Speakers
Speakers
The 2020 Virtual Smart Growth Summit convened world-class experts, thought leaders, and practitioners from various disciplines. Read below to learn more about this year’s speakers.
Maggie Anderson
Author, "Our Black Year", CEO, The Empowerment Experiment Foundation, Inc.
Mrs. Anderson is known as the author of "Our Black Year" and the founder/CEO for The Empowerment Experiment Foundation. Maggie received a BA from Emory University and a JD and MBA from the University of Chicago, where President Barack Obama was her law professor and mentor. Before the activism, she was an aide to civil rights icon, Cong. John Lewis, the speechwriter for the Mayor of Atlanta, and a strategy executive at McDonald’s Corporation. In 2009, Maggie Anderson and her family made history and dominated headlines as global media covered their year-long stand and study living exclusively off businesses, professionals, and products from the Black community. The Empowerment Experiment (EE) resulted in Maggie’s acclaimed book, Our Black Year, and a landmark study conducted by Kellogg Business School. Publishers Weekly called Our Black Year “an effective probe into how African Americans spend so much money that overwhelmingly leaves their communities.” Library Journal raved, “successfully illuminates the racial divide that continues to persist in the U.S. economy... appeals to those looking for inspiration to effect positive change in their communities.” Owner of Radio One and TV One, Cathy Hughes, said “Thank God for this level of commitment to our Black Community” Alfred Edmond, Editor of Black Enterprise, raved, “the Andersons’ economic odyssey is nothing short of heroic.”
Tyra Banks, MPA
Innovation and Partnership Catalyst, MetroMorphosis
Tyra Banks is currently at MetroMorphosis as an Innovation & Partnership Catalyst, a graduate of the LSU College of Business, as well as a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University. Her public service spirit was born at a young age, leading her to complete an internship at the Center for Progressive Leadership in Washington, DC where she was later a fully funded fellow. During her time there, Tyra worked as Staff Assistant at a national public policy think-tank and Staff as well as Legislative Assistant to Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. Since her time on the Hill, Tyra has completed fellowships at American University, Midwest Academy, Urban Leadership Development Initiative, and the Ford Foundation. She is a certified Co.Starters instructor has helped hundreds of companies expand their capacity to do business with large procurers and government entities. Through her work, Tyra helped start the LaunchBR program and the Baton Rouge Procurement Opportunity Partnership. She is also excited to be part of the MOVEBR Small Business Outreach Team.
Colette Pichon Battle, Esq.
Founder and Executive Director, The Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy
Colette Pichon Battle, Esq. is the founder and Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law & Policy and develops programming focused on Equitable Disaster Recovery, Global Migration, Community Economic Development, Climate Justice and Energy Democracy. Colette works with local communities, national funders and elected officials in the post-Katrina/post-BP disaster recovery and was a lead coordinator for Gulf South Rising 2015 a regional initiative around climate justice and just transition in the South. In addition to developing advocacy initiatives that intersect with race, systems of power and ecology, Colette manages GCCLP’s legal services in immigration law and disaster law. In 2018, Pichon Battle joined on the Movement for Black Lives Policy Table Leadership Team leading to advance national work on Climate Justice. Colette is a 2019 Obama Fellow and a 2019 TED Fellow. In 2018 Colette was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate from Kenyon College and 2016 Colette was named a White House Champion of Change for Climate Equity. In 2015, was selected as an Echoing Green Climate Fellow and has received awards from the State of Louisiana, the American Bar Association for her work in disaster recovery.
George Bell
President and CEO, Capital Area United Way
George Bell joined Capital Area United Way in Baton Rouge, LA as President and CEO after working 30 years as a health care executive in physician practice management, business development, and hospital administration. He has worked for Baton Rouge General from 1999 until December 2015, where he served in a number of executive level positions, most recently as Administrator, Baton Rouge General – Mid City. Prior to that, he served as Sr. Vice-President, Physician and Community Relations, including BRG’s Arts in Medicine Program; Vice-President of Physician Relations; and President of Baton Rouge General Physicians, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of General Health System which he grew from 14 physicians to 85+ physicians over 12 years. Mr. Bell is a native of Thibodaux, LA, and is a 1981 Hall of Fame graduate of Nicholls State University with a B.A. degree in Political Science. He also attended The Ohio State University, where he studied graduate level courses in Public Policy and Management, and Wharton School of Business, Health Care CEO Talent Development Course. He also received Certification as a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma in December 2015.
