Logan A. Burke

Executive Director, Alliance for Affordable Energy

Logan Atkinson Burke is the Executive Director of the Alliance for Affordable Energy. Since joining The Alliance in 2013, Ms. Burke has participated in dozens of regulatory proceedings at the Louisiana Public Service Commission, the New Orleans City Council, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. She has also led several collaborative efforts with advocacy organizations advocating for climate justice, affordable housing, public health, and good governance, ultimately contributing to reports on health impacts of energy, the creation of a sustainable housing policy for New Orleans, and a more holistic consideration of resource planning, including the impacts of climate change. She also participated in the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force on the Power Sector Working Group. Logan is a board member for the Clean Energy Group and is a member of the governance assembly for the Equitable Building Electrification Fund.

Melody Chang

Community Planner, Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX)

Melody Chang is a Community Planner with extensive experience in local government, social sector consulting, and direct service. Before joining CPEX, she worked on criminal justice reform in Orleans Parish, focusing on reducing pretrial detention and eliminating the use of money bail. Melody believes that criminal justice reform and effective city planning are deeply interconnected in building a racially and spatially just future—one where all residents, especially those who depend on public resources and services, are fully supported.

Melody is dedicated to improving public spaces, communications, and services that foster a sense of belonging and mutual investment between governments and communities. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, and the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in City & Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, where she specialized in urban humanities. Passionate about creating playful, participatory experiences, Melody seeks to deepen our sense of place and collective responsibility.

Renee Collini

Director, Community Resilience Center, The Water Institute

Renee Collini, Ph.D., Community Resilience Center at The Water Institute, brings years of experience in providing tools and support to federal, state, and local entities pursuing adaptation and resilience strategies.

As director of the Community Resilience Center, Renee draws from on-the-ground experience working in underserved communities and navigating federal, state, and local governmental processes and systems to help support effective, community-led resilience planning and action in communities across the Gulf Coast.

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

Executive Director, The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans

As the Executive Director of The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans (TWC), Jessica Dandridge-Smith has dedicated her life to community advocacy, movement-building, campaign development, and systems change across multiple sectors. Since starting her career as a youth organizer in 2005, she has worked for or collaborated with over two dozen organizations in the Greater New Orleans area and nationally across a range of issue areas and regions. Ms. Dandridge-Smith received her B.A at Xavier University of Louisiana in Political Science and her M.A in International Affairs with a concentration in conflict and security at The New School for Public Engagement in New York City. Ms. Dandridge is a trained facilitator from YPQI, has a certificate in Leadership, Activism, and Civil Rights from Brown University, and a certificate in Kingian Nonviolence Strategies from the Selma Center of Nonviolence. In her current work, Jessica serves on several water, climate, and system-change committees, coalitions, and caucuses at the local, state, and federal levels. Accolades include being named a Gambit 40 Under 40 for New Orleans, an Obama USA Leader, and a Grist Fixer Recipient. She is also a published writer for Designing Knowledge Economies for Disaster Resilience and was featured on the cover of Global Views Magazine in 2026.

Micaela Coner

Assistant Executive Director of Policy, Planning, and Regional Support Operations, Louisiana Office of Community Development

As Assistant Executive Director of Policy, Planning and Regional Support Operations at the Louisiana Office of Community Development, Micaela Coner oversees the development and implementation of policies and strategic planning efforts, aligning with state and federal regulations. Micaela works closely with federal, state, and local partners to ensure coordinated recovery efforts across Louisiana’s disaster-affected communities. Her experience includes management of multiple disaster recovery and mitigation programs, including but not limited to the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, the Resilient Communities Infrastructure Program, and the Restore Small Business Loan Program. Coner joined LOCD-DR in 2024.

Created in 2005 in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, LOCD has subsequently managed the state’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery allocations received from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development via Congressional Appropriations in response to hurricanes Gustav, Ike, Isaac, Laura, Delta, Ida, Francine, the Great Floods of 2016 and the Severe Storms of May 2021.

