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Congratulations Women of the Year Honorees!

One Shell Square · 701 Poydras Street · Suite 4500 · New Orleans, Louisiana 70139 · 504.581.3234

January 23, 2006 • New Orleans CityBusiness 3

Congratulations,from your Delgado Family

Chosen as one of the

2005 Women of the Year!

C A R O L G N I A D YDirector of Public Relations, Delgado Community College

We congratulate and recognize

KIM M. BOYLEPartner in the New Orleans

Labor and Employment Practice Group

for selection as one of the

2005 CityBusinessWomen of the Year

NEW ORLEANS BATON ROUGE JACKSON TUPELO GULFPORT HOUSTON TAMPA LONDON

Canal Place365 Canal Street, Suite 2000

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130-6534504-566-1311

Since 1853 • www.phelpsdunbar.com

Past Women of the Year honorees . . . . . 4Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Laura Maloney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Danica Ansardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Anne Babin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Margarita Bergen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Wendy Beron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Elizabeth Boh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Jennifer Bollinger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Tracie Boutte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Delisha Boyd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Kim Boyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Jaye Calhoun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Anne Cochran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Beth Cristina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Tina Dandry-Mayes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Gayle Dellinger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Rosemary James DeSalvo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Margo DuBos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Kim Dudek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Kirsten Early . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Donna Fraiche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Carol Gniady. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Ruby Bridges Hall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Dr. Jodie Holloway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Kathy Lynn Honaker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Tonja Koob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Mary von Kurnatowski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Michele Shane L’Hoste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Angelle LaBorde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Mary Helen Lagasse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Susan Laudeman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Belinda Little-Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Babs Mollere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Joan Mollohan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Leann Moses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Beverly Nichols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Julie Noto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Vera O’Brien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Rajender Pannu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46Lisa Roth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Diane Roussel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Martha Ann Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Miriam Schulingkamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Lynda Nugent Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Raylyn Stevens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Phyllis Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Cheryl Teamer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Polly Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Sharon Toups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Nancy Trosclair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60Anne Witmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Photographer: Ben Bullins

Published by the NOPG LLC 111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 1440, Metairie, La. 70005 504-834-9292; Fax: 504-837-2258.

Publisher and president: D. Mark SingletaryAssociate publisher: Lisa BlossmanEditor: Terry O’ConnorAssociate editors: Tommy Santora and Greg LaRoseArt director: Alex BorgesDirector of custom publishing

and industry reports sales: Ann HerrenProduction manager: Julie Bernard

of the

2 0 0 5

C o n t e n t s

4 Women of the Year 2005

Leadership

POWERPOWER

Tracie Boutte, a New Orleans native, believes it is

important to give something back by helping

others to grow and succeed. For years, she’s been

actively involved in both local and national

organizations and continues today working hard to

better our community.

Entergy congratulates Tracie for being recognized

as one of the 2005 Women of the Year. At

Entergy, we believe in the power of our people

and Tracie exemplifies the winning spirit of all

our employees.

1-800-ENTERGY (368-3749) • ©2006 Entergy Corporation

www.entergy.com

Phyllis Adams

Jan Boatright

Patricia Denechaud

Maura Donahue

Betsy Dresser

Lana Duke

Nanci Easterling

Midge Epstein

Mignon Faget

Donna Fraiche

Patricia Habeeb

Connie Jacobs

Leslie Rosenthal Jacobs

Alice Kennedy

Ti Martin

Judy Perry Martinez

Elise McCullough

Ruth Ann Menutis

Siomonia Edwards Milton

Phala Mire

Margaret Montgomery-Richard

Karyn Noles

Ruth Owens

Sharon Perlis

Nellie Stokes Perry

Leaudria Polk

Kay Priestly

Jan Ramsey

Marguerite Redwine

P.K. Scheerle

Flo Schornstein

Janet Shea

Kim Sport

Carroll Suggs

Barbara Turner Windhorst

1 9 9 9

Julie Condy

Sherie Conrad

Sheila Danzey

Judy Dawson

Ann Duplessis

Patti Ellish

Jean Felts

Patricia Gray

Beverly Gianna

Sheilah Auderer Goodson

Norma Grace

Deborah Ducote Keller

Donna Guinn Klein

Roselyn Koretzky

Corvette Kowalski

Jennifer Magee

Barbara Major

Laurie Vignaud Marshall

Suzanne Mestayer

Nancy Morovich

Barbara Motley

Roberta Musa

Iona Myers

Rickie Nutik

Tina Owen

Sharon Rodi

Wanda Sigur

ChiQuita Simms

Katherine Harlan Sippola

Julie Skinner Stokes

Ruby Sumler

Nancy Bissinger Timm

Ollie Tyler

Pam Wegmann

Ann Wills

2 0 0 1

Tonia Aiken

Lauren Anderson

Carol Asher

Judy Barrasso

Diane Barrilleaux

Suzette Becker

Elodia Blanco

Julia Bland

Cindy Brennan

Maureen Clary

Sally Clausen

Dr. Elizabeth Terrell

Hobgood Fontham

Joni Friedmann

Joanne Gallinghouse

Brenda Garibaldi Hatfield

Paulette Hurdlick

Maureen Larkins

Gay LeBreton

Saundra Levy

Londa Martin McCullough

Linda Mintz

Judith Miranti

Angela O’Byrne

Rajender “Raj” Pannu

Kay Priestly

Kat Rice

P.K. Scheerle

Eileen Skinner

Bettye Parker Smith

Sherry Walters

2 0 0 0

Women Yearof the

p a s t h o n o r e e s


In Loving MemoryMartha Ann Samuel

From the Owners and Staff of Prudential Gardner, Realtors

“There aren’t any great women. There are just great challenges that ordinary women are forced by circumstances to meet.”