Samuel J. Bentley, PhD, PG
Professor and Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Louisiana State University
Sam Bentley is a professor in the LSU Department of Geology and Geophysics, and Vice President for Research and Economic Development at LSU. He holds the Harrison Chair in Sedimentary Geology, and is a fellow in LSU Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), LSU’s largest and oldest interdisciplinary science research unit. He earned his PhD in coastal oceanography from SUNY Stony Brook in 1998, and has held faculty positions at LSU and Memorial University of Newfoundland, presently in LSU Geology and Geophysics. He has been studying muddy coastal/deltaic/continental margin sediment dynamics since 1985, and the Mississippi River Delta since 1998. His present work as Vice President is focused on expanding campus-wide support for proposal development, and increasing use of and support for LSU’s major research assets, including the only synchrotron in the U.S. operated by a university with state funding, and major computational, analytical facilities, and commercial startup facilities.
Catherine Brinkley, VMD, PhD, MS
Associate Professor of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis
Dr. Catherine Brinkley is an Associate Professor of Human Ecology at the University of California, Davis. Her research centers around One Health, a concept that considers health shared among humans, animals and the environment. She is a city planner (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) who conducts spatial analyses to inform practice. She also has a public health degree in veterinary medicine (VMD, University of Pennsylvania) and Licenciatura in virology (Gothenburg University, Sweden). Her primary research builds a scientific understanding of how cities work within their regions, and has been supported by a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, Fulbright Fellowship and Watson Fellowship. She is focused on understanding the public health and economic development consequences of how agricultural and urban lands interface.
Sharon Weston Broome
Mayor-President, City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish
Mayor Broome is the first female Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish. She previously served as a Baton Rouge Metro City Council Member, a Louisiana State Representative and a Louisiana State Senator. While serving in the legislature, Broome became the first woman to hold the leadership positions of Speaker Pro Tempore in the House and President Pro Tempore in the Senate. Mayor Broome has been recognized for her service and leadership by several organizations. Broome holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse. She is a 2019 recipient of UW-L Alumni Association’s Maurice O. Graff Distinguished Alumni Award. Mayor Broome received her M.A. in Communications from Regent University. The mayor has served as an adjunct instructor at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Community College and Southern University. Since taking office, Mayor Broome has placed a heavy focus on improving the quality of life for citizens while building resiliency through infrastructure improvements. She has focused on addressing transportation, drainage, public safety, education, economic development and revitalizing neighborhoods. She has been recognized for her service and dedication to Baton Rouge. Mayor Broome was recognized by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the American Heart Association, Every Child Matters, and the National Congress of Black Women. Mayor Broome has earned awards for her exemplary efforts in her community. She has received the Luminary Award from Links Incorporated LA Capitale Chapter, the Baton Rouge NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, Girl Scouts Louisiana East 2017 Women of Distinction Award and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Lambda Kappa Kappa Chapter) 2017 Citizen of the Year Award - just to name a few. Faith and family are priorities for Mayor Broome. She is a member of United Christian Faith Ministries Church and is happily married to Marvin Broome. They are the proud parents of three children and have three grandchildren.
Peter Calthorpe
Senior Vice President, HDR | Calthorpe
Peter Calthorpe is the Senior Vice President of HDR | Calthorpe, which began as Calthorpe Associates in 1983, an award-winning firm devoted to sustainable urban design and planning globally. He is also one of the founders and the first board president of Congress for the New Urbanism. Throughout his career in urban design, planning and architecture, he has been a pioneer of innovative approaches to urban revitalization, community planning, and regional design. For his contribution in redefining the models of urban and suburban growth, he was awarded Urban Land Institute's prestigious 'J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development' in 2006. His work expanded to include major projects in urban, new town, and suburban settings within the United States and abroad. Internationally his work in Europe, Asia and the Middle East has demonstrated that community design with a focus on environmental sustainability and human scale can be adapted throughout the globe. Peter's current work throughout China is focused on developing standards and examples of Low Carbon Cities in Beijing, Chongqing, Kunming, Zhuhai and other major cities. Through design, innovation, publications, and realized projects, his 30 year practice has helped solidify a global trend towards the key principles of New Urbanism.
Preston J. Castille, Jr.
