Speakers

Associate Professor D.G. Buck Abbey has been on the faculty of the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture at Louisiana State University since 1974.He was educated in the profession of landscape architecture at Michigan State University and Harvard.  He has been a registered landscape architect in several states for over thirty years.  He has provided consulting services on projects for many years for organizations throughout Louisiana and the South.

In 2008 he was selected recipient of for the Frederick Law OlmstedAward from the National Arbor Day Foundation. He is a recognized authority on municipal landscape codes and is author of the book U.S. Landscape Ordinances published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in 1998.  Abbey writes regularly on subjects related to his research. As Associate Editor of Landscape Architect and Specifer News Magazine since 2005 and contributing author to Louisiana Nursery & Landscape News, he is always teaching about green laws and the affect they have upon towns and cities.

My father, Lloyd Alford opened our first car wash in 1951 in Pensacola, Florida. In 1953, we opened Baton Rouge’s first automated carwash on Florida Street, and it was an instant success! A year later, we added our second location on Plank Road, which can be seen in the 1982 movie, “The Toy.” In 1991, we built our first modernized car wash on Airline. Following many years of successful operation, we started our first express wash on Perkins Road.  We have since added express washes on Coursey Blvd., Greenwell Springs Road, and the newest location on Burnside Ave. in Gonzales. Oil change services are offered at five of our six locations.

In 1997 we opened our first convenience store, B-Quik, next to our  Airline car wash. We later added B-Quik stores to our Perkins and Greenwell Springs locations.

Our dedicated employees have made us successful in providing high quality services and we remain focused on satisfying our customers one car at a time!

Back to top

John Anderson is a resource for sustainability and green design issues under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. John was the first LEED Accredited Professional in the state of Louisiana. As the project professional, he has successfully achieved LEED-Silver certification on one project, with numerous other projects currently registered. Mr. Anderson earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Texas, and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Southern California. He has been a licensed architect since 1991, and is licensed to practice in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Mr. Anderson has taught architecture at the University of Texas, and is a past Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council in Louisiana. He also serves on the Board of Directors of A Studio in the Woods
in New Orleans and the Bay Saint Louis Little Theatre.

Back to top

Scott Ball is a Senior Project Manager with Duany Plater-Zyberk Architects and Town Planners (DPZ) where he has managed several major post-storm redevelopment efforts along the gulf coast for DPZ.   Scott has been actively engaged in the promotion of the independent living and health of aging adults, and authored the Aging In Place Tool Kit and Lifelong Communities: A Regional Guide to Growth and Longevity for the Atlanta Regional Commission, as well as co-authored the Land-use and Public Health Toolkit for the National Association of Local Boards of Health.  Prior to his work with DPZ, Scott served as The Louisiana Road Home Program’s Director of Rebuilding and Construction Assistance for ICF International where he helped stand up Louisiana’s post-storms recovery programs. Scott also served as the Executive Director of Atlanta’s Community Housing Resource Center where he oversaw the design and construction of over $10,000,000 in development focused primarily on the needs of older, long-term residents in the rapidly gentrifying city. He has worked in a variety of capacities for both architecture and development firms.

Back to top

JR Ball is executive vice president of Baton Rouge Business Report and its parent company, Louisiana Business Inc. Though most generally known as a columnist with Business Report, he is principally responsible for the editorial operations of four print publications, seven e-newsletters and four Web sites, a special projects publishing division as well as the company’s production and art departments. He has been with the company since 1999 and has almost 25 years of professional experience in the media profession, including a 12-year stint covering LSU athletics for Tiger Rag Magazine, The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Sports Illustrated Magazine. JR has won numerous national and state awards for his stories and columns, including twice being named Columnist of the Year by a national business publication organization. The Baltimore, Maryland native attended the University of Virginia and LSU and is the father of two children.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Steve Beatty is the managing editor of The Lens, New Orleans’ first nonprofit investigative newsroom, which launched in January of 2010. This Web-based project is a change of medium but not message for Beatty, who has more than 20 years of experience as an editor at major daily newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. Beatty runs a staff of eight others who write a mix of short daily stories and longer, in-depth looks in topics such as education, the environment, politics, and the spending of Hurricane Katrina recovery money. In its first year of publishing, The Lens swept the “print investigative” category in the 2010 New Orleans Press Club awards.

Back to top

Charlotte Throop Bellan, AIA, LEED AP is on the board of directors of CDM Architects, Inc. and is the managing leader of the architectural staff of the south central region of Camp Dresser McKee (CDM). CDM is in international firm offering full service consulting, engineering, construction and design with an emphasis on water, environment, transportation, energy & facilities.  In keeping with the company’s commitment to sustainability, Ms. Bellan has focused on sustainable building strategies for Federal Projects such as the United States Coast Guard Sector Command in New Orleans, Louisiana, which is in the final stages of achieving LEED certification and the United States Coast Guard Station Houston, which is under design with a target of LEED Gold certification.  Ms. Bellan has also been involved in an executive architectural team responsible for the world’s largest LEED certified environmentally sustainable mixed used construction development, City Center.  Las Vegas’ City Center has six distinct LEED Gold certifications.
Back to top

Leah Berger is the Executive Director for Tulane School of Medicine’s Office of Community Affairs and Health Policy.  In addition to leading the Office towards its mission of healing communities, her role has included empowering communities and increasing access to health in the New Orleans area, through program planning, fundraising and capacity building. She works with a variety of neighborhood leaders and fosters these partnerships in order to address health needs in a sustainable, effective manner. Ms. Berger also serves as the Co-Executive Director of two neighborhood health clinics — Tulane Community Health Center at Covenant House and Tulane Community Health On the Road, a mobile medical unit. She chairs the Greater New Orleans Mobile Medical Unit Consortium, a resource sharing collaborative and received the “Mobile Health Leadership Award” in 2010 given by the national organization Mobile Health Clinics Network. She also serves on the board of Broad Street Community Connections. Ms. Berger was selected as part of the 2010-2011 class for NORLI (New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute).  Prior to joining Tulane, she was a Research Manager at Ochsner Health System investigating diabetes and clinical outcomes and published in “Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice” in 2008.  Ms. Berger received her Bachelor of Arts from Connecticut College in both Cultural Anthropology and Gender and Women Studies. She received her Master of Public Health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 2004 with a focus in International Health and Development and has worked and studied in Ghana, Kenya and Thailand.  She has been recognized as New Orleans’ Top 40 Under 40, an honor which recognizes New Orleans’ outstanding achievers.

Back to top

Scott Bernstein is founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT). Founded in 1978, CNT is a think-and-do tank that advances urban sustainability by researching, inventing and testing strategies that use resources more efficiently and equitably. Its programs focus on climate, energy, water, transportation, and community development. CNT is a co-founder and partner of the Center for Transit-Oriented Development (CTOD), the only national nonprofit effort dedicated to providing best practices, research and tools to support market-based transit-oriented development. CNT received a 2009 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

Bernstein leads CNT’s work to understand and better disclose the economic value of resource use in urban communities. Bernstein co-developed the H + T® Affordability Index, an innovative tool that measures the true affordability of housing based on its location. Bernstein works with governors, mayors and metropolitan organizations to advance sustainability principles. He helped write a climate change strategy for the first 100 days of the Obama Administration, and led a team of CNT staff in creating the landmark Chicago Climate Action Plan.

Bernstein is a board member of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and Congress for the New Urbanism. He was a founding board member of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program.  He co-founded and is the current Chair of the Surface Transportation Policy Project. He is a fellow of the Center for State Innovation.  Bernstein studied at Northwestern University, served on the research staff of Northwestern’s Center for Urban Affairs and taught at UCLA.

Back to top

K. Lynn Berry is the Program Manager for the National Heritage Area (NHA) program in the Southeast Region of the National Park Service (NPS).  She provides technical assistance and guidance to twelve NHAs in the nine-state region. She came to the NPS with a background in community and environmental planning, as well as cultural resource management and public involvement processes.  She has worked in federal and state government, as well as private consulting. Her BA in cultural anthropology led to a Masters in the same field; later studies led another Masters in City and Regional Planning.

Once, prior to a training course Ms. Berry was teaching, a student of hers showed up with the results of an online search for “K. Lynn Berry” in his hands. Smiling broadly, he pointed out her credits in various college theatrical productions; the book she co-wrote; her committee work with her church; and conference presentations galore. The Internet can be dangerous.

Ms. Berry should be very good at geography, but somehow – despite the following – she’s still kind of slow that way.  She grew up in Arkansas, went to college in Indiana at the University of Notre Dame, moved to Chicago, then to Florida, went to graduate school in Denver, then moved to Albuquerque. She landed in Atlanta 11 years ago.  She loves to travel, too, and has toured many African, Asian, European, Central-, South-, and North American countries. But, don’t assume that well-traveled means well-oriented; asking her for directions anywhere will do you more harm than good.

She enjoys kayaking, biking, hiking and other outdoor pursuits, but will rarely turn down an invitation to the theatre, fine restaurants, or museums (especially fine restaurants). Growing edge hobby: blacksmithing. She has convinced her partner, Lynn-Margaret, that her dog, Freebie, is the cutest animal in the world. She has yet to convince Lynn-Margaret that acoustic folk is the best music in the world.

Back to top

Susannah Bing is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College and a Masters degree in Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. She is in the process of obtaining a Master of Business Administration degree from LSU. Susannah is also a project manager for the East Baton Rouge Redevelopment Authority and oversees the implementation of five Community Improvement Plans targeting specific underserved areas of the city. The newly created plans will foster revitalization through economic development and carry out the mission of the RDA, by recreating stable communities in North Baton Rouge. Susannah also oversees the Gap Finance for Affordable Housing and Gap Finance for Commercial Development programs. Through the Gap Finance programs, Susannah works with local developers to incentivize developing in the RDA targeted areas.

Back to top

Jess Bloomer is the Lead Garden Teacher at the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans. She moved to New Orleans in 2009, drawn by an interest in how urban agriculture is contributing to way the city and community rebuilds.

Jess has a background in environmental education and natural science curriculums. She has worked with youth led urban gardens, a coastal science field station, and summer farm experiences for teens. The link between the positive effects of kids working and learning outside, and the inherent value of increasing access to local food brought her to the Edible Schoolyard. Jess is originally from Boulder, CO. She holds a degree in Development Studies from Brown University.

Back to top

With a background in urban planning, architecture and preservation, Marcelle works with the Redevelopment group at CPEX as the Economic Development Program Manager. She manages programs such as the Commercial Façade Improvement Grant, the Community Gardens Initiative, small business development and other emerging economic development activities.

Before coming to CPEX, Marcelle interned and worked as an Associate Planner for the City of Glendale, CA, in the Comprehensive Planning Department. Following that in 2005, she worked as a Preservation Planner with Historic Resources Group in Hollywood, CA, and then lived and worked in New Delhi as an international intern through US/ICOMOS (an international preservation organization) with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.

A native New Orleanian, Marcelle earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Orleans in 2002. Following this, Marcelle earned a Master of Arts in Urban Planning from UCLA (2005), receiving the 2005 Distinguished Service Award from the California Chapter of the American Planning Association. In May 2010, she completed a Master of Architecture from LSU in Baton Rouge. During the academic year 2009-2010, she was a recipient of the American Association of University Women Selected Professions Fellowship award.

Back to top

Ms. Brown has twenty-nine years of experience focused on environmental & community planning projects related to the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in planning and managing public spaces, infrastructure, and natural resources in California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Idaho, and Louisiana. Dana has planned and designed stormwater management systems employing biomimicry, as well as urban spaces, new towns, traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs), planned unit developments (PUDs), office and industrial parks, subdivisions, and major infrastructure facilities in Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Florida, California, and Taiwan. Ms. Brown has developed land management plans for hydroelectric power generation entities, mapping and analyzing dam and flood control levee locations, and modeling flood inundation in the event of dam or levee
failures. The results were used to site the facilities and manage land uses within potential flood hazard areas, all components of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensing application and renewal submissions. Her research and principal authorship of a forthcoming publication “Gulf South Stormwater Management,” which focuses on plants, soils, and natural hydrology for mitigating stormwater impacts in the unique environment of the Gulf South, reflects a commitment to her profession’s obligation to environmental stewardship. She periodically provides her expertise on Low Impact Development, Stormwater Management, Smart Growth, and Ecologically Based Development by presenting to Louisiana Urban Forestry Council’s “Building Green Cities” Program, Louisiana State University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s semi-annual Water Quality Conference, the International Facilities Management Association, and the Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality’s Interdepartmental Water Quality Seminar.