CONGRATULATIONS

Delisha Boyd• Prudential Gardner Sales Associate• B.S. Business Administration• M.A. Management• New Orleans Metropolitian

Association of Realtors - Rookie of the Year 2004• Leading Edge Society Recipent 2004• City Business Success Guide 2005• Prudential Gardner Realtors- Rising Star• Sales Associate of the Month 10 out of 12 months - 2004

Women of the YearFrom the Owners and Staff of Prudential Gardner, Realtors

One of the

Ann Cassagne Anderson

Annie Avery`

Trilby Barnes

Ginger Berrigan

Dianne Boazman

Donnie Marie Booth

Christine Briede

Kay Brief

Stephanie Bruno

Kimberly Williamson Butler

Jane Cooper

Shirley Trusty Corey

Kay Dee

Eugenie Jones Encalarde

Alethia Gauthier

Clem Goldberger

Patricia Green

Judith Halverson

Barbara Johnson

Barbara Kaplinsky

Ruth Kullman

Sharon Litwin

Ana Lopez

Barbara MacPhee

Deborah Mavis

Marguerite McDonald

Cheryl Nickerson

Danette O’Neal

Jimmie Phillips

Catherine Pierson

Jane Raiford

Rhonda Robichaux

Julie Rodriguez

Judy Shano

Sandy Shilstone

Susan Spicer

Suzanne Thomas

Deborah Villio

Kay Wilkins

Elizabeth Williams

2 0 0 2

Philomene “Missy” Allain

Rita Benson LeBlanc

Barbara C. Booth

Lally Brennan

Valerie Cahill

Karen Carter

Audrey Cerise

Hallema Sharif Clyburn

Dorothy M. Clyne

Sandra Corrigan

Elizabeth Coulon

Virginia Davis

Stephanie Dupuy

Anita Gilford

Dana Meeks Hansel

Lane Hindermann

Andrea Huseman

Ellen Kempner

Laura Lee Killeen

Janice Kishner

Dr. Susan Krantz

Angelique LaCour

Janet E. Larson

Diane Lyons

Carla Major

Marilyn Maloney

Lisa Maurer

Mary L. Meyer

Kathleen Mix

Michelle Montz

Carole Cukell Neff

Dr. J. Coller Ochsner

Stephanie Prunty

Dr. Felicia Rabito

Ann Rogers

Gail Roussel

Peggy Scott

Tara Shaw

Jaye Berard Smith

Kathryn Smith

Carol Solomon

Kim Sport

Liz Tahir

Donna Taylor

Fran Villere

Ann Wallace

Barbara B. Waller

Bonnie K. Wibel

Carol B. Wise

Ellen Yellin

2 0 0 4

Donna K. Alley

Dianne Baham

Gaynell Bellizan

Ruth Berggren

Lolita Burrell

Jeanette C. Butler

Vanessa Claiborne

Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson

Elaine E. Coleman

Katherine Conklin

Lisa Crinel

Susan G. D’Antoni

M. Christine D’Antonio

Sandra Dartus

Camilla Q. Davis

Catherine C. Dunn

Carol Etter

Peggy A. Feldmann

Susan K. Fielkow

Deborah Duplechin Harkins

Deborah C. Keel

Patricia A. Krebs

Mary Landrieu

Janet E. Leigh

A. Kelton Longwell

Charlotte Connick Mabry

Laura K. Maloney

Eve Barrie Masinter

Elsie Mendez

Eileen F. Powers

Tonnette “ Toni” Rice

Deborah B. Rouen

Dionne M. Rousseau

Diane M. Roussel

Kim Ryan

Grace Sheehan

Andrea Thornton

Keeley Williams Verrett

Dawn Wesson

Charlee Williamson

2 0 0 3


Congratulations Jaye Calhoun,our Woman of the Year.

P

www.mcglinchey.com

NEW ORLEANS • ALBANY • BATON ROUGE • CLEVELAND • DALLAS • HOUSTON • JACKSON • MONROE

When 6-year-old Sam Moses went to work with hismom, Leann Moses, he was a bit confused walk-

ing into the law offices of Carver Darden KoretzkyTessier Finn Blossman & Areaux.

“This isn’t the Food Bank,” Sam said to his mother.Moses explained to her son, “Mommy has a job she’s

paid to do and a job she’s not paid to do.”When Moses is not practicing law, she chairs the

Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans andAcadiana, which has provided 32 million pounds of foodto residents of south Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

Michele Shane L’Hoste, president of 1st LakeProperties, was asked how she has the time to juggle beingpresident of the state apartment association and volun-teers at community organizations like Jefferson Chamberor Jefferson Beautification Inc. while managing 8,300apartment units. She responded: “You’re able to give yourresources and knowledge to make the community betteras a whole and that makes everything worth it.”

There has never been a better time than now, in theaftermath of Katrina, for these leaders to step up and aidNew Orleans.

From L’Hoste to Moses to Laura Maloney to PhyllisTaylor to Anne Witmer, the CityBusiness 2005 Womenof the Year aren’t your ordinary businesswomen.