Board Chair, Center for Planning Excellence, President, Helix Community Schools
Preston Castille is Chairman of the Board for the Center for Planning Excellence(CPEX), President of Helix Community Schools, and is a Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) member. He was an adjunct law professor at the LSU Law School for eight years and currently teaches at the Southern University Law Center, where he has taught numerous courses for nearly two decades. In 2009, the Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Mr. Castille Judge Pro Tempore to the Baton Rouge City Court, and he continued to serve as an Ad Hoc Judge for many years. He received a B.S. in Economics from Southern University and a JD from Tulane. He practiced law with the Taylor Porter law firm for 25 years and was a partner and Executive Committee member. He retired from the partnership in January 2020 and is currently Of Counsel with the firm. Prior to law school, Mr. Castille worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor.
Aron Chang
Co-founder and Co-Lead, The Water Leaders Institute
Aron Chang is an urban designer, researcher, and educator based in New Orleans. He is a co-founder and co-lead of The Water Leaders Institute. He is currently working on a Water Map of New Orleans as well as New Orleans’s Gentilly Resilience District. He is also a founder of Civic Studio (formerly the Blue House), a cooperative focused on civic dialogue, multi-disciplinary storytelling, and equitable planning and design practices. From 2014 to 2018, he served as co-founder and co-director of Ripple Effect, an organization that promotes water literacy through teacher training and curriculum development. From 2011 to 2017, he worked as an urban designer, resilience planner, and project manager at Waggonner & Ball Architecture/Environment, where he was a design team lead and outreach coordinator for the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan. Aron moved to the Gulf Coast in 2009 after studying architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.
Kenny Cole, MD, MHCDS
System Vice President, Ochsner Health
Dr. Cole joined Ochsner Health as System VP, Clinical Improvement, in September 2019. He is a primary care internist with advanced degrees from LSU and Dartmouth and executive training from Harvard School of Business. Previously, he was Chief Clinical Transformation Officer for Baton Rouge General Medical Center, where he was hired as lead physician for the health system and led all strategic initiatives for transformation toward value-based care. Before that, Dr. Cole served as VP of Care Delivery and Associate CMO at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, where he was instrumental in building value-based, collaborative relationships across the network, focused on achieving better outcomes for members. He was one of Baton Rouge’s first physician Lean Six Sigma Green Belt graduates. Previously, he served as a private practice internist at Baton Rouge Clinic, where he served as Chief Quality Officer, Internal Medicine Department Chair, and Executive Member of the Board.
Blake Crow
Senior Associate, Dana Brown & Associates
Blake Crow currently works at Dana Brown & Associates as their Senior Associate. He is a certified green infrastructure professional with additional training in environmental law and design. Blake holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of New Orleans. Mr. Crow is a planner who works with municipalities and residents by leveraging community input to address policy gaps and identify opportunities. Blake believes that the greatest progress is achievable through transparent communication and flexibility. Blake has applied this approach to support projects across the region. Most notably he is the Dana Brown Team project manager for the Community Adaptation Program, which provides grant-funded stormwater management solutions to low- to middle-income homeowners in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood. He is most recognizable in a red kayak on Bayou St. John with his dog, Toast, as co-pilot.
Jessica Dandridge
Executive Director, The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans
As the Executive Director of The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans, Jessica Dandridge has dedicated her to life to community advocacy and campaign development for organizations seeking to be socially, economically and culturally inclusive. Ms. Dandridge received her B.A at Xavier University in Political Science and her M.A in International Affairs with a concentration in security in conflict The New School for Public Engagement in New York City. Since 2005, she has worked for, or in collaboration with dozens of organizations in the Greater New Orleans. Prior to starting at the TWC, Ms. Jessica was a non-profit consultant at her business Patois (ˈpaˌtwä) and the Louisiana State Director at the Campaign Election Engagement Project. She was also the Program Director for Rural Electric Cooperative Democracy Project for the Rockefeller Family Fund. Ms. Dandridge is a trained facilitator from YPQI, has a certificate in Leadership, Activism and Civil Rights from Brown University, and a certificate in Kingian Nonviolence Strategies from the Selma Center of Nonviolence.