Emile "Sid" Edwards

Mayor-President, City of Baton Rouge | Parish of East Baton Rouge

Mayor-President Sid Edwards is a Baton Rouge native and proud Redemptorist High School graduate. Before entering public office, he spent 35 years coaching at schools across Louisiana, including Catholic High, Jesuit, and Istrouma. His legacy in Louisiana high school athletics includes multiple state championships in football and basketball, earning him a place in the esteemed “200 Wins Club” and recognition as both Louisiana Coach of the Year and NFL Coach of the Year.

As Mayor-President, he brings that same drive and dedication to public service focusing on reducing crime, revitalizing neighborhoods, and addressing homelessness. He is committed to ensuring underserved communities receive the resources they need to thrive.

His greatest source of strength is his family his wife, First Lady Maureen "Beanie" Edwards; their four children, Cody, Chase, Jack Ryan, and Delaney; and three grandchildren. Their support fuels his mission to uplift Baton Rouge and build a brighter, more inclusive future for all.

Bryanna C. Frazier

Renewable Energy Fellow, Center on Environment, Land and Law (Loyola University New Orleans)

Bryanna C. Frazier is a Louisiana and Texas-licensed attorney with more than ten years of experience in business law, commercial transactions, real estate, and tax. Her practice has included advising renewable energy developers on project development, real estate and site control, project acquisitions, financing, and federal clean energy incentives, including those under the Inflation Reduction Act. She currently focuses on Louisiana renewable energy policy and regulation. She holds a J.D. from Tulane University Law School and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Alabama School of Law.

Katie Freer

Assistant Administrator, Strategic Planning, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority

Katie Freer leads the Strategic Planning Branch of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. Katie spent the first decade+ of her career as an emergency management consultant, including leading major components of two large-scale local-state-federal catastrophic hurricane planning efforts and developing planning guidance for state and local jurisdictions. In 2016 Katie refocused her planning and management skills on addressing coastal land loss in Louisiana. She started as a CPRA project manager, integrating the efforts of engineers and scientists to design and construct large-scale ecosystem restoration projects. Katie now leads the team developing Louisiana’s 2029 Coastal Master Plan.

Marci Goodwin

Co-Founder, SmartStart Business Development

Marci Goodwin is a lifelong entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience starting and growing businesses. She is the co-founder of SmartStart Business Development, where she helps communities build stronger support systems for microbusinesses.

After years of working with entrepreneurs, Marci recognized a gap: most entrepreneurship programs weren’t designed for the small, local, home-based, and solo businesses that make up much of the entrepreneurial landscape. That insight led SmartStart to focus on microbusinesses and develop practical tools and community-based strategies that meet entrepreneurs where they are.

Today, Marci works with economic development organizations, chambers, local governments, and other community partners across the country to better understand microbusiness entrepreneurs, connect them with the right resources, and build ecosystems where they can thrive.

Johnnie James

Founder & CEO, Pursuit of Happiness Farms LLC (PoH Farms)

Johnnie James II is a disciple, husband, 2x girl father, entrepreneur, poet, visionary and sustainability advocate raised in New Orleans and now based in Baton Rouge. He is the Founder/CEO of Pursuit of Happiness Farms LLC (PoH Farms), which holds the exclusive global rights to REEFBUDS®, a patented artificial reef system built with a proprietary nature-based biomimetic concrete, with a 20+ year deployment history and over 11,000 units in the water across the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

By providence, Katrina displaced him to Albuquerque, where God placed angel women into his life, one of whom invited him to join the board of the Sustainable Global Leadership Alliance. Immersed in a community of women deeply rooted in sustainability and healing work, he was brought to the Pachamama Alliance's Awakening the Dreamer, Changing the Dream Symposium October 2005 in Santa Fe. It was there his dream changed.

During the symposium, he was given an unexpected vision of New Orleans reborn and completely healed. Grateful, he trained as a facilitator, becoming the youngest in the world, and the first to bring the symposium to the Deep South in 2008 in New Orleans.

In May 2011, he participated in a special mission trip traveling with Pachamama Alliance senior leaders to Ecuador to visit with and learn from the Achuar people whose voice sits at the heart of their mission. REEFBUDS® on the Gulf Coast is a realization of that vision.