CityBusiness received a record 150-plus nominations

and selected 50 torecognize for professional and commu-nity achievements.

The 2005 class is a special group. For one, thanks toKatrina, they are being honored in January 2006, threemonths behind schedule.

They also faced the unprecedented, monumental taskof trying to reopen and re-establish businesses in NewOrleans. Some have stepped to the political forefront totake part on recovery boards and make landmark deci-sions that will affect the future of the region.

Juggling their personal lives and rebuilding theirhomes has taken heroic efforts.

Of this year’s class, Maloney, now a two-time memberof the Women of the Year, was selected 2005 Woman ofthe Year by a panel of alumni judges.

Maloney was recognized for her entrepreneurialwork with the Louisiana Society for the Prevention ofCruelty to Animals and her humanitarian efforts post-Katrina, sheltering and rescuing 15,000 animals fromthe street of New Orleans. Owners leaving behind ani-mals and pets left stranded in boarded-up houses, pol-luted floodwaters and on rooftops were a major problemduring and after the storm.

By Sept. 2, Maloney and other responders wereallowed into New Orleans to begin saving animals.Maloney said the most difficult element of the rescue

operation was “seeing animals onrooftops and not being able toget to them.”

She recalled breaking downcrying during an interview withan National Public Radio reporter after they asked herabout the welfare of individual animals and her staff.

“After apologizing for crying, she asked me if I’d had aday off. I hadn’t. It had been a month,” Maloney said.“The calls for help from people looking for their animalswere often heartbreaking and unforgettable.”

The LA/SPCA tends to 2,000 animals onsite per dayand since heading the organization in 2001, Maloney hasincreased the LA/SPCA’s fundraising by 46 percent,adoptions prior to Katrina had increased 28 percent andspaying and neutering efforts have doubled.

Along with Maloney, Donna Fraiche, shareholder atBaker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz;Rajender Pannu, owner of Pannu Enterprises; and DianeRoussel, superintendent of the Jefferson Parish PublicSchool System, all received their second CityBusinessWomen of the Year awards.

CityBusiness thanks all of these women for their con-tinued contributions to the city of New Orleans and wethank the nominators for bringing them to our attention.

— Tommy Santora, CityBusiness Associate Editor

Women leaders drive N.O. recovery

Since Hurricane Katrina, Laura Maloney has coordinated the biggest shelter-ing operation in history — 15,000 animals from the streets of New Orleans.Maloney is executive director of the nonprofit Louisiana Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Maloney and her team’s journey began Aug. 27 when they evacuated 263animals from the Japonica Street shelter to the Houston SPCA. After set-ting up at the Lamar-Dixon Expo-Center in Gonzales, Maloney’s team —with emergency responders from 50 agencies across the country — beganrescuing animals in Jefferson Parish and on the interstate where buses werepicking up stranded people. By Sept. 2, Maloney and other responders wereallowed into New Orleans to begin saving animals abandoned by ownersand even veterinarians.

“Our first stop was the Superdome and the animals were so ecstatic to seeus and to be fed and to get water,” she said.

Maloney and her staff rescued animals from atop roofs and from pollutedfloodwaters — many without knowing how their families were doing,Maloney said.

“Seeing the staff and their dedication — I’m very proud of them and theirlevel of dedication,” she said. “I tried to make sure they had everything theyneeded and tried to keep morale high (so we could) focus on our mission.”

Maloney said the most difficult element of the rescue operation was“seeing animals on rooftops and not being able to get to them.” She saidshe was able to continue through the agonizing moments by staying“focused on the mission, the greater good and focusing on what you cando instead of what you can’t do.”

Maloney recalled being interviewed by a National Public Radio reporterand breaking down crying after they had asked her about the welfare of

individual animals and her staff.“After apologizing for crying, she asked me if I’d had a day off. I hadn’t. It

had been a month,” Maloney said.“The calls for help from people looking for their animals were often heart-

breaking and unforgettable.”The LA/SPCA is still rescuing animals from hard-hit areas like the Lower

Ninth Ward and attempting to reunite animals with their owners. Presently established at its new 40,000-square-foot facility at 701 Thayer

St. in Algiers, the LA/SPCA tends to 2,000 animals on-site per day. Maloney said the organization received a $2-million grant from the

American SPCA that will sustain them for two years.Heading the organization since 2001, Maloney has increased the

LA/SPCA’s fundraising by 46 percent. Adoptions prior to Katrina hadincreased 28 percent and spaying and neutering efforts have doubled.

She said her “business-minded sense” guides her in her efforts to help ani-mals because in order for the organization to be “effective” she has to “be astrong business leader.”

With a six-week trapping campaign that began Jan. 4, Maloney said NewOrleans has been given an opportunity to control the stray population likenever before. Although her environment for the moment is “chaotic,” shesaid it’s all for helping animals in need.

“There’s a sense of urgency that never leaves you.”Maloney is a governor-appointed member of the Louisiana Animal

Welfare Commission; co-founder of Coalition for Elephant Well-Being; andwas named Tulane University Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004.

Maloney was named a CityBusiness Women of the Year in 2003.— Jaime Guillet

Laura MaloneyPosition: executive director, SPCA

Family: husband, Dan; two dogs, Lola and Jensen

Education: bachelor of science in secondary science education, West VirginiaUniversity; master of business administration, Tulane University


2005

WomanYearof the


Danica Ansardi’s life is a delicate balancing act as she jug-gles the demands of her career, family and community com-mitments.