Calvin Gladney
President and CEO, Smart Growth America
Calvin Gladney, LEED AP, is President and CEO of Smart Growth America (SGA), and has led community revitalization efforts in dozens of communities around the country as a private consultant, a real estate developer and as a government official. His work over the last 15 years has been centered on the intersection of land use, transportation, and economic development – all of which will be important in addressing our climate crisis, and our longstanding racial equity issues. Prior to SGA, he was Managing Partner of Mosaic Urban, a real estate advisory services and development firm. In 2017, Mr. Gladney was the Urban Land Institute’s Senior Visiting Fellow for Equity. Before establishing Mosaic, he served as VP of the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. (AWC), a D.C. quasi-public agency focused on environmentally-friendly redevelopment. Mr. Gladney graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, received his B.S. from Cornell University, and is a LEED Accredited Professional. He is a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute and a Board member of the Center for Community Progress. He is also a member of ULI’s national Responsible Property Investment Council (RPIC). In his spare time, Mr. Gladney…Mr. Gladney doesn’t have any spare time. But he will make time for you. You can connect with Calvin on Twitter and on Instagram @SmartGrowthCEO.
Geoffrey Heal, PhD
Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise, Columbia Business School
Geoffrey Heal is a Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. He is a graduate of Cambridge University, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Université de Paris Dauphine. Professor Heal has made significant contributions to economic theory and environmental economics. He currently explores developments in energy markets, the impact of climate change on business, and the economics of corporate social responsibility. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of the Coalition of Rainforest Nations, a member of the board of the Union of Concerned Scientists and sits on the advisory board of the Environmental Defense Fund. He has chaired a committee of the National Academy of Sciences on valuing ecosystem services, was a Commissioner of the Pew Oceans Commission, was a coordinating lead author of the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, and was a member of President Sarkozy’s Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Heal is the author of 18 books. His latest book, Endangered Economies — How the Neglect of Nature Threatens our Prosperity, sets out the economic and business case for environmental conservation.
Cheryl Holder, MD
Associate Professor, Florida International University
Dr. Cheryl L. Holder, Fellow in the American College of Physicians, Co-chair of FCCA, Program Director at the Panther College of Medicine Communities, Associate Professor at Florida International University, and Director of Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP™ Education and Pipeline Program, has dedicated her medical career to serving underserved populations. After her undergraduate education at Princeton University, she completed The George Washington University School of Medicine and Internal Medicine training at Harlem Hospital. In 1987, she moved to Miami- Dade County as a National Health Service Corp Scholar to work with the underserved communities. Dr. Holder served as Medical Director of Jackson Health System’s North Dade Health Center from 1990 to 2009. As Medical Director, she developed an HIV care and treatment program with funding through the Ryan White Care Act., participated in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Health advisory and programmatic review panels for HIV treatment and vaccine research and for community based participatory research. In September 2009, she joined Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine as faculty. Her community involvement includes serving as President of the Florida State Medical Association. In 2016, Dr. Holder received the FIU Medallion Cal Kovens Distinguished Community Service Award and in 2017, the Faculty Convocation Award in Service and 2019 Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. Most recently, she was a featured TEDMED2020 and TED Talk speaker, “Clinicians for Climate Action”.
Adam Knapp
President and CEO, Baton Rouge Area Chamber
Adam is the President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, which he joined in 2008. BRAC leads economic development in the nine-parish Capital Area of Louisiana. BRAC’s team works to secure business investment and economic growth for the Capital region, while at the same time leading efforts to enhance the region’s competitiveness and improve the conditions for business investment. Prior to BRAC, Knapp worked in the private sector as a consultant for Accenture, a global consulting firm, focused on emerging technology sectors and companies. After Accenture, Adam returned to Louisiana to serve Governors Mike Foster and Kathleen Blanco as Economic Development Advisor. He also worked as the Policy Director for Louisiana Economic Development, and as the first Deputy Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Knapp completed his bachelor’s degree at Davidson College in North Carolina, studied internationally for a year in Germany, and attended an executive program at Harvard University’s JFK School of Government. He is married and has three young children.
James Logan
Program Officer, Greater New Orleans Foundation
James Logan is a mission-driven advocate with over fifteen years of experience in planning, creating and maintaining social justice entities. He currently serves as a Program Officer at the Greater New Orleans Foundation with a primary focus on environment, workforce and equity. Previously, he was a Senior Associate at Converge, a social justice consulting firm dedicated to creating a radically just new world where communities of color thrive. James is the President and Chairman of the Board of the 100 Black Men of Metro New Orleans, serves as a board member of the Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana, KIDsmART, and the New Orleans Arts Education Alliance and is a co-founder of the New Orleans Reentry Task Force. Mr. Logan received a B.A. in Political Science from Loyola College in Maryland and a J.D. from Fordham Law School.