PoH Farms operates from a simple thesis: when ecosystems collapse, economies follow. Regenerate ecology, revitalize economies. Here in the Gulf, Louisiana faces three converging crises:

• Every day the Gulf of America swallows over 14 football fields of our coastline

• The dead zone has devastated our ecology and economy for decades

• The nearshore zone, where storms make landfall and communities are most vulnerable, remains a data desert

REEFBUDS® seeks to address all three through living shorelines, carbon sequestration, and real-time data collection. In April 2026, the Wicker Center in Gulfport proved REEFBUDS® can be used for nearshore real-time data collection of the coast of Mississippi. PoH Farms is now pursuing non-dilutive funding for further R&D, including producing REEFBUDS® from local waste available in each community we serve.

Johnnie is the creator of Mardi Bar Wars, a community recycling initiative that diverted over 41,000 pounds of glass from New Orleans landfills during its Mardi Gras 2025 pilot. He is seeking new partnerships to expand Mardi Bar Wars to Baton Rouge and beyond.

He serves as Operations Coordinator at Operation Spark, a nonprofit software training program with a 90%+ job placement rate. His work has been recognized with NOLAvate Black's Tech 30 "Black Excellence Award," and he was recently named an inaugural 64 Parish Passport honoree by the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He is a TEDx Baton Rouge speaker, a Pitch BR winner, and PoH Farms is a Gulf Blue Navigator Cohort IV member.

Regenerate ecology, revitalize economies. PoH Farms, wherever there's water. Learn more at OperationSpark.org and REEFBUDS.com.

Beaux Jones

President & CEO, The Water Institute

Beaux Jones, a Louisiana native with a deep sense of place, has built his career around the people, landscapes, and challenges that define his home. 

Beaux serves as President and CEO of The Water Institute, an independent non-profit applied research organization working to help communities make better decisions about some of the most complex water and environmental challenges facing people, ecosystems, and economies.

In this role, he brings together law, policy, and science to lead a transdisciplinary team working on issues ranging from coastal land loss and flood risk to water management and climate resilience. Under his leadership, The Water Institute has helped advance major efforts including Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan and the Louisiana Watershed Initiative, and in 2023 launched the Community Resilience Center to more directly connect the science to communities across the Gulf Coast.

Before joining The Water Institute, Beaux made an impact practicing law. He served as environmental section chief for the Louisiana Department of Justice, representing the state and its agencies on environmental, coastal, criminal, and appellate matters. He was a part of the Louisiana Attorney General’s environmental team that helped navigate the Deepwater Horizon disaster and later practiced environmental and coastal law with Baldwin Haspel Burke & Mayer in New Orleans. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and his law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU.

Beaux extends his commitment to community and environmental causes beyond his work at the Institute. He previously served as Executive Director of Bike Baton Rouge and was a founding member of Bike Walk Louisiana. He is also an adjunct lecturer at Tulane University’s School of Architecture and Built Environment.

Today, Beaux champions a different way of telling Louisiana’s story—not as a place confronting extraordinary water and climate challenges, but as a place that generates extraordinary knowledge, innovation, and opportunity from this lived experience. As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, an event that continues to have ripple effects on the nation, Beaux is helping to elevate conversations about what the next 100 years could look like if we collectively shape that trajectory with intention, collaboration, and insight.

For PechaKucha’s “Twenty Years, One Louisiana,” Beaux will explore what a century of living and with water can teach us about the choices we make next, and why this moment is an opportunity to imagine a future together in which Louisiana can do more than endure change— we lead the way through it.

Anthony Bernard Kenny, Jr.

Councilman, East Baton Rouge Parish - District 2

Anthony Bernard Kenney Jr. was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Joyce Kenney and Anthony Kenney Sr. He currently serves as the Councilman for District 2 of East Baton Rouge Parish, representing communities across North Baton Rouge. Elected as a first-time candidate at just 27 years old, he is the youngest member currently serving on the Metro Council. In 2025, he was recognized by the Baton Rouge Business Report Forty Under 40 as a rising leader in the Baton Rouge community amongst the best and brightest the capitol region has to offer.