At Gillis, Ellis & Baker, she meets the challenges of man-aging 800 clients while still being a hands-on mother to hertwo teenagers. As a financial advisor, Ansardi sells life,health, disability and long-term care insurance along withannuities, mutual funds and work-related benefits. Ansardihas qualified as one of the top 3 percent of producers in thefinancial industry.

With a positive attitude she faces all of her career taskswith the help of a good support staff. But five years ago,Ansardi was put to the ultimate personal test.

“They always say God doesn’t give you more than you canhandle. Well I wish he didn’t trust me so much,” she said.

Around the time Ansardi started at Gillis, Ellis &Baker, her husband Ray fell ill and was taken to the hospi-tal. What seemed like a bad cold kept getting worse leav-ing Ray on life support and in need of a heart transplant.While nursing her husband back to health in the hospital,Ansardi found out her sister had leukemia and was in needa bone marrow transplant. Ansardi was the perfect match

and flew to Seattle to help her sister. Ansardi’s husbandrecovered but is permanently disabled. She credits Godwith putting her in the position to take care of her familyas the sole financial provider.

A lifelong resident of Plaquemines Parish, Ansardi hasspent much of her free time post-Katrina helping the parishget back on its feet. As the chair of the PlaqueminesAssociation of Business, she wants to make sure commercecomes back to Plaquemines.

“It has been a challenge. The business group has beenfocusing our efforts on getting these local businesses back upand running,” she said.

Ansardi also scrambled to make sure the parish could stillhost its festival after the original location was damaged by thestorm.

Ansardi has remained a consistent top revenue producer atGillis, Ellis & Banker despite the havoc Katrina unleashed onher personal life.

“We had 9 inches of floodwater in our house. We’re livingand hanging out on the second story while using a FEMAtrailer as a kitchen,” she said.

— Jackie Damico

Danica AnsardiPosition: financial advisor, Gillis, Ellis & Baker Inc.

Family: husband, Ray; son, Trey, 13; daughter, Sarah, 14

Education: bachelor of science in marketing, master of business administration, LoyolaUniversity; Louisiana Banking Association school of banking, Louisiana State University


“My father always told us when faced with adversity you mustturn it into opportunity,” said Anne Babin, president ofNatco Food Service Merchants, a meat distribution companyspecializing in beef, lamb, veal and pork.

That is exactly what Babin did in the aftermath ofHurricane Katrina.

Babin, who runs the 80-year-old family business with threesiblings, reopened Natco with 37 of 77 employees just weeksafter the storm hit.

The company’s Magazine Street location sustained roofdamage, was heavily looted and riddled with more than 100bullet holes. Natco relocated to a 95,000-square-foot produc-tion facility in Reserve — quadrupling the company’s space.It also secured a cold storage facility in Baton Rouge after los-ing $2.5 million worth of meat, Babin said.

“We planned on moving to a new location before Katrinabecause we were growing. We just had to make the movesooner and in a different fashion than we thought,” said Babin.

Babin set 24-hour goals after the storm, looking at thecompany day by day. Natco’s first order of post-Katrina busi-ness was taking care of its employees and clients.

“We’re family at Natco,” said Babin. “We called ouremployees to make sure they were OK. Once we were up andrunning in Reserve, we were able to secure 15 FEMA trailersto house employees who lost everything. “We went to FrenchQuarter restaurants with cases of bottled water to make surethey were all right and to let them know we are in Reserveand open for business.”

Natco donated $300,000 worth of salvaged meats to theNational Guard immediately after Katrina. “Whatever wecan do to bring back New Orleans, we are going to do it. We

are very focused,” said Babin.Babin’s determination has been evident throughout her

career. She joined Natco 16 years ago as a sales represen-tative and generated $1 million in sales in her first year.She moved up through Natco’s ranks to sales managementbefore taking over as president when her father retired in2000. She says she still makes sales calls to new clients andtalks with chefs.

“My job is not to be behind a desk,” Babin said. “I like tobe hands on and work with the representatives and speakwith chefs and customers. The best part is interacting withothers and bringing a smile to others through what I do.”

Babin has plenty to smile about. Natco had a record 2004-05 fiscal year and is on the right

track after Katrina. The company is servicing half its pre-stormNew Orleans-area clientele and expects to serve more clientsas restaurants reopen. Natco also has been able to tap intoother markets such as Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houston andeven Florida, Babin said.

“It has been a blessing for us to have grown after Katrina.My goal is to help other companies get back on their feet andgrow. It is important for us to be part of rebuilding NewOrleans,” Babin said.

Babin also devotes her time to community service organi-zations such as the Louisiana Restaurant Association, theNew Orleans Tourist Commission and the North AmericanMeat Processors Association.

Babin’s most important project, she says, is the time spentwith her daughters and as a Bible school coordinator at St.Matthew the Apostle.

— Jodi Cararas

Anne BabinPosition: president, Natco Food Service Merchants

Family: husband, Michael; daughters, Sarah, 9, Samantha, 7, and Grace, 5

Education: associate’s degree in marketing, Delgado Community College


For Margarita Bergen, taking things easy is not an option.“Happiness is being involved. I like to be active,” she said.After owning the internationally renowned Bergen

Gallery for 22 years, Bergen was ready for a change of pace. In 2000, she sold the gallery to take a slower career path. With a love of preservation and architecture, Bergen real-

ized real estate would be a great career opportunity. Afterthree challenging years with Latter & Blum, Bergen said herhard work has started to pay off.