Mike Lydon
Co-founder and Principal, Street Plans
Mike Lydon is co-founder and principal of Street Plans, an urban planning, design, and research-advocacy firm based in Miami and New York City, as well as co-author of "Tactical Urbanism". Mr. Lydon received a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Studies from Bates College and a Masters in Urban Planning from the University of Michigan. He is also CNU-A accredited. Mr. Lydon is an internationally recognized planner, writer, speaker, and advocate for livable cities. Having delivered more than 275 keynotes, workshops, trainings, and lectures since 2009, Mike has exerted a global influence on how people think about city transformation. With Tony Garcia, Mike is the recipient of the 2017 Seaside Prize and co-author of the full-length book Tactical Urbanism, published by Island Press in March 2015, and honored by Planetizen as one of the top 10 planning books of the year. The same website named Mike as one of the top 100 urbanists of all time. Mike also collaborated with Andres Duany and Jeff Speck in writing The Smart Growth Manual, published by McGraw-Hill in 2009. Most recently, Mike co-authored NACTO’s Streets for Pandemic Response and Recovery and led the creation of the Streets for Voting Guide with the Center for Tech and Civic Life. He lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and son, and encourages you to trade four wheels for two.
Camille Manning-Broome
President and CEO, Center for Planning Excellence
Camille Manning-Broome is internationally-recognized for her expertise in resilience and climate adaptation planning. She has presented Louisiana's innovations and lessons learned around coastal community sustainability, climate change resilience, and adaptation to professional peers throughout the U.S. and the globe. Camille is President & CEO of the Center for Planning Excellence and leads a dynamic multidisciplinary team that delivers visionary planning processes to communities across Louisiana. CPEX also provides planning services and policy guidance to the State of Louisiana as well as parish and municipal governments. During her 13-year tenure at CPEX, Camille has spearheaded and directed numerous planning initiatives, with a focus on community adaptation in coastal Louisiana, publishing the Louisiana Land Use Toolkit, Coastal Best Practices Manual, and the View from the Coast. Under her leadership, CPEX has leveraged over $15M in federal, state, and local funds to develop over 40 community plans. Camille holds a M.S. from Louisiana State University's College of the Coast & Environment. Her diverse career experience prior to joining CPEX includes work in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and she has attended Congressional delegation trips to the Netherlands and Japan to study water and disaster management.
Jessica McKelvie-Kemp, PhD
Vice President, Center for Planning Excellence
Jessica McKelvie-Kemp works at the Center for Planning Excellence as Vice President. Ms. Kemp completed a Ph.D. in English at Louisiana State University; a M.A. in English from the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York; and a B.A. in English from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. She is a lifelong fellow of the Effective Leadership Program, a joint endeavor of Duke University, Southern University and the University of Cape Town to cultivate leaders committed to social justice in Louisiana and South Africa. Jessica’s professional and academic career has been focused on research, communications, fund development and social justice philanthropy. Before coming to CPEX in 2013, Jessica served as Vice President of Communications for the Foundation for Louisiana where she led communications, outreach, and fund development efforts to advance programs and policies for community-driven economic development, affordable housing, and capacity building for grassroots leadership.
Michael Oppenheimer, PhD
Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs, Princeton University
Dr. Oppenheimer served most recently as a coordinating lead author on IPCC’s Special Report on Oceans, Cryosphere and Climate Change and is a Review Editor of its Sixth Assessment Report, as well as an Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University. He served on the New York City Panel on Climate Change. He is a science advisor to the Environmental Defense Fund where he was Chief Scientist for 21 years before coming to Princeton. Oppenheimer is the author of 200 articles published in professional journals and is co-author of Discerning Experts: The Practices of Scientific Assessment for Environmental Policy. Michael Oppenheimer is also Director of the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. Oppenheimer is a long-time participant in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He served most recently as a coordinating lead author on IPCC’s Special Report on Oceans, Cryosphere and Climate Change and is a Review Editor of its Sixth Assessment Report. Oppenheimer served on the New York City Panel on Climate Change, providing technical advice to the Mayor’s office. He is a science advisor to the Environmental Defense Fund where he was Chief Scientist for 21 years before coming to Princeton. Oppenheimer is the author of 200 articles published in professional journals and is co-author of Discerning Experts: The Practices of Scientific Assessment for Environmental Policy.
