group, began the remodel in April 2023 and finished the following October after
a long wait for furniture. While the layout was perfect —McClain only had to add a closet — she initially hired a decorator to refresh the space but soon decided to do the interior design herself to transform the space in a way that would achieve her specific vision.
“No one was going to be able to read my mind, and I wasn’t going to be able to articulate it effectively,” she said. “I wanted to create a beautiful space that would feel both welcoming and professional. I wanted our team to enjoy walking in each day and feel inspired and uplifted. The colors were important. The artwork selection was important, too. I took a great deal of time to select just the right pieces. The colors and investing in quality furniture and lots of carefully selected artwork, gave us the look and feel that represents our brand and culture.”
McClain especially loves the main entry, which features Tekchix’s signage in brand colors. “The room is beautiful but also functional,” she said. “The [custom] furniture is comfortable for visitors but also has tables for laptops so our team can actually work in this space as well. I didn’t want a room that was only used for visitors. I wanted us to use all of our space.”
She and her team couldn’t be happier with the results.
“Our space is beautiful, comfortable, welcoming and elevated,” she said. “It inspires us to do our best. The space you work in really makes a difference in your mood, your pride in the company and your own self esteem. I feel that I have provided a place where our team can thrive and people outside our company enjoy visiting. We [also have] found our new office elevated our productivity.” T
QUICK LOOK
Number of years in operation 6
Style of architecture
Contemporary
Square footage
2,000
Number of Employees 5
Persons in Charge
Norma Jean McClain
Architecture Contemporary
Interior Décor
Norma Jean McClain
Initial Brand Development
Norma Jean McClain
Art and furnishings
Norma Jean McClain
In addition to a main entry with comfortable seating for staff and guests, the new space features a conference room and individual offices.
BY ASHLEY MCLELLAN
PHOTOS BY EDMUND D. FOUNTAIN
Any businessperson will tell you that making the right hiring decisions is critical to success, which is why it may not be a surprise that it’s also big business.
Since the first public job search engine, Monster job board, went live in 1994, the industry has grown to include more than 100 job search sites in the United States alone. While the most popular websites like Indeed and LinkedIn aim to cover every industry, however, a new local company called Cantaloupe is focused exclusively on the hospitality industry and — in pure New Orleans spirit — is focused on doing things a little differently.
Created by Tulane University MBA students Joshua Anderson, Rich Simmerman and Connor Gleason, along with Southeastern Louisiana University student Lane Degenhardt, the Cantaloupe app stands apart with its unique interactive set-up, akin to well-known dating apps like Bumble and Tinder.
While still in its testing phase (the site will officially launch this summer), the concept has already proven itself an effective tool for job seekers and hiring managers. In April, Cantaloupe took home the $50,000 grand prize at the Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup, a business plan competition for the state of Louisiana, hosted by the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
According to Anderson, Cantaloupe’s co-founder and CEO, the app eliminates the need for traditional résumés, job applications, and time-consuming paperwork and red tape for both applicants and hiring managers. Instead, it uses a predictive matchmaking application to streamline the process.
“Job providers list their jobs on the app by telling us a few details about the role and providing some photos to show off their business,” explained Anderson. “For a limited time, we’ll send a professional photographer to take pictures of our pilot partners if desired.”
For job seekers, Anderson said the process is just as simple.
“Just answer a few questions about yourself, and then apply to a position with a single swipe. No résumés required. People will match with jobs that are a good fit for them, based on factors like their experience, work environment preference, location and pay expectations.”
Cantaloupe’s focus is connecting the hospitality industry with enthusiastic employees and has already been tested with familiar local names like Hotel Monteleone, The Chloe, Cochon Butcher and Pêche.
For Anderson and the team, creating an exclusive platform for the hospitality and service industry jobs was the perfect fit.
“We’ve had people from other industries (including healthcare) reach out to us and ask if they could hire with us,” he said. “The reason why we’ve chosen to prioritize service and hospitality is mainly because the industry is simultaneously a massive one, a drastically underserved one, and one where New Orleans is a noteworthy hub.
“I’m a Louisiana native, along with most of the team,” added Anderson, “which means we have a deep appreciation of the hospitality culture that makes Louisiana unforgettable. It’s possible that in the future we’ll branch out.”
While hospitality is a leading job provider in the Greater New Orleans region, it also continues to grow both nationally and internationally post-pandemic. Hospitality encompasses many industries, the largest of which are accommodation and food and drink services.
According to an April 2024 Statista report, in 2023, the global hospitality market reached over $4.7 trillion and was forecast to grow to around $5.5 trillion in 2024.” Globally, “The hospitality and travel industry accounts for one out of every 10 employment opportunities,” according to a March 2024 report by EHL Insights. Challenges, however, include a shortage of skilled labor, and employee retention.
“As the accommodation and restaurant industry is creating jobs at the fastest rate of any sector in the economy according to the International Labor Organization, fueling this growth with the right skilled labor is yet another concern for owners,” noted the report, which added that “Attracting and retaining younger generations of hospitality professionals will require a lot of flexibility and attention from hoteliers in the future.”