A proud product of North Baton Rouge, Councilman Kenney is a graduate of Scotlandville Magnet High School and an HBCU alumnus of Southern University and A&M College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications (Public Relations). He later earned a Master’s degree in Strategic Communications and Public Affairs from the Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communication. While at Southern, he served as Student Government Association President (2018–2019), was a member of the Human Jukebox Marching Band, and is a Spring 2019 initiate of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc..

Prior to elected office, Kenney served as a Legislative Aide to Louisiana State Representatives Vanessa LaFleur and Ted James. He remains actively engaged in the community through leadership with 100 Black Men of Metro Baton Rouge, Forum 225, Bike N Vote, and the North Baton Rouge Economic Development District, where he serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

As Councilman, Kenney has focused on infrastructure equity, economic revitalization, workforce development, and youth opportunity. His leadership thus far has helped advance multi-million-dollar roadway rehabilitation projects, including significant improvements in the Banks community, economic development projects, the restoration of neighborhood streets, and the installation of LED lighting to enhance safety and quality of life. He has also supported transformative redevelopment efforts, small-business growth initiatives, façade improvements, and expanded access to community and workforce resources.

 Councilman Kenney is an Amazon Best-Selling co-author of The HBCU Experience: The Southern University System (2nd Edition). He is also an entrepreneur and the founder of the motivational speaking brand “Come to Life” and A.K. Consulting Firm, LLC. 

Driven by service and purpose, Anthony Bernard Kenney Jr. believes his calling is to serve as a bridge and a torch for his generation—connecting communities, empowering future leaders, and building momentum for the future.

Camille Manning-Broome

President & CEO, Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX)

Camille Manning-Broome is an internationally recognized leader in resilience, community planning, and systems-level policy innovation. As President & CEO of the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), she has spent more than two decades helping communities, governments, and institutions navigate change and make strategic investments that create long-term economic, environmental, and community value. 

Camille is known for her ability to connect vision with execution—bringing together public, private, and community stakeholders to solve complex challenges and build consensus around transformative ideas. Her leadership has shaped statewide policy initiatives, guided community-driven planning efforts across Louisiana, and contributed to national conversations about climate adaptation, housing, infrastructure, land use, and resilience. This work has produced comprehensive plans, model land-use tools, and implementation strategies for more than 85 communities across Louisiana.

Camille has a B.A. in Art History and a M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the College of the Coast & Environment at Louisiana State University and serves as board chair of Smart Growth America. Her past work includes being among the first land-use planners on the ground after Hurricane Katrina, developing the Louisiana Speaks recovery plans, serving as Deputy Director of Operations for FEMA’s Long-Term Community Recovery, and co-authoring Louisiana’s first Coastal Master Plan at the Fortune 500 company, Shaw Group (now CB&I).

Carol Markowitz

Chief Executive Officer, Strongward

Carol Markowitz was hired in February 2025 as Strongward's first external Chief Executive Officer. Drawing on deep experience in strategy and corporate finance at Fortune 500 and earlier-stage companies, she has emerged as a widely recognized transformational leader in the nonprofit sector.

Before joining Strongward, Ms. Markowitz served as turnaround COO and CFO for Loyola University New Orleans, where she strengthened the university's financial stability and oversaw approximately $200 million in capital improvements. She also led the university in implementing a new enterprise resource planning system.

Previously, Ms. Markowitz was the founding Executive Director of the New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute, a postsecondary culinary school built on New Orleans' rich culinary heritage, established to make world-class culinary training more widely accessible.

She holds a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Samuel Martin, MPA

CEO and Founder of SDM Consulting & The Co-Design Institute, SDM Consulting (SDMC)

Samuel’s journey through advocacy has led him to working with government administrations, corporations, and non-profit organizations to develop legislation and policies that positively impact the lives of his community. He has worked on legislative agenda setting and advocacy with organizations like Casey Family Programs, Foster Club, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and Foster Care Alumni of America. He is also an experienced lobbyist, trainer, and public speaker, having been featured as a speaker and facilitator. With a combined 20 years of community engagement experience, Samuel is committed to tapping into the power of experience to elevate the voices of those impacted by policy and empower them to use their voice to advocate and lead. He engages a wide variety of audiences with positive intent and impact. Samuel has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Washington – Seattle Campus and a Master’s in Public Administration at Seattle University.