Back to top

As director of field operations for NeighborWorks^® America, Robert Burns supervises seven district offices across the country. Previously, Burns served as director for NeighborWorks’ North Central district. Prior to coming to NeighborWorks America, Burns served as city manager in Ferguson, Missouri, and worked in local government in Kansas, South Carolina and North Carolina. Burns is a 1988 Truman Scholar from North Carolina and has participated in the Truman Foundation’s leadership forums. He also has served on the board of managers for the YMCA of Greater St. Louis and the board of directors for the North Area Cable Television Association in St. Louis and the St. Louis Area Insurance Trust. He was appointed to the Midtown Housing advisory board in Kansas City and currently serves on the Alexandria Housing Corporation board of directors. In addition, Burns recently was elected to the board of the National Community Land Trust network. Burns received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Additionally, he completed the Harvard Achieving Excellence program in 2010.

Back to top

Charles Caillouet is an independent video technical producer and a founder of the Friends of the Atchafalaya. He specializes in television systems design and operations and has worked for over 35 years for corporate, government and broadcast organizations. He has developed systems and worked on video productions for Panasonic Corporation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Japan Public Broadcasting, and many US public television stations and production companies, and has taught at professional television workshops around the country.

Charles was formerly contracted to the LA Department of Natural Resources as a documentarian and technical writer for the Atchafalaya Basin Program and contributed video, still and printed material for public release and media distribution.
For his work with the Friends of the Atchafalaya and the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area in reviving the month-long Experience Atchafalaya Days events in 2009, Charles was named the Volunteer Conservationist of the Year for 2009 by the LA Wildlife Federation.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Twenty five years in the construction industry, both commercial and residential. Consisting of general carpentry through managing partner and owner. The first thirteen years being in the light gauge steel industry providing and building both residential and light commercial projects in the US and abroad. Starting in late 1998 manufacturing, installing and the sale of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS). Currently managing partner with SIPS Texas manufacturing the R-Control brand SIP. Primary responsibilities are sales and the promotion of SIPS by SIPS Texas. Extensive experience with the technical aspects and design compliance of SIPS for the main stream market.

Back to top

Carey Chauvin is currently the Chief Building Official for the City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge.  He has been employed with the City of Baton Rouge Department of Public Works, Permit and Inspection Division for over 16 years.  During this time he has worked in various operational sections including Residential Plan Review, Commercial Plan Review and Subdivision Engineering.  He supervises a staff of 85 employees consisting of Plan Review, Inspections, Litter and Code Enforcement, and Neighborhood Improvement Operations.

He is a certified Building Official through the International Code Council and is an active member of the Building Official’s Association of Louisiana.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Mark Cole is the Design Section Manager with the Charlotte Department of Transportation (CDOT). As such, he is responsible for overseeing the effective planning, design, and construction of the City’s transportation projects and programs and is on the front lines of complete streets implementation. CDOT’s projects and programs utilize Charlotte’s award-winning Urban Street Design Guidelines to create context-based, complete streets. Mark is a registered Professional Engineer in both North Carolina and Virginia with a background in the design and implementation of transportation projects for both local and state transportation agencies.

Back to top

After an early career in healthcare management, Debra Credeur made a career move into cultural tourism development.  Her various employed roles include Grant Writer and Administrator, Parish Tourism Director, Main Street Community Manager and Downtown Development Director.  Her experience includes once owning a small, business in a downtown Historic District, itself an entrée to the Main Street approach and to other initiatives that support small business sustainability.

Currently Debra is Director of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, a partnership between the National Park Service and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism under the Office of Lieutenant Governor Jay Dardenne.  Debra works with federal, state, local entities and non-profits to implement the Commission’s plan of projects that recognize the area’s important historic, cultural and natural resources for the 14-parish region.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

With over 10 years of marketing, public relations, economic development, government relations and event planning experience, Zoey brings a diverse depth of knowledge and best practices from working with national and regional organizations to the Downtown Development District as Director of Marketing & Special Projects.

Prior to joining the DDD, Zoey served as the Vice President of External Affairs for GNO, Inc., the New Orleans regional economic development organization. She was charged with the management of the public relations, marketing and rebranding, investor relations, special events and research departments.

Preceding her tenure with GNO, Inc., Zoey worked with the American Cancer Society as the State Government Relations Director and the American Heart Association as the State Advocacy and Communications Director. She holds a bachelor degree from Louisiana State University in Political Communications with minors in Sociology and Public Relations.

Back to top

Ramiro Diaz is an architectural designer and photographer employed at the New Orleans firm of Waggonner & Ball Architects. A graduate of Tulane University School of Architecture, Ramiro has lived and worked in New Orleans for over 14 years. Prior to joining Waggonner & Ball Architects in 2004, Ramiro worked for Eskew+Dumez+ Ripple in New Orleans, Kaplan/McLaughlin/Diaz in San Francisco and the artist collective Atelier Van Lieshout in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Ramiro has worked on a variety of educational, residential, planning and historic renovation projects with Waggonner & Ball, including the Academy of the Sacred Heart Arts and Athletics facility, currently under construction. After Hurricane Katrina, the firm was involved in various recovery planning efforts, including developing a planning framework for St. Bernard Parish. The Dutch Dialogues, initiated by Waggonner & Ball and c osponsored with the Royal Dutch Embassy and the American Planning Association, is an ongoing collaborative planning process that incorporate Dutch water management practices. Conceptual urban designs that incorporate water into this specific urban area have been proposed, with opportunities sought that increase value as well as safety at multiple scales. The Dutch concept of “living with water” has been incorporated into the New Orleans Master Plan and most recently a sustainable water management design study for the Lafitte Greenway. Based upon these efforts, Waggonner & Ball was recently awarded a contract to develop a comprehensive, sustainable water management strategy for Orleans, Jefferson and St. Bernard Parishes.

Back to top

Rachel DiResto is the Executive Vice President of Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), a non-profit organization that facilitates urban and rural planning in Louisiana. She has worked on the implementation of the Plan Baton Rouge master plan since 1998.  She has also been involved in Smart Growth initiatives, along with managing the ongoing implementation of the Neighborhood and Economic Revitalization Strategy for Old South Baton Rouge.  CPEX’s most recent projects include facilitation of comprehensive plans in Tangipahoa and West Feliciana parishes and Louisiana Speaks, the long-term community planning initiative of the Louisiana Recovery Authority.  This multifaceted planning process produced an architectural pattern book and planning toolkit by Urban Design Associates, generated three model plans for recovering communities with Duany Plater-Zyberk, and facilited a long-term regional plan for South Louisiana with Calthorpe Associates.

Rachel earned the degree of Master of Science in Urban Studies from the University of New Orleans in 2002.  She has a B.A. from The University of Dallas in Art History.  Rachel has served on the Forum 35 Board of Directors and currently serves on the Arts Council Board of Directors.  In 2005, she received the 40 Under 40 award.   Rachel grew up in Hammond, Louisiana and moved to Baton Rouge from Dallas in 1998. She is married to Michael DiResto and has three children: Quentin, Ella, and Lucas.

Back to top

Lee has been involved in planning, zoning and plan implementation in a variety of settings over the past 25 years. His main emphasis has been on redevelop¬ment activity in urban areas, beginning in south Florida in the 80’s and 90’s, and culminating in his recent work in Denver, Louisiana and Raleigh. Lee sharpened his skills preparing zoning across the country, and has been personally responsible for over 50 code projects, including the complete revision and adoption of over 20 codes. He helped prepare the Louisiana  Land Use Toolkit, a model code. His combination of conventional zoning know-how and new code approaches are rare in the profession.
Lee serves as an adjunct faculty member in Com¬munity & Regional Planning at the University of Texas, teaching smart growth tools at the graduate level. He recently worked with EPA on a series of smart growth “quick fixes” for suburban and urban areas. Lee is a frequent speaker at state and national planning conferences on the issues of smart growth, form-based codes, transit-oriented development and mixed use concepts.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Ronnie Edwards is the first female to be elected to represent and serve the constituents of the Baton Rouge Metro Council District 5 seat. She has over 39 years experience as an administrator in local and state government, business and industry. Mrs. Edwards holds the position of Special Projects Manager with Urban Restoration Enhancement Corp (UREC). UREC is a local and state certified CHDO (Community Housing Development Organization), and was recently re-certified by the LA Association of Nonprofit Organizations (LANO) as a Standards for Excellence Agency in 2008.
Mrs. Edwards currently serves on the Capitol Improvements Committee of the Council and was recently re-elected President of the Baton Rouge Apartment Association. In addition, she is actively involved with the North Baton Rouge Community Reinvestment Alliance and the EBRP Redevelopment Authority’s Community Improvement Planning Process. A licensed Realtor, Certified Apartment Manager and Dale Carnegie Graduate with further studies at both LSU and Southern, Mrs. Edwards holds a B.S. in Management from the University of Phoenix.

Back to top

Jeff Everson represent District B in Shreveport, LA. Considered Shreveport’s swing district, District B is perhaps  Shreveport?s most diverse, historic and urban district. Jeff is employed as a Project Manager for Bridger Group, an oil & gas investment firm and has previously served as North Louisiana Regional Director for US Senator Mary Landrieu, Director of Development for the Alliance for Education and Special Projects Coordinator for the City of Memphis’ Community Development Department’s Development team. Jeff has been interested in planning since college, was actively involved with the Center for Planning Excellence during his time with Sen. Landrieu, and has been dubbed the champion of Caddo-Shreveport’s Great Expectations Master Plan by the Master Plan Citizens Advisory Group.  Jeff has served in many volunteer capacities including Chairman of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional’s Initiative, Vice President of the Board of the Caddo Council on Aging, and President of the Shreveport-Bossier Alumni Chapter of Centenary College.  Jeff is married to Dr. Andrea Master and they are expecting their first child in January.

Back to top

Abe Farkas is the development services director with ECONorthwest. Farkas has nearly three decades of experience in structuring successful public-private partnerships that have improved urban neighborhoods, business districts, and university environments. Farkas is the former Development Director for the Portland Development Commission; Planning and Development Director for the City of Eugene, OR; Economic Development Manager for the City of Seattle; Director of Community Development and Planning for the City of Fort Wayne, IN; and Assistant Professor of Housing and Public Policy at the University of Tennessee. Most recently Farkas was President of the Farkas Group, a development services company in Portland, OR. Several mixed-use, public-private partnerships projects, which Farkas helped structure, have been transit-oriented developments, achieved LEED certification (silver to platinum) for sustainability, and were recipients of regional or national awards.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Kiki Fontenot is a native of Ft. Worth Texas. She received her PhD in Horticulture from Louisiana State University. She is currently employed by the LSU AgCenter as the state extension vegetable specialist for home, school, and community gardens.

Back to top

Christopher Forinash joined the Northeast-Midwest Institute in 2010 as a Senior Policy Analyst, working on sustainable transportation and smart growth at the federal and state levels.  Chris works for policy and design changes that improve the livable qualities of our built environment, creating great places to live, work, and play and reducing pressures on our natural environment.  Before joining the Institute, Chris led transportation policy work in the US EPA’s smart growth program, including diverse projects such as efforts to develop street design standards, promote car-sharing, change parking requirements, and otherwise create a transportation system to support smart growth communities.  His work at the US EPA followed several years with a leading worldwide engineering consulting firm, where he developed sophisticated computer models to forecast development patterns and transportation impacts for cities from New York to Honolulu.  Chris holds a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering and Transportation from Northwestern University, where his thesis examined the financial feasibility of a midwestern high-speed rail network centered on Chicago.  Chris earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from Duke University.

Back to top

Karley Frankic joined the Green Coast team after running a successful zoning and permitting consultancy in New Orleans.

After studying Urban Development and History at the University of New Orleans, Karley launched her career in real estate development as the manager of a neighborhood redevelopment nonprofit. She spent four years acquiring, renovating, and developing historic properties in New Orleans. Through this and her later work with the New Orleans Notarial Archives Research Center, she developed excellent contacts in both city government and the real estate community, and an intimate knowledge of the system — local permitting, Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, and historic preservation commissions.

She established Frankic, Inc. in 2004 to provide detailed analysis of permitting and project zoning needs for Developers, Contractors, Architects, Property Managers and Real Estate Attorneys. Karley excels at anticipating project hurdles and identifying potential issues early on. Her team approach — close collaboration with owners, project architects, contractors, and regulatory agencies — spurs creative and proactive solutions that minimize expensive project delays.

Back to top

Perry J. Franklin is the president of Franklin Industries LLC, a public affairs firm specializing in communications, outreach and governmental strategies based in Baton Rouge. With more than 50 years of combined experience, Franklin’s team has worked with clients such as Brown + Danos, AECOM, Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, Fregonese Associates, Goody Clancy Associates, and URS Corporation. His firm is well known for its strides in the public participation arena, where the team has conducted more than 2,000 community meetings, reaching more than 91,000 people in the past four years alone.Franklin Industries has created and implemented creative public outreach and public education campaigns for planning, transportation, community improvement and disaster recovery projects. The firm’s current planning projects include the East Feliciana Parish Comprehensive plan, the Vernon Parish Comprehensive Plan, the East Baton Rouge Parish Comprehensive Plan and the Terrebonne Parish Comprehensive Plan.A graduate of LSU, Franklin earned a Bachelor of Science in business management in 1992, and received his EMBA in 1998.