In 2004 the New Orleans Metropolitan Association ofRealtors and Latter & Blum named her a top agent.

“I became interested in real estate while actually selling thegallery,” Bergen said. “I knew a ton of people and loved theFrench Quarter, so I got into French Quarter realty.”

Real estate pays the bills but she says writing is her passion.After Hurricane Katrina, Bergen spent every day composingmass e-mails to friends and co-workers who had evacuated.

“If I can keep people in touch with New Orleans, then thatis a mission to me,” she said.

Bergen spent time after the storm with her dog at thehome of Dean Shapiro, a writing instructor who nominat-ed her for CityBusiness Women of the Year. The stormforced Bergen to slow down and take a different approachto life.

“For somebody who goes 100 miles per hour, during thestorm I got to do all the things I never get to do,” said Bergen,who spent her time reading, writing and painting.

Since Katrina, Bergen has seen a shift in the real estatemarket. She says the phones are ringing off the hook butmore people are looking for rentals while their homes arerepaired. She says she wants to help everyone find homes andrentals because she is committed to rebuilding the city andbringing people back.

Bergen hopes her love of New Orleans spreads around theworld. She has represented the city on trade missions toJapan, Hong Kong, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, theUnited Kingdom and several Latin American countries.

An active member in several French Quarter groups,Bergen wants to give back to the city that’s given so muchto her.

Bergen has lived in New Orleans for more than 25 yearsafter spending 16 years in her native Dominican Republicand 16 years in New York. Even though her home was lootedin the aftermath of Katrina, the experience has done nothingto sour Bergen on the city.

“I’ve been here for 25 years and I want to be here for thenext 25 years,” Bergen said.

— Jackie Damico

Margarita BergenPosition: Realtor, Latter & Blum

Family: Tito Mambo King, a mini doberman pinscher

Education: masters of science degree, City University of New York


When privately owned companies began acquiring nonprofithospitals, Wendy Beron seized the opportunity to start herown business 10 years ago.

Beron says her professional services firm, The Apollo Group,which supports the strategic needs of the provider segment ofthe health care industry, works with the planning and manage-ment side of medicine. The move from nursing management tomarketing gave Beron a more flexible schedule and more timeto spend with her 12-year-old daughter, Scout, she said.

“There’s no typical day but that’s the nice part about it,”Beron said.

Her business has been anything but typical sinceHurricane Katrina. The Apollo Group has worked with doc-tors displaced by the storm, helping them rebuild their officesand get reimbursed for work done as far back as July.

For the first time, Beron and her employees are dealingwith contractors as much as nurses and physicians.

Beron’s personal life since Katrina has been anything buttypical as well. Beron’s husband, Thomas, is a full-time attor-ney and a colonel in the Louisiana National Guard. When hewas called to duty in New Orleans three days before thestorm, Beron had no idea it would be the last time they wouldbe together as a family until Christmas. Beron and her daugh-

ter evacuated to Fort Worth, Texas, while her husband spenthis days trying to manage the chaos in the Superdome follow-ing the storm.

“Being apart from my husband was the hardest part of thestorm,” Beron said.

Beron said she is committed to helping New Orleansrebuild and that commitment starts with her own business.Despite facing challenges in a post-Katrina business market,The Apollo Group was able to bring all four employees backto the city.

When she’s not at work, Beron spends time with the JuniorLeague and as a member of the board of Metairie ParkCountry Day School.

“Work at the school from the minute the storm hit hasbeen nonstop,” Beron said. The board’s goal was to get theschool up and running as fast as possible to enable parents toreturn to the area with their kids.”

Beron says the greatest need of the city is bringing out agreater compassion in its people.

“There’s a lot of need now and I think lots of people arestepping up to the plate and asking ‘How can I help?’ ” saidBeron.

— Jackie Damico

Wendy BeronPosition: co-owner, The Apollo Group

Family: husband, Thomas; daughter, Scout, 12

Education: bachelor of science in nursing, Vanderbilt University; graduate of NewOrleans Regional Leadership Institute


For some, success is a healthy and prosperous career. Forothers, it’s raising a family. For a few, it is measured by giv-ing back to the community.

Someone rarely excels in all three, but Elizabeth Boh isdoing it.

After graduating from Tulane University in 1983, Bohwent to work for First National Bank of Commerce, whereshe became a commercial loan officer and vice president,before moving to Landmark Asset Management Group as anasset manager.

“I’ve always been interested in finance. It’s all about gettingto know the client well enough to be able to structure theirinvestments in the best possible way,” she said.

Boh took a furlough in 1989 to raise her children andreturned to the work force in 2002. During that time off, sheworked with volunteer organizations and served in a numberof capacities.

When her children were young, she became involvedwith the Junior League and the New Orleans RegionalLeadership Institute. Over the years she has worked withmore than a dozen nonprofit organizations including theAmerican Cancer Society, the Make-A-Wish Foundation,

Louisiana Children’s Museum and the PreservationResource Center.

Since Hurricane Katrina, Boh has taken a particularinterest with the New Orleans Police Foundation and theAmerican Red Cross.

With the police foundation, she worked to repeal the resi-dency law. Boh is now trying to create a pool of money forlow-interest loans to help members of the New OrleansPolice Department, most of whom are living on cruise ships.She expresses concerns about how the storm affected non-profits and said just about every board she is on has consideredcutbacks in service.