Meredith McInturff, MPH

Public Health Emergencies & Environmental Health Manager, City of New Orleans Health & Human Services

Meredith McInturff is a passionate public health leader with a focus on emergency management and climate resilience. Since 2019, she has held multiple roles within the City of New Orleans Health and Human Services Department, currently managing the Public Health Emergencies and Environmental Health Unit. She collaborates with government and community partners to strengthen emergency response systems, develop and implement health regulations, and lead public outreach on emerging threats. Meredith serves on the Region 6 Center for Health Security and Response Readiness’ steering committee and the Bywater Institute’s Community Advisory Board. She previously served on the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine’s Alumni Association Board (2021-2025) and completed the Young Leadership Council’s Leadership Development Series (2023). She holds a Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health and International Development from Tulane University.

Grasshopper Mendoza, CFM

CEO, Adaptation Strategies

Grasshopper Mendoza is an adaptation strategist and real estate broker dedicated to building resilient, livable communities. As CEO of Adaptation Strategies and leader of Adaptation Realty, she helps Louisiana communities—particularly Opelousas and St. Landry Parish—prepare for the shifts in population, investment, and economic activity driven by changes in climate, demographics, and markets.

Her approach starts with a core belief: the strongest local economies aren't built by chasing what a community isn't, but by identifying and investing in what already makes it distinctive. That philosophy drives her work across economic development strategies, placemaking, and site selection.

As a real estate professional and Certified Floodplain Manager, Grasshopper grounds her economic development and resilience work in the practical realities of hazard mitigation and equitable development.

Ronald Newman

SVP, Distributed Power Solutions, Groundswell

Ronald Newman serves as SVP, Distributed Power Solutions at Groundswell. He leads Groundswell’s community solar programming and other distributed energy solutions. These projects deliver electricity bill savings to thousands of income-qualified households across the United States, and this work is advanced in partnership with a diverse collection of utilities, local governments and funders.

Ronald previously served as Senior Advisor at the Treasury Department, working on Inflation Reduction Act implementation. He has also served as National Political Director at the ACLU, Director of Human Rights and Refugee Protection on the White House National Security Council, and in the Legal Adviser’s Office at the State Department.

Ronald graduated from Morehouse College and holds a J.D. from Yale Law School. Before law school, he spent periods of his career in China, and in the investment banking sector at Goldman Sachs. He resides in Washington, D.C., and is originally from Memphis, TN.

Beth Osborne

President and CEO, Smart Growth America

Beth was appointed the President and CEO of Smart Growth America in October 2024 after leading the transportation team for nearly 10 years. Before being serving in this role, she served at the U.S. Department of Transportation as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy and then as Acting Assistant Secretary. Earlier in her career, Beth worked for Sen. Tom Carper (DE) as an advisor on transportation, trade, and labor policy, as legislative director for environmental policy at the Southern Governors’ Association, as legislative director for Rep. Brian Baird (WA-03), and legislative assistant for Rep. Ron Klink (PA).

Shirell Parfait-Dardar (Traiteur de la Terre), DNM

President, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, Inc.

Traiteur de la Terre (Healer of the Land) is the first female Chief of her southern Louisiana Tribe, leading her community on the frontlines of the climate crisis. A lifelong coastal Louisiana resident, grandmother, and owner of Dardar’s Bayou Plant Nursery, LLC, she blends entrepreneurship with natural wellness to educate others on reconnecting with nature.

As a dedicated cultural and environmental preservation leader, she co-founded the First People’s Conservation Council of Louisiana. Her extensive policy work includes serving as the inaugural Chairwoman of the Governor’s Native American Commission and acting as the sole Indigenous representative on the Louisiana Governor's Climate Initiatives Task Force.

Featured in the 2021 National Geographic docuseries IMPACT with Gal Gadot, she continuously advocates for community resilience, environmental justice, and the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into modern climate action to protect future generations.