Back to top

John W. Frece is director of the Office of Sustainable Communities at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a position he has held since March 2009. The program provides direct policy assistance to states, technical assistance to local governments on smart growth and green building issues, conducts research on smart growth policies and strategies, and oversees both the national Smart Growth Achievement Awards and the annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference. The program has been the principal office representing EPA in its Partnership for Sustainable Communities with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Prior to joining the EPA, Mr. Frece was Associate Director of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland in College Park.  He has been a spokesman, policy adviser and writer on Smart Growth issues for the past 14 years.

Before moving to the University in June 2003, Mr. Frece served for seven years on the staff of former Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening, six of them as the principal spokesman for Maryland’s Smart Growth initiative.

Prior to his state service, Mr. Frece enjoyed a long career in journalism, working first for the weekly Reston Times newspaper in Reston, Va., then for the wire service United Press International in both Richmond, Va., and Annapolis, Md., and for 11 years as the Maryland State House bureau chief for The Baltimore Sun.  In all, he covered 17 sessions of the Maryland General Assembly and part or all of the terms of five Maryland governors.

He is author of Sprawl & Politics: The Inside Story of Smart Growth in Maryland (SUNY Press, July 2008) and co-author of My Unexpected Journey: The Autobiography of Governor Harry Roe Hughes (The History Press, 2006). He holds a B.A. in philosophy from the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

He is married to children’s book author Priscilla Cummings. They have two children and live in Annapolis, Maryland.

Charles Fryling, Jr., is an Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture at the LSU Reich School of Landscape Architecture; he teaches Landscape Ecology, Plant Materials and a course entitled “Views of the American Landscape.” He uses photographs in his classes and his photographs appear in a variety of publications and numerous private collections. You can see an exhibit of his Atchafalaya photographs at the Capital Visitor Center in Baton Rouge. Professor Fryling has been working with the Atchafalaya since the late 1960s. He was a member of the steering committee for the US Army Corps of Engineers for the initial Environmental Impact Statement. He has worked with a large number of environmental organization in an effort to protect the Atchafalaya. A former commissioner on the Atchafalaya Trace Commission were he helped form the Commission as well as to steer it to becoming a National Heritage Area. He has co-authored two books, Attracting Birds to Southern Gardens and Plants for American Landscapes, with Neil G. Odenwald and Thomas E. Pope.

Back to top

Beth Galante, Global Green USA’s Director of New Orleans and Gulf Coast Initiatives,  is responsible for the operation of Global Green’s New Orleans Office and Green Building Resource Center, supervision of the Holy Cross Project, and rebuilding initiatives including green affordable homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

Beth was formerly an Assistant D.A. in New Orleans, handling predominantly homicides, sex offenses and public corruption cases.  She taught at Tulane Law School, as the former Deputy Director of the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, which was the first recipient of the American Bar Association’s Distinguished Environmental Achievement Award and the National Law Journal’s Runner Up Lawyer of the Year during her tenure, for its groundbreaking work in the field of Environmental Justice. She is also a former legal representative of the New Jersey Attorney General and the Quapaw Indian Nation regarding damages to their natural resources. Beth has a Masters of Environmental & Energy Law and J.D. from Tulane Law School.

Six months after Hurricane Katrina struck, Beth chose to open and serve as Director of the newly established New Orleans office of Global Green USA, a national group focused on addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation in at-risk communities. Global Green’s work in our region has expanded greatly over the last five years, with outstanding outcomes on numerous educational, technical and policy initiatives in Louisiana.
Beth is currently an Aspen Institute Fellow in its Henry Crown leadership program, Chair of the Green Collaborative, a group dedicated to advancing sustainable environmental and economic development in the Greater New Orleans area, and was recently honored as one of 2011’s Champions of Change by the White House.
Back to top

Brian is a licensed senior associate at Suzanne Turner Associates, and also serves as a member of the Louisiana Chapter ASLA Executive Committee, and as the President of Beauregard Town, a national register historic district.  He has designed and managed public and private developments, condos, parks, streetscapes, schools and institutions.  Most recently, Brian collaborated with the First United Methodist Church and the Beauregard Town neighborhood to create the ‘Beauregarden,’an all organic community garden located in Downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Prior to joining STA, Brian has worked with EDSA (Ft. Lauderdale), EDSA Orient (Beijing), Reich Associates (Baton Rouge), and Element Architects (Hong Kong). As a 2003 graduate of LSU’s acclaimed Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture, Brian was honored to receive the Dean’s Medal.

Living and working in historic Beauregard Town offers unusual advantages for urban living. On any given day, Brian can be found walking to work; renovating his 1920′s era craftsman bungalows; cultivating the ‘Beauregarden,’ his home vegetable garden; or spearheading a community effort.

Back to top

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Bren Haase is an employee of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.  He holds degrees in marine biology and oceanography/coastal sciences.  He has over fifteen years experience in coastal wetlands ecology, restoration and regulation in the private sector, and with the Federal and State governments.  Currently, he manages the planning and evaluation phases of the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Program, and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Program, among others, for the State of Louisiana.  Additionally, he coordinates the activities of the State related to the beneficial use of dredged material through numerous programs and initiatives.

Back to top

Bren Haase is an employee of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. He holds degrees in marine biology and oceanography/coastal sciences. He has over fifteen years experience in coastal wetlands ecology, restoration and regulation in the private sector, and with the Federal and State governments. Currently, he manages the planning and evaluation phases of the Louisiana Coastal Area Ecosystem Restoration Program, and the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Program, among others, for the State of Louisiana. Additionally, he coordinates the activities of the State related to the beneficial use of dredged material through numerous programs and initiatives.

Back to top

Todd Hall currently serves as the Managing Partner for ERM’s Impact Assessment & Planning practice in the Americas.  He has over 16 years experience in environmental consulting, focusing on environmental, social and health impact assessment, management planning, site planning & licensing.  His primary focus is on the energy sector, with expertise in downstream, midstream and upstream oil & gas facilities, petrochemical complexes, wind and solar power facilities and mining operations.  He has prepared environmental, social and health impact assessments and management plans for dozens of oil & gas and mining development projects in North America, Africa, South America and Asia/Pacific; as well as providing lifecycle support services for energy facilities and organizations, including sustainability, regulatory compliance assurance, remediation & risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, and environmental and social performance monitoring.

Back to top

Cordell Haymon is a Baton Rouge attorney and businessman. He has a B.A. in Economics from Rice University and a J.D. from the LSU Law Center. He was engaged in the active practice of law for 25 years and served as President of the Baton Rouge Bar Association and on the Board of Governors of the Louisiana State Bar Association. He is currently VP of the Louisiana State Law Institute. For over 20 years Mr. Haymon was principal owner and CEO of Petroleum Service Corporation which does barge and ship loading and unloading, marine dock operations, and industrial product handling. In 2004 the company was acquired by SGS, a global firm based in Geneva. Mr. Haymon continues to serve as VP of SGS Petroleum Service Corporation and on the Board of SGS North America.

Mr. Haymon has been an advocate for proactive planning and, while serving on the Board of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, chaired the committee which created a plan for the revitalization of downtown Baton Rouge (Plan Baton Rouge) in 1998. He is Chair of the Board of Directors for the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), which is the successor entity to Plan Baton Rouge.

Mr. Haymon is immediate past Chair of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge and of Major Gifts for the Capital Area United Way. He is currently Chair of the board of Teach for America-South Louisiana and of the Signal Mutual Insurance Association, which is the nation’s largest provider of worker’s compensation coverage for maritime workers.

Mr. Haymon is married to Ava Leavell Haymon, has two children and three grandchildren, and attends University Presbyterian Church.

Back to top

In his role at the City of New Orleans, Jeff Hebert oversees Blight Policy and Neighborhood Revitalization programs for the Office of the Mayor. In this capacity, Jeff advises the administration on the City’s redevelopment priorities and programs, planning and urban design issues, and blight reduction strategies.

A native of Louisiana, Jeff returned home from New York in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to work for the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), the state disaster recovery agency, where he worked in partnership with the Center for Planning Excellence on the state-wide recovery planning process and served on the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) leadership team. Jeff created the $700 mil Long Term Community Recovery Program targeted to finance community-driven local recovery plans, the $3 mil Planning Capacity Building Program to fund additional municipal planning staff in communities affected by the disaster, and the $75 mil Alternative Housing Pilot Project to develop rapid housing solutions for victims of the disaster. Jeff previously worked in preservation and urban redevelopment in New York and Philadelphia.

Jeff is a graduate of New York University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Design and Architecture Studies and completed graduate studies in City Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received the Master in City Planning degree.

Back to top

Warren Hebert is Chief Executive Officer of the HomeCare Association of Louisiana, which represents providers of health care at home. Warren has worked as a home care nurse for 26 years, is a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow and co-founded a national exam for homecare workers. Warren has served on the Boards for Home Healthcare Nurse journal, the National Association for Home Care, was founding Chair of the Council of State Homecare Associations, and is currently on the Board of the Community Health Accreditation Program. He is currently on the Louisiana Coalition for Choice in Long Term Careand numerous other workgroups national and state. Warren has had certifications from the Oncology Nurses Society, the Intravenous Nurses Society and has been a Certified Home and Hospice Care Executive. He has written frequently for homecare and association management publications. He is also the host of ‘A Caring Place’, a weekly radio program focused on family caregivers that is broadcast in eight states and via the internet.

Back to top

Michael Hecht is President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., the economic development agency for southeast Louisiana. GNO, Inc.’s mission falls broadly into two categories: business development – attracting and growing businesses – and product development – creating better business conditions. Under Michael’s leadership, GNO, Inc. was recently named one of the Top 20 economic development organizations in America by Site Selector magazine.

Before coming to GNO, Inc. Michael led the quarter-billion dollar Katrina Small Business Recovery Program for the State of Louisiana. While with the State, Michael also established the $90 million Louisiana Revolving Loan Fund, the first of its kind in the nation.

In the years following 9/11, Michael worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City as an Assistant Commissioner. Michael also served as inaugural Director of Business Development for the Food Bank for New York City, the largest in the country.

Michael’s entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding a conglomerate of restaurant ventures, including “Foreign Cinema,” named Restaurant of the Year 2000 in San Francisco. He began his career as a strategic management consultant to Fortune 100 multinationals, including Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, and IBM.
Michael holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was a member of the Public Management Program, and an undergraduate degree from Yale University, magna cum laude.

Recently Michael has been recognized as “One of the 25 Most Powerful People in the 10/12 Corridor,” a New Orleans “Innovator of the Year,” and a Young Leadership Council “Role Model.”
With family roots in Louisiana back to the 1830s, Michael now lives in New Orleans with his wife, Marlene, an ESL professor at Delgado, and his two sons, Dexter and Kaj (“Kī”).

Back to top

Bobbie Hill is the Director of Planning for Concordia LLC. Through the applica¬tion of the Concordia Nexus Planning Model, Ms. Hill works with communities to helpthem realize their potential through consensus building and exploring learning opportunities through collaboration. She is committed to public schol¬arship by helping communities become healthy civil societies that are intercon¬nected —not homogeneous— but integrated. She has directed proj¬ects in Camden, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Cincinnati, OH; Cleveland, OH; Emeryville, CA; Oakland, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Perry, IA; Fredericksburg, VA; New Orleans, LA

Bobbie has organized many local and state-wide networks and associations which areconcerned with issues related to education, the arts, and community advocacy. Ms. Hill has served on regional and State task forces such as the Governor’s Education First Committee which developed policy and consensus-building foreducation reform in West Virginia. Her work on this committee and other organizations has brought about significant change with regards to community participation in planning.

Back to top

Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden was overwhelmingly re-elected to a second term of office on October 4, 2008, carrying every precinct in East Baton Rouge Parish for the first time in history. His first term in office was marked by unprecedented growth and progress for the City-Parish, including the City of Baton Rouge earning its highest national rankings for job productivity and favorable business climate. In 2011, in the midst of a global recession, Baton Rouge continues to be near the top of national rankings for the most stable local economy, best job market, best site location for new business and most attractive market for young adults. Much of the success of his first term in office can be traced to the foundation laid by a diverse team of over 100 community leaders, citizens and university students Mayor Holden assembled immediately after his election in 2004 to form his “Green Light Baton Rouge Citizens Council” to help develop the “Framework for Progress”, a planning document which serves as the basis of his administration’s goal to make Baton Rouge America’s next great city. Recognized nationally for his leadership during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mayor Holden managed a city-parish that became a place of refuge for over 200,000 evacuees from South Louisiana in less than one week, resulting in the White House commending Baton Rouge for its compassion and outstanding response. During this time, the Mayor also helped stand up the local governments from four devastated parishes by providing support and facilities for them to resume operations. Active in the National League of Cities, Mayor Holden launched a successful “Healthy BR Program” in partnership with the Healthy Cities Initiative, to provide resources and information for improving nutrition and lifestyles for better health. Upon his inauguration to his first term, he embarked on an ambitious journey to revitalize Downtown Baton Rouge, create and arts and entertainment district and market Baton Rouge to the film and video industry. He has the city moving on a riverfront master plan, with construction of a new, high-tech Town Square underway to provide more venues for arts and cultural activities. In 2006, Mayor Holden launched a new Economic Development Initiative for East Baton Rouge Parish that includes a partnership with the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce to market the parish, the opening of two Minority Business Opportunity Centers to help small businesses participate in Louisiana’s economic recovery, a micro-loan program and Bankers’ Roundtable to assist small business development. With experience on the Metro Council and as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and Senate, Mayor Holden has extensive knowledge of East Baton Rouge Parish government.