“It’s just a reality that organizations are having to make alot of cuts. New Orleans has about 3,500 nonprofits and Iheard estimates that only 40 percent to 50 percent are goingto make it,” she said.

Boh said her interest in the community has driven her todevote her time and resources.

“It’s a feeling that I’ve been blessed and I want to try tohelp people. I feel good about it and it plays an important partin my life.”

— Craig Guillot

Elizabeth BohPosition: financial adviser, UBS Financial Services Inc.

Family: single; son, Robert Eschleman, 17; daughter, Katherine Eschleman, 15

Education: bachelor’s degree in business, Tulane University


Jennifer Bollinger reached her goal of succeeding in the mar-keting and advertising world immediately after college.

So she created new goals.“I knew that I loved marketing and advertising,” Bollinger

said. “It was all I wanted to do — until I wanted to own acompany.”

In 2003, the New Orleans Ad Club named Bollinger“Account Executive of the Year,” recognizing her work withKeating Magee, Berger & Reed and Fitzgerald Advertising.

But 2003 was also the same year Bollinger branched outand started her own small company, The Netcom Group. Asowner and principal, Bollinger oversees the management ofthe company and its client services.

“My sense of responsibility has never changed,” Bollingersaid. “Now I feel more like I am in charge of the company asa whole. I want to see the people on my team grow and devel-op. It’s expanded my horizons.”

Referring to The Netcom Group, which has grown by 400percent since she became an owner in 2003, she said, “It tooka leap of faith and a lot of hard work.”

Bollinger said The Netcom Group, an interactive market-ing company offering one service, is unique to its industry.

The company focuses on marketing strategy, the first stepcompleted before building a Web site.

“We like (the Web site) to be an integrative strategy ofwhatever you’re doing offline,” Bollinger said.

Bollinger’s networking capabilities with The NetcomGroup have enabled her to build and promote new exhibitsfor the Louisiana Children’s Museum, where she has been amember of the board of directors and marketing committeethe past two years.

Bollinger’s clientele often donate goods or services to theLouisiana Children’s Museum, such as Singer Kitchens’donating party rooms to the museum.

“A lot of people are looking for a way to (help in the com-munity) and don’t know how,” Bollinger said.

Hurricane Katrina kept Bollinger out of touch with theChildren’s Museum until recently. However, she did work withstate tourism accounts throughout the storm. While Bollinger’scompany handles the Louisiana Office of EconomicDevelopment, she personally handles the Louisiana Office ofTourism. She also helped set up resources for displaced citizensand businesses during and after the storm.

— Whitney Pierce Santora

Jennifer BollingerPosition: principal and owner, The Netcom Group

Family: sons, Ross, 8, and Parker, 6

Education: bachelor of arts in communication and mass marketing, Tulane University


As the voice for Entergy on the New Orleans City Council,Tracie Boutte has had a lot of talking to do since HurricaneKatrina.

“It’s been the most challenging experience I’ve ever had onthe job in 20 years,” Boutte said. She rode out the storm withEntergy and city officials downtown at the Hyatt Hotel. She’sbeen at every council meeting since the storm updating offi-cials on restoration and residents’ challenges. Boutte’s job alsogives her the opportunity to interact with community groupslooking to rebuild.

Boutte joined Entergy in 1986 as a marketing representa-tive for Louisiana Power & Light. Born, raised and educatedin New Orleans, whatever commitment needed to rebuildthe city, Boutte says she’s up to the challenge.

“Whatever it takes that’s what it takes,” she said, “I’ve gota real commitment to seeing this town come out of this.”Boutte like many others in the city has faced major personalchallenges caused by the storm.

She was working downtown immediately after Katrinawhen she logged on to the Internet to check out what peoplein her West Bank neighborhood were saying about damage in

her area. Boutte was relieved to read most of her neighborsmade it through the storm without major damage but she gotthe shock of a lifetime when she read a neighbor’s posting thatsaid the roof was almost completely ripped off her house.

Boutte said a tornado hit her house and it won’t be habit-able for a year. But she said she isn’t letting personal lossimpair her commitments to her family, work or charity.

Boutte is the president of the Council on Alcohol andDrug Abuse. She says CADA switched gears and swung intoaction helping hurricane victims. Most CADA workers areprofessional crisis counselors who hit the streets talking withhomeowners one-on-one, said Boutte.

“I have never been more proud to be a part of that group,”Boutte said.

Boutte and her family live in a rental home and her 10-year-old daughter, Olivia, is back in school. Boutte says herfamily is handling the home repairs and busy work scheduleas best they can.

“There is no normal. You just kind of take it one day ata time.”

— Jackie Damico

Tracie BouttePosition: vice president of regulatory affairs, Entergy New Orleans

Family: husband, Dwight; daughter, Olivia, 10; Yorkshire terrier, Bubbles

Education: bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, University of New Orleans;master’s degree in business administration, Tulane University

www.ochsner.org

Joan Mollohan, SPHRVice PresidentHuman Resources

Congratulations JoanAt Ochsner, we encourage initiative, promote leadership and reward commitment in every

area of our healthcare system and we are all proud when one of our own is singled out and

acknowledged for a job well done.

Ochsner congratulates Joan Mollohan, Vice President, Human Resources, on being

selected as one of CityBusiness’ Top 50 Women of the Year.


2005

CongratulationsLaura,

with great pride andappreciation

for all that you do.