Adam Patrick

Deputy Commissioner, LA Departement of Insurance

Adam Patrick is a Baton Rouge-based attorney, public servant, and policy leader serving as the Deputy Commissioner of Policy, Innovation, and Research at the Louisiana Department of Insurance, where he leads the Department’s policy research and data analysis efforts, focused on identifying challenges in Louisiana’s insurance market and developing research-backed solutions to improve affordability, market stability, and consumer protections. Prior to assuming this role, Adam served as the Department’s Legislative Liaison, working with lawmakers, regulators, and stakeholders on legislative and regulatory proposals.

Adam is also an adjunct professor and fellow at the Southern University Law Center, where he has taught and mentored students on bar preparation and attorney ethics since 2021. Recognized in 2026 as a recipient of the Louisiana State Bar Association Top Young Lawyers award, he remains active in Baton Rouge’s legal and civic community.

Steve Picou

CVO, Adaptation Strategies

Stephen C. Picou is a seventh-generation Louisiana native and a principal of Adaptation Strategies, a climate adaptation consultancy founded in New Orleans and now based in Opelousas. His work spans water policy, extreme heat, community resilience, and economic development, grounded in a fundamental premise that culture, landscapes, and infrastructure rise or fall together.

With his partner Grasshopper Mendoza, Steve co-founded the Louisiana Water Economy Network and co-authored Our Shared Destiny, a strategy for Louisiana's water economy. A lifelong musician and founding member of the rock band Bas Clas, now in its 50th year, Steve brings a cross-disciplinary lens to all his work.

In 2023, Steve returned to St. Landry Parish, where his current work focuses on preparing inland Gulf communities to address the complex challenges and economic opportunities associated with receiving in-state climate migrants, with an emphasis on infrastructure and on preserving local ecosystems and culture.

Dr. Allison Plyer, BA, MBA, ScD

Chief Demographer, The Data Center for Southeast Louisiana

Allison Plyer is Chief Demographer of The Data Center, an independent research institution based in New Orleans, and she served as Chair of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Scientific Advisory Committee from 2018 to 2021. Plyer is recognized as an international expert in demographics and disaster recovery trends. She co-authored The New Orleans Index series, developed in collaboration with the Brookings Institution to analyze the state of the New Orleans recovery post-Katrina. Dr. Plyer is author of Pathways to Prosperity: Louisiana, which examined population loss amid weak economic growth from 2015 to 2025 despite $90 billion in new capital investment. Allison received her Doctorate in Science from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She has an MBA in marketing and organizational behavior from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, a BA in religious studies and Spanish from Vanderbilt University, magna cum laude.

Alyssa Portaro

Executive Director, Habitat Recovery Project

Alyssa Portaro is a farmer, mother, and the Founder and Executive Director of Habitat Recovery Project, a Southwest Louisiana nonprofit working at the intersection of science, community, and culture. Her work brings together fishermen, scientists, artists, families, and frontline communities to restore habitats, document environmental change, and build locally led solutions. Through her emerging Ecology of Democracy framework, Alyssa explores how belonging, collective care, and meaningful participation can strengthen both ecosystems and civic life. She is a two-time recipient of the National Wildlife Federation’s EcoLeader Award and a two-time nominee for the FracTracker Alliance Community Sentinel Award.

The Honorable Davante Lewis

Commissioner (District 3), Louisiana Public Service Commission

Davante Lewis, born and raised in Lake Charles, LA, is a social justice activist who has dedicated his life to building people power throughout civic participation.

Davante’s history of civic engagement dates back to his youth. As a high school student, he served as one of the first members of the Louisiana Legislative Youth Advisory Council, including as Vice-Chair. He also served as President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign Louisiana High School Coordinator. Davante’s belief that the younger generation needed to have a seat at the table to build a better future led him to run for Calcasieu Parish School Board at 18-years-old. While Davante’s campaign fell short, that run for office ignited a lifelong passion for serving his community that continues to grow today. Davante was elected as one of the youngest members of the Louisiana Democratic Party State Central Committee and was a delegate to the Democratic Party National Convention in 2012, 2016, and 2020.

Davante graduated from McNeese State University with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Communications. While at McNeese, Davante served as a two-term Student Body President, chair of the Louisiana Council of Student Body Presidents and a member of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. After graduation, Davante continued to be a champion for young people as a public school teacher who led programs to enhance positive behavior systems and promote positive relationships between teachers and students.