Back to top

Sarah Stehli Howell is an Architect and LEED Accredited Professional who practiced in California and New York before moving to New Orleans. As a student at Yale University, she developed an interest in Sustainable Design, which led her to Austin Veum Robbins Partners, a firm in California specializing in “green” design and building practices. She later moved to New York City, where she gained experience in sustainable house design and historic preservation. Sarah has experience with project types ranging from large institutional to small-scale residential and, in her time in New Orleans, she has focused exclusively on affordable residential construction that meets the most rigorous green building standards.  In her role as Project Architect for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, Sarah has coordinated the LEED certification of 70 LEED Platinum houses, establishing herself as a local expert in sustainable architecture.

Back to top

Raymond A. Jetson is the pastor of the Star Hill Church in Baton Rouge, La. This progressive congregation of 1,500 members is continually recognized for its impact on the local community. As pastor, Jetson has challenged the group to become “spiritual entrepreneurs” in order to develop innovative approaches to community needs. One of the hallmarks of the church is its intentional strategy of deploying the resources of the congregation to improve the quality of life in neighboring communities.

Jetson is one of 22 fellows in the 2010 Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard (ALI). The ALI is a program aimed at tapping “the experience of a socially conscious generation of leaders and help redirect and broaden their skills to fill critical leadership gaps in solving major social issues”.

Jetson has a breadth of experience in the public sector and human services arena. From April 2006 through December 2009, he provided leadership for the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps in the coordination of local, state and national efforts to connect people and families with the resources needed to return, recover and resume their lives after surviving disastrous situations. The organization has served thousands of households affected by hurricanes. In this capacity Jetson has made presentations or participated in panels before the New York Regional Association of Grant Makers, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, a Congressional Delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery, the Brookings Institution, and the Wealth and Giving Forum.

Prior to joining the Recovery Corps, Jetson was the deputy secretary for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, or DHH. In this capacity, he served as the chief operating officer for the state’s largest agency. Jetson served as the state representative for District 61 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1984 to 1999. While in the Legislature, he served on the Health and Welfare, Appropriations, and Joint Budget Committees.

His many years of public service and experience have made him a resource for major media outlets across the country. Jetson has served as a source for media outlets including USATODAY, The New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Atlanta Journal – Constitution, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Jetson earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree at the New Orleans Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Tammy, are the parents of J’erica Nicole and Jeremy Louis.

Back to top

Dr. Bridget Jones is Executive Director of Cumberland Region Tomorrow, a non-profit citizen-based organization dedicated to planning for the future livability and economic vitality of a 10-county region in Middle Tennessee.  An economic and community development and higher education professional, she has lead major regional and community-level initiatives and projects across Middle Tennessee.  Bridget’s work has focused on effective use of collaborative vision and effort along with proactive project management strategies toward complex solutions to community and economic development problems through her career.

Prior to joining Cumberland Region Tomorrow in mid-2003, Bridget worked with the South Central Tennessee Development District, Columbia Main Street Corporation and Columbia State Community College in various executive and project leadership positions, including Executive Direction of Downtown revitalization Programs, Regional JTPA/Workforce Development Grant Programs and Regional Rural Community Development -Community College Site Creation in multiple communities throughout South Central Middle Tennessee.

Dr. Jones is a native Middle Tennessean and holds degrees from the University of Memphis, Vanderbilt University and the University of Louisville.   She has completed numerous publications and presentations relating to her career experience and interests including the Cumberland Region Tomorrow Report to the Region…Continuing the Discussion (2003), Quality Growth Toolbox (2006) and GIS Greenprint Tools for Quality Growth (2009).  She received the first William McCulley Award for Excellence in Research from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for her dissertation research entitled The Role of Tennessee Community Colleges in Economic Development in 2001 .

Dr. Jones is past-Chair of Columbia Main Street Corporation, a founding Board Member of Maury Vision 20-20, a graduate of Leadership Maury and Leadership Middle Tennessee Class of 2005 and past-Member of the Southern Growth Policy Board – Global Strategies Council. She is a Visiting Lecturer with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Lipscomb University Institute of Sustainable Practice. Bridget currently serves on the Boards of the Natchez Trace Parkway Association and Smart Growth America.

Back to top

Lee Jones has been employed with the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development mission area since becoming a USDA 1890 Scholar in 1996. He began working full-time for USDA Rural Development in 2001 and has been living in and around Alexandria, LA ever since.

Lee currently serves as the Assistant to the State Director and Community Development Coordinator for USDA Rural Development in Louisiana. In his current roles, Mr. Jones assists State Director, and former Bastrop Mayor Clarence Hawkins with day-to-day supervision and management of all Rural Development activities in Louisiana. As Community Development Coordinator, Lee leads community development efforts in Louisiana on behalf of Rural Development, including the Stronger Economies Together regionalism program, in which Morehouse Parish does participate with the leadership of Mr. & Mrs. Payne Montgomery.
Lee graduated with honors and distinction from Bastrop High School in 1996. Lee went on to graduate with honors from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, with a degree in Agricultural Economics and is currently pursuing his Masters in Public Administration.

Lee is married to the former Kimberly LaCour, a Registered Nurse at Rapides Regional Medical Center, and has two beautiful children, Alayna (4) and Jacob (16 months).

Back to top

Rev. Jennifer Jones-Bridgett is a visionary for justice and believes in equality for all people. She connects people from diverse walks of life to create common ground, harmony, respect, understanding, to cultivate lasting relationships and a better community.

A native of Baton Rouge, Rev. Jones-Bridgett is a graduate of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and an ordained Baptist Minister. She is a W K Kellogg Fellow and studied in Salzberg, Austria with a focus on “Community Leadership and Policy Change”.

Presently she is the Executive Director of PICO Louisiana. She devotes leadership to a statewide network of five community organizing projects representing 100,000 families in New Orleans, Jefferson Parish, Baton Rouge, Point Coupee Parish, New Iberia, and Lafayette. Issue campaigns include, Bringing Healthcare Home, Lifelines To Healing (Violence Prevention, Access to transportation, Job Training, Re-entry & Restoration), and Education Reform.

Building bridges between churches and communities, connecting the disconnected, and assuring that the voices of the disenfranchised are heard is a challenge that Rev. Jones-Bridgett accepts graciously.

Back to top

Jason Jordan serves as the director of the Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE). He oversees CFTE staff and programming related to transportation ballot initiatives, state and local policy, communications and research. CFTE is a national research and technical assistance center dedicated to public transportation ballot campaigns and finance policy. Jason is also a partner in the Washington, D.C. public affairs and government relations consulting firm, Advocacy Associates, LLC, where he directs the
firm’s transportation, environment and community development practice.  In addition to CFTE, he serves as director of policy and government affairs for the American Planning Association where he directs policy, grassroots advocacy, lobbying and federal relations programs. Previously, Jordan worked for U.S. Senator Max Cleland and in policy and association management positions for several organizations, including the Council for Urban Economic Development and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. Jordan has broad political campaign experience having managed field operations and provided general strategic guidance for both congressional and statewide campaigns.

Back to top

Mark Juedeman is a recent retiree from a 30+ year career with Shell, where he worked as a Senior Staff Geophysicist on exploration and development projects in domestic onshore and offshore, the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, and Brazil.  He has a BS in Earth Science/Geophysics from Montana State University and an MS in Geology from the University of Houston, and completed the program in Applied Geohydrology at the University of New Orleans.  Mark and his family have lived in both Houston and New Orleans.  While in New Orleans, Mark was involved with bicycle advocacy as a board member of the Metro Bicycle Coalition, environmental advocacy as a volunteer and board member of The Green Project, and education as board member and board chair of St. Paul’s Episcopal School.  Since returning to Houston he has become a founding member of Transition Houston (part of the global Transition movement to address climate change, peak oil, and economic instability), a member of the executive committee of the Houston Food Policy Workgroup, and a volunteer with Urban Harvest.

Back to top

Daniel was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He joined Teach for America and moved to Baton Rouge shortly before Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. Daniel taught social studies in Baton Rouge public schools for four years and founded the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition (BRYC) in 2008. For his work with BRYC, Daniel was named to the Baton Rouge Business Report’s 2008 list of 40 rising stars under the age of 40. He began directing BRYC fulltime in the summer of 2009. Daniel holds a B.A. in Social Studies with honors from Harvard University. In addition to mentoring and teaching, Daniel is passionate about food and cooking, building community, and the permanent quest for freedom.

Back to top

Author and consultant Peter Katz is a leading proponent of the New Urbanism, an urban design and planning movement that the New York Times called “the most important phenomenon to emerge in American architecture in the post-Cold War era.” Katz played a key role in shaping the movement as founding executive director of the Congress for the New Urbanism. He’s also the author of a seminal book on the subject–The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community– published by McGraw-Hill. Katz was the founding president of the Form-Based Codes Institute. Peter Katz is the director of Smart Growth / Urban Planning for Sarasota County, Florida. He also provides consulting services in the areas of New Urbanism implementation, strategic marketing and community development. Katz received his degree from The Cooper Union in New York where he studied architecture and graphic design.

Back to top

Lanny Keller is an editorial writer for The Advocate in Baton Rouge. He is a graduate of the LSU School of Journalism and native of DeQuincy, La. He has been a reporter and columnist for several Louisiana newspapers, including editorial page editor of The Shreveport Journal and editor of The Times of Lake Charles. He served as assistant press secretary for Gov. David C. Treen in 1982-84. He was press secretary for Bob Livingston’s campaign for governor in 1987 and U.S. Rep. Jim McCrery’s first campaign for Congress in 1988.

Back to top

As co-owner of Covalent Logic, an integrated communications firm, Stafford Kendall brings a versatile skill set to her role as Director of Interactive Strategy. Working with a variety of public, private and non-profit organizations, Stafford has helped develop a number of award-winning advertising and branding campaigns. Covalent Logic specializes in Corporate Communications, with extensive work in visual and interactive design for stakeholder audiences – internal, media and investors. Last month, Covalent Logic won the 2011 American Business Awards Stevie Award for Best Online Newsroom for HiltonGlobalMediaCenter.com. This is the 18th national or international award the firm has brought home to Louisiana in the past year, including the Bulldog Awards, Communicator Award, ABA and IBA Stevie awards, trumping the corporate press websites of such giants as Accenture, Intel, Adidas and Texas Instruments.

Back to top

Daniel T. Kildee is Co-Founder and President of Community Progress. Prior to founding the Center, Kildee served as Genesee County Treasurer from 1997-2009. Before his election as Treasurer, Dan served for 12 years as a Genesee County Commissioner, including five years as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners. Dan also has served as President of the Genesee Institute, a research and training institute focusing on Smart Growth, urban land reform, and land banking. Dan was a member of the Executive Committee of the National Vacant Properties Campaign; Community Progress is the successor to the Genesee Institute and the National Vacant Properties Campaign. Dan initiated the use of Michigan’s new tax foreclosure law as a tool for community development and neighborhood stabilization. He founded the Genesee Land Bank – Michigan’s first land bank, and a model for others around the nation – and serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 2007, Dan’s Land Bank program was named winner of the Harvard University/Fannie Mae Foundation Innovations in American Government Award for Affordable Housing.

Back to top

Sarah Kracke brings over fifteen years working with local, regional and national companies to define and communicate their brand. Before starting her own independent consulting firm in 2005, she worked as senior vice president for Greater New Orleans, Inc.—a non-profit economic development organization promoting the greater New Orleans ten-parish region. Prior to her position with GNO, Inc., Sarah served as deputy commissioner of administration for the State of Louisiana under Governor M.J. “Mike” Foster, Jr. during his second term. She supported the state’s role in projects such as the Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation, Louisiana Technology Park and Shaw Center for the Arts—a $50 million cultural arts center in downtown Baton Rouge.
Sarah is a member of the 2003 CABL Leadership Louisiana Class, was selected Top Forty Under Forty by the Baton Rouge Business Report and served four years on the Louisiana Endowment for Humanities statewide board. A native of Alabama, she holds a BFA in English and art history from the University of Alabama and an MFA in photography from LSU.