- The Louisiana SPCA Staffand Board of Directors

N E W O R L E A N S

P U B L I S H I N G G R O U P

Congratulates the

2005Women

of the Year

Thank you

for making

a difference in

our community.


As proprietor of Elite Casting and Talent Agency and the2004 New Orleans Metropolitan Association of RealtorsRookie of the Year, Boyd could star in her own blockbuster.

Boyd traveled to California after college and worked for acasting agency. She returned inspired to build her ownagency and has had her eyes all over the city since creatingElite in 1993.

Elite provides actors for movies and television. Boyd hashad talent cast in major projects such as “The Dukes ofHazzard,” “Double Jeopardy,” “Déjà Vu,” “Skeleton Key,”“Ray” and “Big Momma’s House.” Some of her notableactors include Eric Paulsen, Sally Ann Roberts andGermaine Bazzle.

Boyd said a lot of productions were moved from NewOrleans to other locations after Hurricane Katrina.

“Katrina has been devastating for our city as a whole,” saidBoyd. “Everything has been put on hold for a month or twobut the agency is starting to come back slowly.”

Boyd has another industry to focus on in the interim — thereal estate market. She predicts it will explode “in the next 10years.” Boyd said what makes her excel in the real estate

world is that she doesn’t just look at it as putting clients in ahome. She sees it as an investment and does the research tomake sure it is a solid one for the client.

Boyd sold $5 million in real estate her first year withPrudential Gardner Realtors and was voted sales associate ofthe month 10 out of 12 months in 2004. Boyd said post-Katrina she feels compelled to help her clients and NewOrleanians find places to live.

“I find that right now life is difficult for everybody,”Boyd said. “Usually if somebody is down (they) can leanon or talk to or go to someone for advice, but it’s kind ofdifficult to do that when everybody is floating in the sameuncertainty.”

Boyd is optimistic when talking about her future andthat of New Orleans. She is already in the process ofexpanding Elite to Texas and has high hopes for her realestate career.

“The hustle and bustle of both (careers) is fantastic forme,” Boyd said. “I guess when you’re a strong personalityyou need it.”

— Jaime Guillet

Delisha BoydPosition: owner, Elite Casting and Talent Agency

Family: daughter, Kristin

Education: bachelor of business administration, Xavier University; master’s degree inmanagement, University of Phoenix; real estate license


Admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1987, Kim Boyle has beena practicing lawyer for more than 18 years in commercial andbusiness litigation, as well as employment, tort and generallitigation.

Boyle, a former judge pro tempore of Orleans ParishCivil District Court and a professor at Loyola UniversitySchool of Law, specializes in managing large-scale com-mercial cases, unfair trade practices and alleged corporatemisconduct. Boyle said she has always had an interest inthe law, particularly in issues concerning equity and oppor-tunity for all.

“As a New Orleans native and as someone who cares aboutthis city and its residents, I enjoy working with the commu-nity and helping others by advocating for particular issues,”Boyle said. “It is important that we attempt to positivelyimpact important issues around the community.”

Boyle said as an African-American female lawyer, barri-ers exist in certain situations but she has attempted toknock such barriers down in the legal profession and inother arenas.

She has served as a member of the board of directors of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the GreaterNew Orleans Fair Housing Action Center.

Boyle was the first African-American president of the NewOrleans Bar Association and now serves as treasurer of theLouisiana State Bar Association.

Boyle is also a former co-chair of the NO/AIDS Task Forceand has served on the executive committee for theCommittee of 21 and a member of the advisory board of thelocal United Negro College Fund.

A board member on the Bureau of GovernmentalResearch and co-chair for the Committee for a Better NewOrleans/Metropolitan Area Committee, Boyle said her mostimportant work to date has been with the Bring New OrleansBack Commission.

“It is of paramount importance for our city to come back,”she said. “I have been amazed by the resiliency of our commu-nity and our commitment to bring the city back. I am veryproud of my small part in this important effort.”

— Robin Shannon

Kim BoylePosition: partner, employment law, Phelps Dunbar Law Firm

Family: single

Education: bachelor of arts, Princeton University; juris doctorate, University of VirginiaLaw School


Most people groan when they hear the word, “taxes.”Not Jaye Calhoun.She loves the subject so much she’s made a career of it. Calhoun is one of the few women specializing in state and

local taxes as a partner at McGlinchey Stafford.“In law school I really enjoyed (tax law) class and it was

a challenge to understand. It is an area where people hear‘tax law’ and shudder,” she said. “I thought it would begood to understand something that people I respect findchallenging.”

From 2004 to 2005, Calhoun was the first female chair ofthe Louisiana State Bar Association tax section and, shejoked, possibly the first pregnant vice chair.

During her term, she began a project to try to set up a pro-cedural tax law committee in the law institute. It’s a projectshe is continuing through her post as chair of the state andlocal tax subcommittee.

“The state and New Orleans bar associations are workingto improve the tax system by exploring the possibility ofexpanding the current Board of Tax Appeals into a tax court”,Calhoun said. “We got 40 of the big names in tax to sign a let-ter to the governor requesting that she appoint the procedur-al tax law committee. If we ended up with it, these people

would be the top people in the area and would make fair andconsistent rules.”

The plan would enable people to contest a tax instead ofpaying it and suing for a refund. Calhoun said there has beenno word from the governor’s office indicating the letter waseven received.