Taking his advocacy beyond the classroom, Davante joined the Louisiana Budget Project as Director of Public Affairs and Outreach, where he focuses on higher education policy, consumer protection policies, monitoring legislative developments and working with advocacy groups and coalition partners to forge a common agenda and action plan for advancing policies that benefit Louisianans with low and moderate incomes. At LBP, Davante has become a leading voice in Louisiana for economic and racial justice, consumer protections, equity in education, and financial aid & student loans reforms for students. Davante’s policy advocacy has been recognized at the national level. Davante served as the Co-Chair of the Outreach and Campaigns Advisory committee for the State Priorities Partnership - a network of state advocacy organizations advancing policies that benefit people with low-income - and was elected the Chair of the SPP’s Steering Committee. He is a sought after speaker and consultant on policy advocacy and community engagement.

Davante has been a volunteer and youth tutor at the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition, a LYFE Line Teen Summit speaker and facilitator, and a Dialogue of Race facilitator. He is currently a board member of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, New Leaders Council of Louisiana, LIFT Louisiana and the Friends of the Capitol Park Museum.

Davante was elected in 2022 to serve as Public Service Commissioner for Louisiana's Third District, representing constituents from 10 Louisiana parishes, including the Baton Rouge and New Orleans greater metropolitan areas. He resides in Baton Rouge with his beloved dog Sera Harper.

Laura Settlemyer

Founding Principal, Levee Civic Solutions

Laura Settlemyer has spent over two decades working at the intersection of law, policy, community development, and public finance, with a particular focus on vacant and abandoned properties and the complicated systems that create them and determine what happens to them.

Today, Laura is the Founding Principal of Levee Civic Solutions, a New Orleans-based policy and legal consulting practice that works with cities, land banks, community land trusts, and other partners—including right here in Baton Rouge—to turn difficult properties and complex policies into practical solutions. She also serves as Chief Operations and Legal Officer at Reimagine Development Partners, a mission-driven real-estate development firm that invests in adaptive reuse projects that need doing but have fallen through the cracks of our financial markets.

Before starting Levee Civic Solutions and joining Reimagine Development Partners, Laura spent nearly five years as In-House Counsel and Chief Legal Officer for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, running the legal department for a state agency with a $10 million budget and negotiating major property deals across the city. Before returning to New Orleans, she founded and led the Hartford Land Bank, Connecticut’s first, and served as Hartford’s first Director of Blight Remediation, where she worked closely with residents and became known around town as “the Blight Lady.” In those roles, Laura worked with her team and Hartford residents to rethink the city’s approach to vacant and abandoned properties, ultimately cutting their number in half. She also worked with lawmakers and partners across the state to write and pass Connecticut’s landmark land-banking and vacant-property receivership laws. Earlier, she advised land banks across Michigan for the Center for Community Progress, with much of her work focused in Flint and Detroit.

Laura’s legal career began in New Orleans as a law-student volunteer working with community organizers in the Lower Ninth Ward four months after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and the federal levees failed in New Orleans. After law school, she moved to the city, practicing first as a commercial litigator focused on federal government contracts and later as a city attorney under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, working on contracts, housing, code enforcement, and post-Katrina recovery.

Her work since has included drafting laws and policies, building organizations and programs, testifying before legislatures, teaching and speaking about redevelopment, and working with communities to figure out what actually works.

Laura holds a J.D. from Emory University School of Law and an A.B. in Economics from Harvard University. She lives in New Orleans, near Bayou St. John.

Ebony Starks

Founder & Principal, Aspire Neighborhoods, LLC

Ebony Starks serves as Founder & Principal of Aspire Neighborhoods, LLC., a mission-driven consulting firm focused on building prosperous communities through strategy and innovation. She has over 16 years of experience in philanthropy, community development, and nonprofit leadership, and most recently served as Vice President of Place-Based Initiatives for a private family foundation. During her tenure, she led the deployment of over $11 million in grant funding to support housing, education, and community wellness programs.