Back to top

Ms. Laborde has developed more than two thousand affordable and market-rate homes both directly and in partnership with local non-profits, city and state government, and the private sector. Prior to joining Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, Ms. Laborde operated Kaliope, LLC, a real estate development and consulting company which she established in 1999. Previously, she was founder and executive director of the first bank-owned community development corporation in Louisiana. Before settling in Louisiana, Ms. Laborde held a variety of management positions with private sector real estate developers in Missouri and North Carolina. Ms. Laborde holds a BS in economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and an MBA from Tulane University. She has been a recipient of the YWCA’s Role Model Award and currently serves on the board of directors of the Louisiana Association of Affordable Housing Providers and the New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative.

Back to top

Zachary Lamb (March, Assoc. AIA) is a Project Manager with Green Coast Enterprises, handling a wide range of green building and community revitalization projects.
Zach is also the co-founder of Crooked Architecture, a New Orleans-based design-build company that has been involved in international consulting and planning work on projects addressing urban development in rapidly-growing and post-disaster cities. Previously, he worked with the MIT UrbLab India, researching and analyzing urban environmental conditions in the rapidly growing city of Erode, Tamil Nadu. Zach’s work with Crooked received two AIA New Orleans Design Awards in 2011.
He originally came to Louisiana as a Project Coordinator with the Louisiana LiftHouse Initiative, developing a prototype for an inexpensive, energy-efficient house for residents of the Louisiana bayou displaced by the hurricanes of 2005. Zach holds a BA in Art History and Environmental Studies from Williams College and a Masters of Architecture from MIT. He has taught courses on architecture and urbanization at MIT and Tulane University. He lives in New Orleans’ Seventh Ward.

Back to top

Charles Landry concentrates his practice in the areas of real estate development, real estate finance, land use and zoning, and business and commercial law. He has represented numerous parties in a wide range of real estate transactions, which included residential developments—including Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs)—office buildings, shopping malls and centers, hotels, medical facilities, golf course communities, and industrial developments. Mr. Landry has also been very involved in advancing Greater Baton Rouge’s high-tech, information, and entrepreneurial economic sectors. He was instrumental in the formation of the Louisiana Technology Park, and serves as General Counsel to the Research Park Corporation. Mr. Landry has received numerous accolades for his community involvement and excellence in law.

Back to top

Charles has a Ph.D. In Economics from the University of Arkansas, holds a Graduate Specialist Certification in Aging from the Department of Applied Gerontology at the University of North Texas and studied geriatrics and gerontology at the University of Texas Medical School.  He is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist and a Certified Senior Advisor.  Dr. Landry has thirty-five years experience in the healthcare industry, having served as Chief Executive Officer in metropolitan, urban and rural community hospitals with experience as a senior-level officer in a large healthcare system.

Dr. Landry was State President for AARP Louisiana from 2008 to 2010 and is a member of the Leadership Committee of the Coalition for Choice, an AARP sponsored organization working to advance the quality of Louisiana’s long term care system.

Charles is founder of Remain Home, an organization that provides products, services, and expertise designed to make a home accessible, safe, and functional for those with desire to make their living environment meet their changing needs as they age.  A major focus of Remain Home is home monitoring technology.

Back to top

Kathryn Lawler is on the senior management team for the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Area Agency on Aging for the greater Atlanta area. In her role as Chief of Staff, she provides support to the agency divisions including transportation, land use, environment, workforce, and local government support and aging. Her primary responsibility is to form strategic partnerships with federal, state and local governments, public and private organizations to transform the region into a more livable community for people of all ages and abilities.Kathryn has also served as a consultant to local governments, foundations and community based coalitions, interested in effectively organizing to better prepare for the rapidly growing older adult population. Her work specialized in the development of cross disciplinary partnerships, bringing together aging, planning, architecture, public and mental health professionals, hospitals, elected officials and local residents. As both a grantee and a consultant Kathryn worked with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Community Partnership for Older Adults Program. This 40 million dollar investment of the Foundation was structured to help communities develop leadership, innovative solutions and options to meet the needs of older adults over the long term. As a grantee, she was Director of Aging Atlanta, a 50 organization partnership focused on preparing the metro region for the rapid growth in the older adult population. As a consultant she provided technical assistance to the 15 grantees in urban, rural and suburban communities across the country. She assisted with the program’s evaluation, lessons learned and resources that are now available to partnerships across the country.

From 2001 to 2002 she was a fellow at Harvard University’s Joint Center on Housing Studies. Her research focused on the development of health and housing policy to facilitate aging in the community and modernize long term care systems. Ms. Lawler received a bachelor”s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.

Back to top

Chris Leinberger, a land use strategist, teacher, developer, researcher and author, balances business realities with social and environmental issues. Mr. Leinberger is a professor and founding Director of the Graduate Real Estate Development Program at the University of Michigan; Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.; Founding Partner of Arcadia Land Company, a New Urbanism/transit-oriented development and consulting firm; and President of Locus; Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors
His most recent book is The Option of Urbanism, Investing in a New American Dream, published in 2008 by Island Press. He is also the author of Strategic Planning for Real Estate Companies. He has written for numerous publications, such as The Atlantic Monthly and Urban Land magazine. He has been profiled by CNN, National Public Radio, Infrastructurist, and Washington Post among other broadcast, web and print media.

Leinberger was voted one of the “Top 100 Urban Thinkers” in a poll conducted by Planetizen, the international urban planning and architecture website, in 2009. He was the William H. Whyte Award winner by Partners for Livable Communities in 2010.

Leinberger is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Harvard Business
School.

Back to top

Joyce has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and worked for two decades as a successful photographer focusing on the unique culture and topography of Louisiana. Her work is in the Louisiana State Museum Roger Ogden Museum of Southern Art and other private collections.  She actively worked in and owned a retail business for twenty-five years and understands the increased pressure brought about by government rules and higher taxes.

In 2009, Joyce became a political activist and is the co-founder and coordinator of TEA Party of Lafayette.  The TPL membership of 1000 is actively involved in national, state and local issues and has successfully opposed four TIF-Districts because they did not fit the criteria of TIF-Laws.
She serves on the Legislative Policy Committee of the Chamber of Commerce.

Joyce is motivated by her belief in the pursuit of truth, the preservation of liberty, limited government and that we are taxed enough already.   She believes in the fundamentals which were put forth by our Founding Fathers in the Constitution.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Thomas Low is a registered architect and certified planner. He is the Director of DPZ Charlotte and a partner in the firm of Miami-based Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, Architects and Town Planners. Mr. Low has directed numerous projects winning awards from several organizations including the American Institute of Architects, the Sierra Club, the National Association of Homebuilders, and the Environmental Protection Agency for Smart Growth Achievement. He is actively involved with initiatives, projects, research, and education. Mr. Low received his Bachelor of Architecture from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, and a Master of Architecture from the University of Miami with a specialization in Urbanism. He lectures on town planning, planning history, sustainability, urbanism, slow food, environmental infrastructure, and civic engagement and design.

As a visiting professor, he has taught and lectured at many universities including at the University of Miami, the University of North Carolina Charlotte, the College of Charleston, Clemson University, North Carolina State University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the University of Connecticut, and the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Low has received grants he used to complete research on town planner John Nolen, early twentieth-century town centers, and transect-based form-based code, all of which are crucial components of his principles and practice.

He has published several academic papers, numerous articles, and books including the Light Imprint Handbook: Integrating Sustainability and Community Design; Civic By Design: John Nolen?s Lessons for New Urbanism; and the Light Imprinters Almanac: Engaging Growers and Dwellers. His initiatives include Light Imprint; the Learning Cottage; Slow Food and Slow Urbanism, www.terrain.org, and Civic By Design.

Mr. Low is Chair of the Charlotte Region Civic By Design Forum. He is an accredited member of the Congress for the New Urbanism and serves on the board of the CNU-Carolinas Chapter. In addition, Mr. Low is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the American Institute of Certified Planners, the American Planning Association, and an accredited professional member of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Tony is a Residential Construction Professional with a career spanning more than 30 years, from Apprentice Carpenter, Framing Contractor, Superintendent, Multi-Family Estimator and Roof Truss Designer in Melbourne, Australia to Home Builder, Building Supply Operations Manager, Product Representative and Specialty Design Consultant over the last 18 years on the Gulf Coast.

His knowledge in the field of Advanced Framing is based in practical experience as a Carpenter and Home Builder, his direct involvement with the construction of 75 LEED Platinum Certified homes and his ongoing service with Habitat for Humanity.
As a consultant to the Make-It-Right Foundation, Tony was tasked with the responsibility of Advanced Faming structural design, specification and review for all home designs prior to submission to Civil Engineers for Certification and Permit application, followed by the instruction and training of Framing Carpenters and Construction Staff at the site for successful implementation.

Back to top

Barbara Crain Major is a community organizer and trainer with over thirty years experience in many local, national, and international community

development efforts. This work includes everything from nurturing leadership development efforts within local communities to assisting institutions in developing strategies to de-institutionalize racism. Barbara is a native of New Orleans and Franklinton Louisiana. She is co-founder and President/CEO for Citizens United for Economic Equity, a CDFI small business lending institution. The organization was created to ensure equitable African American community participation in the rebuilding of New Orleans. Barbara is the Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Greater New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.  She is also on the board of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA). Ms Major’s latest published work is titled “Building a Net that Works” in the book State of the Race. She has received numerous awards and citations for her achievements, but says “her family” is the greatest award that God has given her.

Back to top

As Director of Planning at Center for Planning Excellence, Camille Manning-Broome oversees statewide planning effort that provide grants funding, technical assistance and model tools to communities who wish to create community-driven plans that are based on the principals of Smart Growth. Over the past year, she has spearheaded efforts at CPEX to partner with and assist coastal communities in planning for restoration, protection, relocation, land use and water management. Manning-Broome has been involved in statewide recovery planning activities since the hurricanes in 2005. She was part of the management in the Louisiana Speaks process overseeing the development of 26 Parish recovery plans and later went to work at The Shaw Group. There, she worked with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to assist in the creation of a comprehensive coastal restoration and protection plan for the state. Additionally, she has worked in various capacities on plans such as comprehensive plans, waterway plans, park plans, environmental plans, and port plans. Mrs. Manning-Broome is a frequent presenter at universities and conferences and has received various awards. She has also participated in delegations led by Senator Landrieu to the Netherlands and Japan. Mrs. Manning-Broome has a M.S. from Louisiana State University in Environmental Planning & Management.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

After years of living and working in other communities, visual artist George Marks returned to his native Arnaudville in 2005. Recognizing the abundance of artistic and cultural assets in the region, including visual, musical, and culinary artists, enduring use of the French language and the transference of these assets to younger generations, George created NUNU: the Arnaudville Experiment. NUNU has since become a hub for purveyors of South La. culture.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Robert A. Martin is the Managing Partner of Strategic Equity Partners, LLC, a consulting firm
focused on real estate development, mergers,     acquisitions and business renewal. His firm manages a $300 million real estate portfolio for a group of investors who concentrate on repurposing older properties. These include historic properties, which are being renovated into new commercial and residential uses. One of the firm’s key projects in the transformation of a group of abandoned textile mill buildings in Saco, Maine.

Bob has participated as a speaker at a variety of national conferences focused on the principles and strategies of smart growth, historic renovations, Main Street transformations, transit‐oriented development and historic tax credits. He has also been a key presenter on customer segmentation techniques and strategies.

Bob’s background includes executive leadership roles at The Washington Post, The Hartford Courant and subsidiaries of Dai Nippon Ink & Chemicals. A native of Washington, DC, he studied at George Washington University and earned his MBA from the Kenan‐Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Bob serves on a number of boards, including TrainRiders Northeast, the citizen initiative behind the restoration of Amtrak service to Maine. He lives in Newcastle, Maine in an historic building his group renovated into a multi‐use structure. His wife, Barbara, is a textile artist and his daughter is a junior at Smith College.

Back to top

Mr. McNamara who has a lifetime of experience in real estate As the President and CEO he is responsible for both the programmatic and physical development of the biosciences industry sector which includes job creation, industry recruitment and investment, workforce training and development (K-12 and the unskilled worker), small business development and nearby neighborhood development within the District boundaries. The BioDistrict is governed by a 15 member Board of Commissioners and has taxing and bonding authority as well as the ability to enter into Public-Private Partnerships (P3) to assist in fulfilling its charge.

Major achievements include securing a $2.4 million master planning grant for the BioDistrict that includes a long range transportation plan, the construction of Square 26 Park – the first urban park built in New Orleans in decades, and acquired funding to plan 324 trees in the CBD.

Back to top

Nancy McPherson currently serves as the Senior State Director for AARP Louisiana where she leads a team of staff and volunteers in advocating for livable communities, healthcare, and financial security at the local, state, and national levels on behalf of the 50+ population and AARP’s almost 500,000 Louisiana members.