Liz Russell
Climate Justice Program Director, Foundation for Louisiana
Liz directs the investments and activities of the Climate Justice Portfolio at the Foundation for Louisiana. The program works to build people power, advance just policies, and cultivate new narratives in support of economic opportunity, environmental justice, and equitable development statewide. Existing in the tension between the world as it is and the world as it could be, she has the capacity to both dream and implement. As a New Orleans native with deep roots in Louisiana, Liz is no stranger to disaster. She interrogates the ways that land use, planning, and development solidify inequities, allowing tremendous variations in investment, social services, real estate valuation, criminalization, and access. Years in coastal planning and architectural design cultivated an explicit, nuanced understanding of the ways that disparities are solidified within the built environment, even as a changing climate heightens inequality. She is committed to rooting out injustice and bringing about a more healthy, just, and vibrant Louisiana.
Ashley Shelton
Executive Director, The Power Coalition
Ashley K. Shelton is the Executive Director of the Power Coalition, a spin off organization of One Voice. As the Louisiana Director of One Voice, She led a series of coordinated campaigns and anchored and supported the development of the 501c3 table that is now the Power Coalition. The Power Coalition serves as a catalyst for real collaborative work between policy and community organizing groups. The Power Coalition uses a broad-based strategy that combines base building, popular education, and organizing all while increasing the capacity of community based organizations throughout the state to sustain and hold the work. Ms. Shelton was also the former Vice President of Programs at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), now the Foundation for Louisiana. In the fight for an equitable and inclusive recovery for the Gulf Coast it remains clear that much work needs to be done at the state level to achieve equity and inclusion for Louisiana's most vulnerable and marginalized populations.
Dr. Destiny Thomas
Founder and CEO, Thrivance Group
Dr. Destiny Thomas is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thrivance Group. Dr. Thomas earned a BA in Political Science from Fisk University in 2006, an MPA with an emphasis in Public Health and Non Profit Management from Tennessee State University in 2008, and a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2016. She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. An Anthropologist Planner from Oakland, CA, Dr. Thomas, has 6 years of experience working in a Project Manager capacity within government agencies. These roles include Caltrans (Environmental Planner) and the City of Los Angeles (Transportation Planner). In addition to this, Dr. Thomas has 8 years of experience leading key advancements in racial equity initiatives across the state by way of community organizing, policy writing, and non-profit management in communities that have been most impacted by racial inequities. Areas of interest include: racial equity, implementing the "dignity-infused community engagement" methodology, anti-displacement studies, healing environmental and infrastructural trauma, and bolstering agency and voice in marginalized communities within municipal planning processes. In 2020, Dr. Thomas launched a culturally rooted, trauma-informed enterprise geared toward building capacity for these values within municipal agencies, direct service providers, and advocacy organizations.
Christopher Tyson
President and CEO, Build Baton Rouge
Mr. Christopher Tyson is the President and CEO of Build Baton Rouge, which works to bring people and resources together to promote equitable investment, innovative development, and thriving communities across all of Baton Rouge. Christopher holds degrees in architecture, public policy, and law from Howard University, the Harvard Kennedy School, and Georgetown University, respectively. He has published numerous academic and editorial works that have appeared in the New York Times and the Harvard Journal on Racial & Ethnic Justice. Chris is currently on leave from his position as the Newman Trowbridge Distinguished Professor of Law at the LSU Law Center.
Byron Washington
President, NBR Now, Inc.
Mr. Byron Washington, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, studied economics at the University of North Texas and received his M.B.A. from Southern University. He is the founder Sky-Walker Productions, arts and culture engagement group. He is also the founder of Scotland Saturdays, a local community open market for small businesses vendors. He is the President/Board Chair, NBR Now Blue Ribbon Commission Inc. The NBR Now Blue Ribbon Commission is dedicated to enriching the north Baton Rouge communities and economy through the public, private, partnerships, and grassroots efforts. It is a nongovernmental task force providing research and recommendations to the Metro Council and other decision makers. He also served on the Mayors Transition team and the Historic Preservation Council for the City of Baton Rouge.
Jalonne White-Newsome, PhD
Senior Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation
Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome is a senior program officer at The Kresge Foundation, responsible for the Environment Program's grant portfolio on Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) and has supported grantmaking as a part of Kresge's Climate Change, Health and Equity Initiative (CCHE) A native of Detroit, Jalonne earned a Ph.D. in environmental health sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University. Jalonne has worked across many sectors. Before joining Kresge in 2016, Jalonne served as director of federal policy at West Harlem Environmental Action Inc. (WE ACT). She is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She provides leadership on various boards, including the National Academy of Sciences Board on Environmental Change and Society, an Associate Editor of the Environmental Justice Journal, and co-chair of Health Environmental Funder’s Network Steering Committee.