A Colorado native, Ebony earned her BA in Political Science from Howard University and an MS in Urban Policy Studies from Georgia State University. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is passionate about social justice and economic empowerment. Since relocating to Baton Rouge from Atlanta four years ago, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, watching football, and eating jambalaya.

Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas, Fasla

President & CEO, Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX)

Well-versed in community-driven land use planning and implementation, Thomas has led successful revitalization efforts across the region since obtaining her Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU. Retired in 2018, Boo served as the founding CEO of the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX). Thomas has been an advocate for smart and sustainable growth in Louisiana throughout her career. Prior to the founding of CPEX in 2006, Thomas led Plan Baton Rouge, the revitalization of the downtown area, and was the founding Executive Director of the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she led CPEX in facilitating the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan, which was the largest planning effort ever undertaken in Louisiana and set national records for public participation (over 27,000 residents participated). 

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.

Christopher Tyson

President, National Community Stabilization Trust

Christopher J. Tyson is President of NCST (National Community Stabilization Trust), a national nonprofit advancing affordable homeownership and neighborhood stabilization. He leads the organization’s strategy, operations, and national partnerships, working with financial institutions, philanthropy, and community-based developers to modernize and expand pathways to sustainable homeownership.

Previously, he served as President and CEO of Build Baton Rouge, securing more than $50 million to advance transformative redevelopment initiatives. He was the Newman Trowbridge Distinguished Professor of Law at Louisiana State University, where he taught and published in property and local government law. His scholarship and commentary have appeared in leading journals and national media outlets.

Byron Washington

Cultural Strategist, The Circle W Firm/Scotland Saturdays

Byron J. Washington is a nationally recognized cultural strategist, community development practitioner, and TEDx & Pecha Kucha speaker whose work sits at the intersection of heritage preservation, economic empowerment, and placemaking. With an MBA from Southern University, executive education from Harvard, and fellowship through the Delta Regional Authority, Byron brings academic rigor and practitioner-level expertise to every stage and boardroom.

As founder of Scotland Saturdays — Baton Rouge's premier cultural market and music series — Byron built a grassroots movement that has drawn 10,000+ attendees and generated $1.2 million in local economic impact. His TEDx talk, "How to Gentrify the Black Community," challenges conventional development narratives and offers actionable frameworks for community-led revitalization. He currently serves as Chair of the Historic Preservation Council for Baton Rouge, leading the initiative to establish Scotlandville as a National Historic District.

Roslyn White

Director of Government Relations, Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX)

At CPEX, Roslyn builds relationships with government leaders and advances policies and partnerships that help Louisiana communities become more resilient and prosperous. With more than 25 years of experience in public administration, business operations, infrastructure development, and community leadership, she understands how to turn local priorities into meaningful action.

Before joining CPEX, Roslyn served as the 42nd Mayor of Abbeville and the city’s first woman mayor. During her administration, she secured more than $24 million for critical infrastructure and community improvements, led the adoption of Abbeville’s Strategic Master Plan, modernized municipal operations, and advanced investments in roads, water, electrical infrastructure, parks, downtown revitalization, and the city airport. She previously served four years on the Abbeville City Council.

Growing up in coastal Vermilion Parish and witnessing the devastating effects of Hurricanes Rita and Ike shaped Roslyn’s commitment to resilient communities. Those experiences taught her that thoughtful planning, strong infrastructure, and coordinated action are essential to protecting Louisiana’s people, economy, culture, and future.

Roslyn has held leadership roles with the Louisiana Municipal Association, Louisiana Energy and Power Authority, Acadiana Watershed District, and South Louisiana Community College. She received the Louisiana Chapter of the American Planning Association’s 2025 Achievement Award for an Elected Official and holds a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University.

Maria Zeringue

Director of Folklife Program for the Louisiana Division of the Arts

Maria Zeringue currently directs the Folklife Program for the Louisiana Division of the Arts. From 2017 to 2025, Maria Zeringue served as the Folk and Traditional Arts Director at the Mississippi Arts Commission, where she managed the online publication Mississippi Folklife. Before moving to Mississippi, she worked for Traditional Arts Indiana. Outside of work, she is currently learning pottery and has also taken classes in weaving and printmaking. She is passionate about instant photography, comics, music, and art of all kinds.