Nancy spent nearly 20 years as a police executive in the Portland, OR and Seattle police departments, and as the Manager of Neighborhood Policing in the San Diego Police Department where she pioneered problem oriented policing.  She has served as a consultant for police departments across the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, and Albania where her work focuses on helping municipal leaders and police officers increase their effectiveness in reducing crime and improving police-community relations.

Back to top

Michael K. Medick is a registered architect and urban planner with extensive experience in community redevelopment.  Specializing in the revitalization of cities, neighborhoods, campuses and buildings, Michael has design experience in all segments of the real estate industry, including residential and mixed-use development, campus planning, military housing, retail, commercial, Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND), Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) and community design guidelines.

Michael has served as Chairman of the American Institute of Architects National Housing Committee, the AIA’s Livable Communities Committee, and the Board of Governors for the University of Maryland Alumni Association.

He has won numerous design awards, including the international competition for the Seaside, Florida 20th Anniversary Ceremonial Landmark and the Inform Magazine Grand Award for the Richmond, VA Habitat for Humanity Design Competition for “A New Affordable House.”

Back to top

Dr. Douglas Meffert is the Eugenie Schwartz Professor of River & Coastal Studies at the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research (CBR) and serves as Director of Project Development and adjunct associate professor at Tulane University Law School’s Payson Center for International Development. He is also Director of Tulane’s RiverSphere – a new initiative fostering green jobs in water resource management and renewable energy through testing and development of hydrokinetic energy systems in the Mississippi River. Meffert received his undergraduate engineering and a master in business degrees at Tulane University and Doctorate of Environmental Science & Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Recent awards include a 2007 joint Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, MA where he currently serves as a faculty associate and, in 2009, an award of excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects. Dr. Meffert has more than 20 years of research, policy development, project management and practice related to urban sustainability and coastal restoration and protection domestically and internationally. Relevant certificates include charrette facilitation from the University of Miami and land use negotiation from the Consensus Building Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He currently serves as the New Orleans coordinator for the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Urban Biosphere program, which is dedicated to intellectual exchange and research to promote resilience and sustainability of urban ecosystems worldwide. He also serves or has served as technical advisor and community and stakeholder outreach coordinator for a variety of city, regional, and state planning efforts on urban, coastal, and water management plans including, but not limited to, the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, the Sustainability Systems Working Group for the New Orleans Master Plan, the Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority’s 2012 Coastal Master Plan, the United Houma Nation, the U.S. Department of State’s Wetland Eco-Partnership program and a variety of neighborhood disaster recovery plans.

Back to top

Dan Mistler is a Social Consultant with ERM’s Impact Assessment and Planning Practice in Houston, TX.  He has expertise in social impact assessment and policy analysis, with project focus on corporate-community relations.  Dan has led both secondary desktop and primary field data gathering exercises involving qualitative (interview) and quantitative (survey) data collection and analysis.  Dan has also undertaken independent research projects, which have included the design of social analysis metrics.  He also has work experience in the United States, Trinidad, China, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Uganda, and Madagascar.

Prior to joining ERM in 2011, Dan worked for a social consulting firm in Rockville, MD, carrying out social impact assessments for a number of oil and gas clients.  He also developed corporate-community relations assessments which served to inform the design and implementation of companies’ community investment plans.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Nancy Montoya is the Senior Regional Community Development Manager for the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana she covers the Gulf Coast areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. Her primary work focuses on disaster recovery for these markets, including affordable housing development, small business recovery and expansion, affordable and flexible housing finance and insurance issues. In addition to providing expertise to community groups and financial institutions on all aspects of affordable housing, she also works to promote personal financial stability and asset growth for low-wealth adults and children, community development finance training, supporting the development and implementation of financial products that promote savings and equity and fostering bank partnerships in her markets.

She was named one of City Business’ “Power Generation” for 2002. Her accomplishments include completing the Metropolitan Leadership Forum in New Orleans for the year 2001, being named one of the Top Ten Hispanics in New Orleans by La Prensa Magazine in 1995, and receiving the “On Top” Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration in 1996. She is a 2006 recipient of the William Taylor Award for Excellence in Bank Supervision presented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In April, 2009 she completed the Effective Leadership Program as an Inaugural Fellow at the Center for Leadership and Public Values at Duke University and the College of Business at Southern University.

Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico she now considers herself a New Orleans native. Nancy joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in September 2001. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of New Orleans, earned a Certificate in Urban Development from the University of Pennsylvania and is commissioned by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors as a bank examiner on safety and soundness issues.

Back to top

Mr. Patrick Moore is a Partner within ERM based in Alexandria, Louisiana. Mr. Moore was formerly co-owner of Moore Planning Group where he led the firm as Managing Principal since 1982. He has guided projects of varied scope, ranging from land use / enhancement planning for entire regions, to design of small urban parks. Mr. Moore has worked with commercial, institutional, and governmental clientele, and he manages teams of architects, engineers, public agencies, and related professionals.

Mr. Moore has directed the firm on many planning and design projects throughout the Southeastern United States, many requiring ongoing involvement from initial design conception, to funding acquisition, through construction observation of the built project. Mr. Moore has 30 years of experience in the field of Landscape Architecture and Planning.

Back to top

Randalle Hunt Moore is a licensed Landscape Architect/ Planner who has led and co-owned Moore Planning Group, now ERM, since 1982. As an ERM Project Manager she oversees a range of projects including neighborhood revitalization and community master planning, highway R.O.W. master planning, schoolyard ecosystem and site design. She has built partnerships between government and private enterprise while implementing energy conservation and waste reduction programs for the cities of New Iberia and Alexandria, as well as for fourteen parishes in Louisiana.  With project experience in environmental planning, floodplain management, waterfront revitalization, forest land management, and visual resource management, Mrs. Moore has a broad perspective on the environmental field. She has had numerous works published in professional journals and magazines.   She is knowledgeable of funding resources including affordable housing funding and development that included a recent $1.5 million renovation of an historic warehouse into supported housing apartment for formerly homeless (SRO).

Back to top

Linda Morgano’s responsibilities include providing technical assistance to affordable housing developers, municipalities, school districts, and building industry professionals committed to sustainable building principles and environmentally responsible practices. Key projects include LEED for Neighborhood Development, LEED for Homes, and LEED for Schools in New Orleans. She is involved in many of Global Green’s educational and outreach efforts, which range from facilitating sustainability symposiums and charrettes to participating in conferences and community-wide forums on issues related to rebuilding initiatives, including green affordable homes, schools, and neighborhoods.

Prior to joining Global Green, Linda worked for various environmental and government organizations gathering and analyzing biological and geospatial data in support of conservation and mitigation efforts. She also coordinated various outreach initiatives including household waste collection and recycling; invasive aquatic and grassland species removal; and habitat restoration. Linda is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where she earned a B.S. in Ecology and a M.S. in Computer Information Sciences. She is a LEED Accredited Professional and earned her Permaculture Certificate from the Permaculture Institute. In 2008, she was nominated as a Fellow at Loyola University’s Institute for Environmental Communication.

Back to top

Andreanecia M. Morris, currently serves as Senior Vice-President for Homeownership & Community Development at Providence Community Housing.  Morris is responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s homeownership plan and managing its soft-second mortgage program.  She also manages the community development process in targeted New Orleans’ neighborhoods in collaboration with government entities, residents, business owners, property owners and community leaders.

Morris co-chairs the governing committee for Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance (GNOHA) formed in the spring of 2007 as a collaborative coalition of non-profit housing builders and community development corporations who work to rebuild the City of New Orleans.  In addition, Morris serves as Vice-Chairwoman of the Board for the Sankofa Community Development Corporation; Co-Leader for Mayor Landrieu’s Homeless Working Group Singles Subcommittee; a founding member of NEWCITY and its Claiborne Corridor Improvement Coalition;  is a member of the Louisiana Homebuyer Education Collaborative Governing Board, the New Orleans Green Collaborative and the CONNECT Coalition Steering Committee.

A graduate of Loyola University, Morris joined Providence after spending 11 years with the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) where she worked in a variety of roles. This varied experience gave her a deep understanding of federal guidelines, funding sources, mixed-income models and client needs.

Back to top

Steve Mouzon is an architect, urbanist, author, blogger, and photographer from Miami. He founded the New Urban Guild, which helped foster the Katrina Cottages movement. The Guild hosts Project:SmartDwelling, which works to redefine the house to be much smaller and more sustainable. Steve founded and is a board member of the Guild Foundation; it hosts the Original Green initiative. Steve speaks regularly across the US and abroad on sustainability issues. He blogs on the Original Green Blog and Useful Stuff. He also posts to the Original Green Twitter stream.

Back to top

Tom Murphy is a senior resident fellow, ULI/Klingbeil Family Chair for urban development. Murphy, former mayor of Pittsburgh, joins three other ULI senior resident fellows who specialize in  housing, real estate finance and environmental issues. His extensive experience in urban revitalization—what drives investment, what ensures long-lasting commitment—is a key addition to the senior resident fellows’ areas of expertise. Since January 2006, Murphy had served as ULI’s Gulf Coast liaison, helping to coordinate with the leadership of New Orleans and the public to advance the implementation of rebuilding recommendations made by ULI’s advisory services panel last fall. In addition, he worked with the Louisiana state leadership, as well as with leadership in hurricane-impacted areas in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to identify areas appropriate for ULI involvement.

Prior to his service as the ULI Gulf Coast liaison, Murphy served three terms as the mayor of Pittsburgh, from January 1994 through December 2005. During that time, he initiated a public-private partnership strategy that leveraged more than $4.5 billion in economic development in Pittsburgh. Murphy led efforts to secure and oversee $1 billion in funding for the development of two professional sports facilities, and a new convention center that is the largest certified green building in the United States. He developed strategic partnerships to transform more than 1,000 acres of blighted, abandoned industrial properties into new commercial, residential, retail and public uses; and he oversaw the development of more than 25 miles of new riverfront trails and urban green space. From 1979 through 1993, Murphy served eight terms in the Pennsylvania State General Assembly House of Representatives. He focused legislative activities on changing Western Pennsylvania’s economy from industrial to entrepreneurial, and authored legislation requiring the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pension fund to invest in venture capital. In addition, he authored legislation created the Ben Franklin Technology Partnership, which is dedicated to advancing Pennsylvania’s focus on technology in the economy; and he authored legislation to encourage industrial land reuse and to transform abandoned rail right-of-ways into trails and green space. Murphy served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay from 1970 through 1972.

He is a 1993 graduate of the New Mayors Program offered by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He holds a masters of science degree in urban studies from Hunter College, and a bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from John Carroll University. He is an honorary member of the American Society of Landscape Architects; a board member of the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities; and a board member of the National Rails to Trails Conservancy. He received the 2002 Outstanding Achievement of City Livability Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors and was selected as the 2001 Pittsburgh Man of the Year Award by Vectors Pittsburgh.

Back to top

During her 2 years at SGA, Elisa has worked with state, local and national partners to build and maintain a coalition and learning network of smart growth, transportation, land use reform and environmental advocates. In particular, she has managed multi-state efforts related to transit funding campaigns, influencing transportation funds coming out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and in using the fiscal crisis as a lever for state DOT reform. Elisa has extensive issue advocacy campaign experience built over years working in the smart growth, transportation reform, women’s and low-income housing movements. She has lived and worked in the Washington, DC metro area for nearly 10 years.

Back to top

Tommy is a planner and attorney licensed in Tennessee. He has experience in both the public and private sectors and focuses on finding creative zoning and form-based code solutions for communities seeking more sustainable development patterns. Tommy previously worked in Memphis, TN as an Assistant City Attorney representing the planning commission, board of adjustment, and community redevelopment agency on numerous land use, redevelopment financing, and constitutional issues. While in Memphis he co-managed the development of an urban sustainability agenda for Shelby County and served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Memphis, teaching Land Use Controls in the Graduate Program of City and Regional Planning.

Tommy has helped with the creation of several unified development codes including the Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code and the Louisiana Land Use Toolkit model development code. Tommy is an active member of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

Back to top

Kristin Gisleson Palmer was elected District “C” Councilmember in February 2010. The daughter of a former federal prosecutor and a school teacher, as well as the second of eight children, Kristin Gisleson Palmer learned the values of sharing, cooperation and integrity at a very early age. As the mother of three daughters, she recognizes the importance of safe streets and healthy communities.

As a graduate of St. Louis University, Palmer then transition into the nonprofit world.  With 20 years experience as the Executive Director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans, Palmer put over 400 displaced residents back into their homes and identified $7 million in public funding to create a model for long-term sustainability in the New Orleans community post-Hurricane Katrina.

Palmer is the founder and former President of Confetti Kids, Inc. and a founding board member of Evacuteer.org, an organization that evacuated approximately 18,000 residents during Hurricane Gustav.