This is where Cantaloupe and its “laser-focused” hospitality platform comes in, appealing to a broad range of hiring managers and employees of different ages and from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. The app promises the ability to match, message, share references, schedule interviews and more, all in one place, something that will become an essential time-saving resource for hospitality employers.
The team is still perfecting the app, testing it locally but with an eye toward growing it regionally.
“We don’t currently have a set launch date,” said Anderson. “It will launch as soon as the key feature set is developed and well tested, and I
don’t want to put an artificial deadline on this.”
Another question Anderson gets a lot is about the origin of the company’s quirky moniker.
“I think this is the bit where I’m expected to talk about how cantaloupe is deeply meaningful to me, or how my ancestors were melon farmers... but the truth is a lot less dramatic than that,” he said. “Everyone knows what a cantaloupe is, and it looks better on a sweatshirt than ‘Indeed.’” T
BY THE NUMBERS
New Orleans/ Metairie metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area employment estimates
Food preparation and serving-related occupations: 59,980 total
Largest groups of employees
Fast-food and counter workers: 11,710
Wait staff: 11,660
Food-preparation workers: 8,270
First-line supervisors of food-preparation and serving workers: 5,740
Cooks, restaurant: 5,470
Bartenders: 4,150
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics April 2024 report
DID YOU KNOW?
Tourism money is responsible for nearly 40% of New Orleans’ operating budget. Without these funds, every family in Louisiana would pay thousands of dollars more per year in taxes.
Give Me the Tea
After 95 years, Bottom of the Cup Team Room’s future looks bright, with current partnerships including The Windsor Court hotel and Commander’s Palace.
BY KEITH TWITCHELL
The past is always present in New Orleans, and few businesses exemplify that more than Bottom of the Cup Tea Room.
Plus, you might even learn about your future there.
Jeanne Powers is the fourth-generation owner of this 95-year-old French Quarter establishment. Her great-grandmother and great aunt opened the business on Royal Street in 1929 and moved it several times before settling on its current location at 327 Chartres Street in 1999.
“Back then, tea houses were considered a safe place for women to discuss politics or just gather,” Powers explained. “And after everyone had their tea, a reader would come around and read the leaves.”
Reading tea leaves is a form of divination that has existed across many centuries and cultures, and this glimpse of what may lie ahead is still a focus of the operation. Powers views this less as fortunetelling than a type of guidance.
“I’ve always seen us as a place where people are seeking something,” she said, “a place for healing and where maybe you can overcome some of the challenges in your life. Most of our readers have been with us for a long time. People should give it a try.”
Complementary products are for sale in the store, ranging from stones with healing qualities to tarot cards. That said, the tea is front and center, blended and brewed by Bottom of the Cup’s sister business, the New Orleans Tea Company.
“We have about 150 different teas, and every flavor name has an association with New Orleans, or the south, or our travels,” Powers elaborated, citing Dancing on Frenchmen, Bourbon Street Vanilla and Fleur de Tea as examples.
The teas are also available at other area coffee and tea shops, and even as far away as Pennsylvania. They are also the basis for a variety of local partnerships. Powers has an ongoing “Tea and Tarot” event series with The Windsor Court hotel, and the Virgin Hotel New Orleans recently added her teas in its rooms and gift shop.
The newest collaboration is with Commander’s Palace: a custom tea blend to serve in the restaurant, as well as the new Le Petit Bleu café. The tea will even be used as an ingredient in certain food preparations.
“I think it’s great: New Orleans businesses getting together and highlighting each other, and promoting the city in the best way,” Powers observed.
Promoting New Orleans is important to her, since her French Quarter location can be both a blessing and a curse.
“Our biggest challenge is the reputation of the city and telling people it’s a safe place to hang out,” she said. “I’m a local, I work down here, bring my kids down here. There is still a neighborhood feeling in the French Quarter.”
Bottom of the Cup’s clientele includes many Quarter residents, joined by visitors from all over the world. Many represent generations of visitors to the shop. In addition to the tea room, there is an upstairs event space and two private rooms for readings.
Whether one is looking to explore the future or simply enjoy a delicious cup of tea, Bottom of the Cup combines echoes of the past with flavors of the present for a uniquely New Orleans experience. T
EDUCATION
Duquesne University (PhD), Georgetown University (BSN, MSN)
Jennifer Couvillon
President of Chamberlain University College of Nursing New Orleans
BY MIKE LIRETTE
HIDDEN
Dr. Couvillon brings more than 28 years of experience in clinical nursing and education to her role as president of Chamberlain University College of Nursing. Prior to joining the university, she served in leadership roles at Ochsner Health and the Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Nursing. A critical care nurse by training, she began her career as a nurse educator at Georgetown University Hospital. Chamberlain is appointed to the Louisiana State Board of Nursing and the Louisiana State Nurses Association Foundation. She supports accreditation as a commissioner with the National League for Nursing Commission on Collegiate Nursing Accreditation and is the academic-volunteer services coordinator for the American Red Cross. T