Currently, Palmer resides in Algiers Point, located in District “C,” with her husband Bobby Palmer and their three daughters.

Back to top

Jenny Pelc earned her Master of Architecture from Tulane University in 2005 and, shortly after, joined Eskew+Dumez+Ripple – a New Orleans-based design firm.  Simultaneously pursuing her architectural registration and LEED Accreditation, Pelc earned both in 2007. Jenny has leveraged her passion for the profession to formalize a studio-wide initiative for professional registration that lead to her appointment as the firm’s first Licensing Coordinator. In this position, she served a two-year tenure managing the studio’s emerging professionals’ pursuit of licensure. During this time, EDR was awarded the National AIA IDP Firm of the Year Award for 2008-2011. In an effort to advance the number of licensed professionals on a larger scale, she has recently served on NCARB Committees which focus on the Intern Development Program.  In 2010, she mused about the future of architecture in the AIA National Panel discussion that sent her and two other panelists to 2020. With enthusiasm about the possibilities within the profession and insight into its future, Jenny maintains focus on this trajectory.  Having made significant contributions to the profession and widening her portfolio within the firm to include environmental, educational, health care and planning, this year Pelc was extended the honor of becoming an Associate at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple.

Back to top

Karen is a principal of Phillips Davis Legacy, a consulting firm that specializes in community development, urban planning and the implementation of real estate projects in economically distressed communities. Corporation, a faith based nonprofit that had a significant role in the transformation of an area of Harlem in New York City.  Since 2002 she has served on the New York City Planning Commission, while undertaking consulting assignments in non profit management, real estate development and community development.  Karen received her Bachelor of Landscape Architecture Degree from University of Georgia, and a Master’s Degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design where she concentrated in real estate development, and urban community planning.

Back to top

Walter Pierce is managing editor of The Independent, a weekly newspaper in Lafayette that focuses on politics, news and culture. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at UL Lafayette — and soberly assessing the job market for PhDs in the humanities — Walter left academia and took a job covering north Lafayette Parish for The Daily Advertiser. He spent seven years at The Advertiser as a feature writer, reporter and editor.

He left the daily in 2002 and spent six-plus years as a news producer at the Lafayette ABC affiliate, KATC, ending his tenure in early 2009 as executive producer when he accepted the managing editor position at The Independent. During his media career Walter has accumulated several awards from the Associated Press and the Louisiana Press Association.

His hobbies are unicycling and idling on his back porch with a guitar or banjo. He lives with his wife and two teenage children.

Back to top

Dr. John L. Renne, AICP is an Early Research Professor of Planning and Urban Studies at the University of New Orleans (UNO) and the Director of Transportation Studies.  He also serves as the Associate Director of the UNO Transportation Institute, which is home to a federally funded University Transportation Center, the LSU-UNO Gulf Coast Research Center for Evacuation and Transportation Resiliency. Since moving to New Orleans in August 2005, Dr. Renne has shown leadership in the city’s recovery.  He serves on a number of local and national boards within the transportation field.  Dr. Renne has also convened several national conferences and workshops on issues related to transit-oriented development and livability, sustainable transportation, and evacuation planning. In December 2009, Dr. Renne was invited by Secretary LaHood of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to speak about transit oriented development on a Safety, Livability and Sustainability Panel as part of the USDOT’s National Reauthorization Outreach Tour.  He also served on Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu’s Transition Team and was invited in April 2010 to address sustainable transportation at the Clinton Global Initiative-University in Miami, Florida. Dr. Renne is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).  His research focuses on transportation and land use planning, including livable communities, sustainable transportation, and evacuation planning.  Dr. Renne has written extensively and has lectured around the globe on these issues.  Dr. Renne is an author and editor of Transit-Oriented Development: Making It Happen (Ashgate, 2009), which has been endorsed by former US Presidential Candidate and Governor Michael Dukakis. Dr. Renne has led two projects on transit-oriented development for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and a major project on carless evacuation for the Federal Transit Administration.

Back to top

Kara is the Director of Economic Development at the Regional Planning Commission – the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Greater New Orleans area. The RPC focuses on transportation and economic development issues confronting the region. In her role at the RPC Kara works on a variety of smart growth initiatives and economic development strategies. Kara is an active member of the New Orleans Metro American Planning Association. Kara holds Masters from the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy at Murdoch University. Her interdisciplinary studies focused on a mixture of governance policies, processes, and tools utilized in creating holistic, vibrant communities. Kara’s thesis focused on corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investing. During her tenure in Western Australia, Kara worked with Murdoch University and the State Government of Western Australia on community engagements. Ms. Renne possesses both a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

Back to top

Jim is a registered Architect with extensive construction contract administration and facilities management expertise in a wide variety of projects including the Louisiana Superdome. In addition to his years of design experience, Captain Rogers was the national administrator of maintenance, construction, and environmental programs for all Naval Reserve Force facilities and air stations while serving active duty. He is a practical designer with a deep understanding of materials and methods.

Back to top

Chris Ronayne was named President of University Circle Inc (UCI) in 2005. UCI is the non-profit community service corporation responsible for the development, service, and advocacy of University Circle as a world-class center of innovation in health care, education, and arts & culture and premier urban district. Since becoming UCI’s seventh president, Ronayne developed a dynamic and aggressive agenda to leverage the institutional assets of the Circle’s anchor “Eds, Meds, and Arts” organizations and transform it into a vibrant mixed-use district.

Ronayne and his staff partner with more than 40 member institutions to oversee the growth and direction of Ohio’s fastest growing employment district, with UCI providing community planning, development, education, marketing, police, and other shared services. Before joining UCI, Ronayne served the City of Cleveland as the City’s Planning Director, Chief Development Officer, and Chief of Staff. He was the chief architect of the City’s Waterfront District Plan, an ambitious effort to reconnect the people of Cleveland to Lake Erie.In addition to his role with UCI, Ronayne is Chairman of the Holden Parks Trust, a member of CEOs for Cities, the American Planning Association, and numerous local boards and foundations. Ronayne is a frequent speaker and lecturer at urban development seminars and forums across the United States and internationally. Ronayne holds a Masters degree in Urban Planning, Design, and Development from Cleveland State University and a Bachelors degree in Business from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

He is married to Natalie Ronayne, executive director for the Cleveland Botanical Garden. They live in the City of Cleveland with their two children.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Matthew Rufo, MCP, is an active transportation planner and serves as Program Manager for the Prevention Research Center (PRC) at Tulane University. He coordinates the KidsWalk Coalition, a partnership of public health, transportation and community organizations committed to reducing childhood obesity by promoting safe, walkable and bikeable streets in New Orleans. Through the PRC’s partnership with the City of New Orleans, Matt also provides direct support to the City Department of Public Works on pedestrian and bicycle planning and projects. He has previously worked as a research analyst at the Bureau of Governmental Research and helped launch the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’s Lot Next Door program. Matt sits on the board of Friends of Lafitte Corridor and is a League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructor. He holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from Brown University and a Master of City Planning degree and Certificate in Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

Back to top

Corey Saft is an Associate professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he is the undergraduate coordinator as well as teaches in the graduate program in the School of Architecture and Design.  He is a licenced architect and LEED AP. He maintains a research and design practice which recently finished a high performance residence and received a number of awards and recognition including being the first PassiveHouse in the American South and being one of ‘USAToday’s Top Green Homes of 2010.” He is currently acting as a consultant to bring the lessons learned from this single family residence to a large multi-family mixed-use project in downtown Lafayette.

Back to top

Samuel Sanders is the Executive Director of Mid City Redevelopment Alliance, a non-profit community-revitalization organization with a mission to serve as a catalyst, facilitator, and coordinator to encourage the growth and renewal of the Mid City region of Baton Rouge by attracting new and retaining current residents and businesses. Mid City is the central urban core of Baton Rouge, consisting of over 1,000 city blocks of diverse commercial and residential areas. The Alliance works to renew the Mid City region through a variety of programs, including teaching low-income families how to become homeowners, linking volunteers with individuals in need of home repairs and constructing new homes for purchase by low- and moderate-income families, in addition to being the ambassador for region. Sanders has lead the organization since 2006.

Back to top

Keith Scarmuzza is a landscape architect and planner with extensive international site planning and urban design experience. As Design Director with a land planning firm in Southeast Asia, he led many site planning projects including housing community and resort developments, retail and office parks, universities and public parks. Since returning to the U.S., Mr. Scarmuzza has led large municipal planning and design efforts including waterfront recreation plans, downtown revitalization studies, memorial site selection studies, and subdivision masterplans.

He currently directs the Planning and Landscape Architecture Studio at Mathes Brierre Architects, engaging in regional urban design and development projects. Mathes Brierre Architects was recognized in 2011 with an American Society of Landscape Architects President’s Award of Excellence in Sustainable Design for the site engineering and design of The Muses Apartments, which implemented numerous storm water design innovations for the first time in the New Orleans area.

Back to top

Ashley Shelton comes to lead One Voice in Louisiana following her role as the Vice President of Programs at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF). 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.In her role at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Ms. Shelton managed a system of integrated, value-added programs with the goal of creating a better Louisiana for all of its citizens in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In her role at LDRF, she designed, initiated and coordinated a comprehensive policy strategy, which led to a systemic, multi-pronged approach to equitable policy development on a local, state and national level. Utilized a participatory model that engaged local, state, and national partnerships to develop and nurture civic engagement throughout the state. Ms. Shelton provided leadership, and key philanthropic knowledge of Louisiana based nonprofits to put more than 8,000 families back into homes and restore more than 4,000 small businesses after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Prior to this, Ms. Shelton served as Director of Grantmaking for the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Ms. Shelton has received many honors, including selection as a 2005-2006 Fellow in the Emerging Leaders Program at Duke University and the University of Cape Town, and was appointed in 2003 to the Foundation for the Mid South’s Commission to Build Philanthropy. Ms. Shelton attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications.
Ms. Shelton is civically involved in many organizations including the La Capitale Chapter of the Links, Inc., board member of the Equity and Inclusion Campaign and board member of the Knock-Knock Children’s Museum.

Back to top

Robert is a resident of Baton Rouge since 1993, and a native of New Orleans. He started at JPMorgan Chase Bank (Premier Bank) in 1993 as a Vice President of Commercial Banking with a focus on healthcare and senior living and assumed the role of President of the Baton Rouge Market for JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. in December 2010. He graduated from LSU with BS Economics in 1980 and MS Economics in 1982.

Robert has served on United Way Campaign (Healthcare Division), Foundation for Historical Louisiana, Mary Bird Perkins Fundraising Campaign, Womans’ Hospital Foundation Fundraising Campaign, Baton Rouge Area Chamber Board of Directors, Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge Foundation.

Robert is married to Whitney Vann Schneckenburger and they have two children, Reid and Sydney Schneckenburger. They are members of First United Methodist Church.

Back to top

Elizabeth Schilling is the Policy Manager for Smart Growth America, a non-profit organization that advocates for people who want to live in great neighborhoods. Ms. Schilling’s approach to creating more livable communities has been shaped by work for the private sector, non-profit sector, and for the public sector at all levels of government.  She recently completed an introductory smart growth course for the National Association of Realtors entitled, Smart Growth for the 21st Century, and she was a member of the 15-person Core Committee responsible for developing the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Neighborhood Design rating system. Ms Schilling holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelor of Science in Social Anthropology from Harvard College. She considers herself extremely lucky to live within walking distance of the library, three parks, an ice cream shop, a wine shop, and a hardware store in Alexandria, Virginia.

Back to top

Harold Schoeffler is the retired owner/manager of Schoeffler Cadillac and chairman of the Acadian Group of the Sierra Club, on the board for Teach for America and TreesAcadiana.  He is a veteran and was Commander of American Legion Post #69. He is the Founder/ Director of Wind Entergy Systems Technology (W.E.S.T), which installed the first Offshore Wind Farms in the Coastal Waters of the U.S. He is also the Founder/Director of South Wind Energy Group. Harold is married to Sarah Schoeffler, father of six children, and 8 grandchildren.

Back to top

Mitchell Silver is the Chief Planning & Economic Development Officer and Planning Director for Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Silver is an award‐winning planner with over 25 years of planning experience in the public and private sectors. He is nationally recognized for his leadership in the planning profession and his contributions to contemporary planning issues.Mr. Silver is president of the American Planning Association (APA). Known by his colleagues as a creative thinker, problem‐solver and visionary leader, Mitchell has been at the center of many cutting edge trends, innovative solutions and visionary plans. As planning director in Raleigh, he is led the comprehensive plan update process to create a vibrant 21st century city. He is now overseeing a rewrite of the City’s Development Code.

Mr. Silver is a contributing editor and author of ICMA’s “Local Planning: Contemporary Principles and Practice,” which was released in February 2009. Mr. Silver’s work and commentary has been featured in Time.com, the New York Times, Planning Magazine, CNBC.com, the Triangle Business Journal, Crain’s Business Journal and National Public Radio (NPR).

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Dan Slone is a partner in the Richmond office of the international law firm McGuireWoods LLP. He represents property owners developing innovative new land use strategies for more sustainable developments and open spaces, and he counsels product manufacturers regarding the unique opportunities and impediments facing green products. Over the last decade Dan has represented numerous national and international nonprofits such as the USGBC, the Congress for the New Urbanism and the World Green Building Council. He serves on the boards of several nonprofits, including the Congress for the New Urbanism, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Bioregional North America (One Planet Communities). In 2008 Dan and co-author Doris Goldstein wrote A Legal Guide to Urban and Sustainable Development for Planners, Developers and Architects. In 2007 ULI published Developing Sustainable Planned Communities which includes Dan’s chapter on “Maintaining Sustainability.” In August 2009 the ABA released Green Building and Sustainable Development: The Practical Legal Guide which contains a chapter Dan wrote as well. Dan has written chapters on energy and legal arrangements in a book on eco-industrial development and a chapter in a new book entitled Sustainable and Resilient Communities.

Back to top

Victor Smeltz is the Executive Director of Renaissance Neighborhood Development, a partnership between Volunteers of America of Greater New Orleans and Volunteers of America National Services.

Prior to joining Volunteers of America, he served as Development Director of the Housing Authority of Portland, responsible for the development and acquisition of more than 750 mixed-income rental units financed by low-income housing tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, local tax-increment financing and other state and federal sources.

Mr. Smeltz held various positions at the Housing Finance Agency in Oregon, and served as Manager of Housing Finance, establishing the FHA Risk Sharing Program and financed over 625 mixed-income units with a total loan volume of over $28 million.

Prior to becoming involved in affordable housing, Mr. Smeltz worked in the design and construction of real estate projects in Oregon and California.

Mr. Smeltz is an honor graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Architecture. He is a registered architect in Oregon and with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

Back to top

Alicia Smith is a Senior Project Manager with ERM.  Ms. Smith has over 12 years of expertise in the energy sector, with a focus on planning, licensing, permitting, and due diligence.  Ms. Smith has degrees in Geography/Biology (BA) and Environmental Science (MS).  She has worked on licensing projects for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals (FERC), pipelines (FERC), and gas storage facilities (FERC), as well as siting studies for electrical transmission lines (PUC), hydroelectric projects, transportation projects (DOT), and naval facilities (DOD).  She also has significant experience in due diligence work, including work associated with acquisitions, divestitures, compliance audits, and site assessments for a wide variety of clients, including power plants, pipelines, manufacturing facilities, and chemical plants throughout the United States and Mexico.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Z Smith practices architecture in the New Orleans area as a senior architect at Eskew+Dumez+ Ripple.   His background brings education and experience in physics, engineering, renewable energy, information technology, and architecture to the problem of sustainable architecture and community development.  He received his bachelor’s degree in Physics from MIT, his doctorate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Princeton University, and a Masters in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley.  He has taught at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of British Columbia, and will teach a course this fall in sustainable design at Tulane University.   He is author of over 50 scientific papers and named inventor on 10 U.S. patents. His built work spans from residential, commercial, to institutional buildings in the U.S. and Canada, including serving as project architect of the Center for Interactive Research on Sustainability in Vancouver.  He serves on the Board of the Louisiana Chapter of the US Green Building Council.

Back to top

John Spain, who has run broadcast stations and diversified companies, oversees Foundation projects, such as health care reform and land use planning.

John Spain is the Executive Vice President of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit community foundation that provides charitable gifts to organizations and is involved in civic projects in the areas of health care, urban renewal projects, education, and the arts. In his role as Executive Vice President he oversees all of the foundation’s community projects.

Prior to moving to the Foundation, John was the Managing Director of The Powell Group, a private holding company with thirteen diverse subsidiary companies. These included seven radio stations located in three different states, commercial timber, rice milling, real-estate development including home construction, subdivision development, and condominium construction along the Gulf coast. Other companies included a statewide network of travel agencies, commercial rice farming and the design and construction of biomass electrical power generating systems in the United States, South America and Asia.

John started his professional career in the field of broadcasting and worked at WBRZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge for 23 years. He served in various capacities including investigative reporter, News Director and Station Manager. Under his leadership the station’s news operations received every major broadcast journalism award including two George F. Peabody awards, considered the Pulitzer prize of broadcasting.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Prior to co-founding GCE in 2007, Reuben worked as a law clerk in the chambers of the Hon. Edith Clement of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He clerked for the Hon. Sarah Vance of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana during the 2005-06 term. He has also worked as a Policy Analyst for Public Citizen and as a business strategy consultant for the Kalchas Group/CSC. Reuben has been named an Echoing Green fellow for 2008-10, one of Gambit Magazine’s “40 under 40” for 2009, one of Fast Company’s “10 Coolest Innovators Rebuilding New Orleans,” and one of “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs” by Business Week. Reuben holds a JD from New York University School of Law and an AB in Economics from Princeton University. He lives in New Orleans, LA, with his wife Johanna and son Leo.

Back to top

Over the last 30 years, Janet has specialized in project management, comprehensive and special district planning, development and zoning codes, and public outreach and values research. She is especially talented in developing plans with strong implementation mechanisms. Janet most recently managed plans in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Waco, Texas; and West Feliciana and Pointe Coupee Parishes, Louisiana. She is currently involved in preparing the East Baton Rouge Comprehensive Plan and implementing a complete streets program for Dallas, Texas. Janet also conducted extensive interviews and focus groups throughout Louisiana as a part of the Louisiana Land Use Toolkit project, and worked on the Best Practice Manual for Coastal Development in Louisiana. In addition to working as a consultant on projects across the country, Janet has managed planning departments for the City of Dallas and the City of Arlington, Texas.

Back to top

Well versed in local community planning activities, Thomas has led neighborhood redevelopment efforts in Baton Rouge since obtaining her Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU. As the former head of Plan Baton Rouge and the Mid-City Redevelopment Alliance, Thomas has been an advocate for smart growth in Louisiana throughout her career. While Thomas’ work at Plan Baton Rouge focused in the revitalization of the downtown area, in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she led CPEX in facilitating the Louisiana Speaks recovery process, which was the largest planning effort ever undertaken in Louisiana and set national records for public participation. The process resulted in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan, a comprehensive plan created through the participation of over 27,000 South Louisiana residents. Thomas has continued to build on that plan, overseeing CPEX’s planning efforts in parishes across the state. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to Louisiana, Thomas has been honored by the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, the YMCA, the Baton Rouge Business Report, LSU and the Louisiana Architecture Foundation. In September 2009, Thomas and CPEX were awarded the Olmsted Medal by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) for “incredible leadership and set the standard for bringing community members and leaders together to work toward a shared vision for future growth and development.” One year later, Thomas became the second woman in Louisiana named to the ASLA National Council of Fellows, one of the highest honors the organization can bestow on an individual.

Back to top

Keith Tillage is the co-owner of Tillage Construction LLC based in Baton Rouge Louisiana.  Since its inception in 2000 the firm has experienced constant and steady growth becoming one of  south Louisiana’s leading minority full service commercial construction companies. Tillage Construction LLC has been featured in the wall street journal, the Baton Rouge business report and the world wide publication of Kaufman foundation’s thought book.  The company has received the HUBZONE business of the year award, The United States Small business Award for excellence as well as being recognized this year as one of the fastest growing private companies in America by Inc. 500/5000.

Keith grew up in the north Baton Rouge community of Scotlandville where he attended Southern University Laboratory High School.  In the fall of 1987 Keith enrolled at Southern University on a full athletic scholarship where he went on to become a four year lettermen on the football team and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science in 1992 Keith begin his corporate career in Dallas TX. Keith first worked for Texas Instruments as a computer analyst then with Price Waterhouse as a business consultant. The success of Keith’s corporate experience continued to fuel his desire to become an entrepreneur until he returned home to cofound Tillage Construction 8 years later.

Ms. Trappey offers a strong background in all fields of Civil Engineering. Ms. Trappey worked for eight (8) years at LaDOTD Headquarters. During her time at LaDOTD and at Forte and Tablada, she has gained invaluable knowledge of project design and construction management. She is familiar with the governmental processes with both State and Federal funding along with working with municipalities of all sizes. Ms. Trappey offers the following skills in Civil/Environmental Engineering Design: Water Treatment and Water Distribution design including ground and elevated storage and fire water capacity; Wastewater Collection and Wastewater Treatment design including SBR Treatment Plants and Extended Aeration Plant design;  Roadway Design including rural and urban roadways to State and Federal Guidelines; Pavement Evaluation and Design to meet State and Federal Guidelines; Drainage Design including both open and sub-surface drainage systems; Global Information System (GIS) capabilities;  Civil Site Work design including all utilities, drainage, site layout, and planning.
-Infrastructure design for Correctional Facilities including Parish, State, and Federal design standards;  and Subdivision Design including small re-subdivisions to multi-acre developments including all associated civil sitework to service the development.

Back to top

Aaron James Tuley, AICP is Managing Partner of Meta-Pattern, LLC: Planning for Sustainability, an environmental planning consultancy with offices in Houston.  He has 20 years experience in landscape architecture, urban and regional design and planning, specializing in sustainability. At Meta-Pattern, sustainability represents both a suite of professional planning services and a performance sieve through which all planning programs and projects are evaluated. Tuley and those with whom he works, are routinely engaged in implementing a wide range of sustainability-related strategies, tools and techniques, including greenhouse gas emissions inventories and reduction programs; climate change and peak oil vulnerability / impact assessments; public participation, outreach, education and advocacy; green infrastructure planning, sustainability planning, benchmarking and reporting.

Aaron Tuley serves as District Manager for the Climate Reality Project / Alliance for Climate Protection and administers the work of approximately 80 presenters in the states of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Houston Citizens Environmental Coalition, and is an active member of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. Tuley is routinely invited to make presentations on climate change, sustainability / sustainable development, green building and cultural landscape interpretation.

Back to top

Bio coming soon.

Back to top

Hike For Katreena was started in 2006 by Monique Pilie.  A lifelong New Orleans resident, wanting to raise awareness of the loss of over 100,000 trees to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Monique hiked the Appalachian trail and pledged to plant a tree, upon her return, for every mile she hiked. Monique completed the trail, hiking 2,175 miles, returned to New Orleans and exceeded her goal by planting over 10,000 trees in 4 years.

Connie Uddo, the new executive director, took over Hike For Katreena in January 2011 as Monique ventured out to hike the trail once again. Connie has been on the front lines of Katrina recovery since 2006. As the Director of St Pauls Homecoming Center, a Katrina Recovery Center serving the flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans, Connie has coordinated 60,000 volunteers and assisted over 40,000 residents in their recovery. The center is still assisting people with the rebuilding of their homes and lives, while carrying out Monique’s vision to reforest New Orleans.

Back to top

Mr. Von Otnott serves as President of Clean Terra, Inc., a Clean Technology Development Company focusing on bio-energy, solar, and sustainable housing with offices in Little Rock, AR and New Orleans, LA. Troy recently served as President and Founder of South Coast Solar, the largest and most successful solar energy company in the Southeast. He launched the company with two business associates and a small amount of capital but within two years, strategically grew the company into a 35-person firm that has received extensive recognition as the best solar integration company in its class. He positioned the company to become a qualified government contractor and subsequently the company has received contracts with the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and Federal Prison Industries.  In 2008, Mr. Von Otnott served as the Executive Director of the New Orleans based First Bank and Trust Community Development Corporation. He currently serves as a Board Member of Louisiana CleanTech and the LSU Ag Center’s Advisory Committee.

Back to top

Dr. Caleb Wall advises companies on ways to enhance their social and environmental performance through improved management and public engagement. In his work Caleb has shown that the private sector – working in partnership with governments, NGOs, and local communities, can make a solid contribution to community development – whilst making an equally solid contribution to long term profitability.

Caleb’s background includes work with the UN in Uzbekistan, as a policy advisor to the UN Environment Program, as well as with the New Zealand government in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Caleb Wall holds a PhD in Development Sociology, a Master of Arts in International Development and a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Feminist Studies.

Caleb’s key skills include: sustainability strategy development; ensuring compliance with international best practices and norms; environmental, social and health impact assessment (ESHIA); training and capacity building; workshop and process facilitation; as well as complex project management and team coordination.

Back to top

Alan Williams is a member of Civic Center a New Orleans-based design and public art studio. He also serves as the Community Manager for Neighborland.org, a social media platform supporting civic engagement and entrepreneurship incubated at Civic Center. After Katrina, Alan became involved in the recovery process, working with neighborhood organizations and redevelopment efforts. Beginning in 2008, he has since worked as an urban planner, consulting for a variety of public and private sector clients.

Back to top