Calhoun is also the editor-in-chief of an essay on the busi-ness activity taxes that will be presented to Congress onbehalf of the state and local tax committee of the AmericanBar Association.

After Hurricane Katrina, Calhoun has attended theBring Back New Orleans Commission meetings to offeradvice and show support for the city’s recovery. She hasalso offered her services and those of the tax bar to thecommittee members.

She said she plans on “going down with the ship”, referringto her commitment to New Orleans.

Calhoun lived in Houston for five years while working forthe Internal Revenue Service, while her children where inschool.

“It broke my heart that they were learning about the rodeoinstead of Mardi Gras.”

— Marcy Roberts

Jaye CalhounPosition: partner, McGlinchey Stafford

Family: husband, Andy; sons, Michael, 18, and Dawson, 3; daughters, Emma, 13 andLaney, 1

Education: bachelor of science in psychology, Newcomb College at Tulane University; jurisdoctorate, Tulane Law School; LLM, master of law, Georgetown University Law Center


Anne Cochran has taken the Louisiana Credit Union Leagueto new heights. Leading what she calls a “talented group ofstaff,” Cochran implemented the Credit Union Corp., ashared-branching system among Louisiana’s credit unions.

“When I became president and CEO of the League (in1989), the league was insolvent,” Cochran said. “We’ve beenable to turn that around.”

Cochran’s association serves more than 1 million members.“We’re an association. ... It’s what we do and what we do

well.”Cochran was prominent in the creation of the Credit

Union Membership Act of 1998 authorizing multiple-groupchartering for federal credit unions. She also established theInitiative Program, which assists Louisiana’s smaller creditunions in overcoming operational challenges and providesfree consulting planning. Cochran also led the effort to intro-duce the concept of shared branching for credit unions inLouisiana.

Cochran’s efforts are moving beyond Louisiana’s creditunions. She helped expand the international credit unionmovement through her volunteer work with the WorldCouncil of Credit Unions. Cochran worked on-site for theprogression of credit unions in five African nations. She facil-itated planning sessions for the Ugandan League and devel-oped the Strathmore WOCCU African Management

Institute — a three-tiered management program for Africancredit unions in Nairobi, Kenya.

A frequent speaker at International Credit Union meet-ings, including the African Congress, Cochran is a member ofthe Credit Union National Association GovernmentalAffairs Committee, as well as the World Affairs Committee.Her work in Quito, Ecuador, includes establishing theContinued Education University Diploma program at SimonBolivar Andinas University.

“I mostly share my experiences and what I have in mybrain with these people on continents that are interested inlearning,” Cochran said.

Cochran said there’s always a place for cooperative creditunions, and any challenges that may arise will be overcome.

After Hurricane Katrina scattered and displaced thousandsof credit union members, Cochran worked with the nationaland state associations to find credit union leaders. Cochranalso worked to get information to credit union membersacross southeast Louisiana, made arrangements to cash othercredit unions’ checks, provided grants to credit unionemployees and responded to media inquiries.

“I’m very passionate about credit unions and (working) inthe outreach environment,” Cochran said. “I’m giving backto a movement that’s given to me for so many years.”


Anne CochranPosition: president/chief operating officer, Louisiana Credit Union League

Family: husband, Roger; sons, Shawn, 34, and Ryan, 29

Education: Sisters of Mercy at Basin Lane, Dublin, Ireland; graduate of Credit UnionNational Association, McNeese University and Penn State University


As the president of the New Orleans MetropolitanAssociation of Realtors, Beth Cristina is a busy womanthese days.

The effects of Hurricane Katrina have caused a frenzy inreal estate transactions. While her own office space escapeddamage, she’s up to her neck trying to find office space forcommercial clients.

“I see no end to it right now. I would say between now andthe next five or seven years, I’m just going to be swamped,”she said.

Cristina’s real estate career spans almost three decades.Born and raised in Jefferson Parish, she obtained her realestate license in 1979 and has been a licensed broker since1984. While she dabbled with residential real estate early inher career, Cristina made the leap to commercial real estatewith the desire to form long-term relationships with clients.

“I was in residential and just didn’t like working week-ends,” Cristina said. “I love the business though, there’s a lotof energy and representing clients that need office space andbuying buildings is a very challenging job.”

State Farm, Cristina’s major client, has kept her busy find-

ing temporary office space since Katrina. Cristina has been abroker with Stirling Properties for nine years and served aspresident of NOMAR in 2005. She has worked to help passlegislation to preserve and amend Louisiana’s homesteadexemption law and organized a tsunami relief fund amongNOMAR members.

An independent commercial real estate broker and friendof 20 years, Lane Hindermann describes Cristina as “a real go-getter, the kind of person we need to have in our businessworld nowadays.” Cristina said she is often seen as optimisti-cally outgoing and at times “brutally honest.”

“But a lot of people come to me for advice because theyknow I’m not going to beat around the bush and I’m going tobe direct. If you’re going to ask me for my opinion, then beprepared for my answer.”

With so much work and a hectic schedule, Cristina takesrefuge in canvas painting, a hobby she has pursued since1984. “I paint because it’s therapeutic and relaxing. It calmsme down and puts me in utopia mode. The work is whimsi-cal,” she said.

— Craig Guillot

Beth CristinaPosition: commercial broker associate, Stirling Properties; 2005 president, NewOrleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors

Family: husband, Sid Artigues Sr.; three adult stepchildren

Education: business and finance studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette,three years; licensed real estate agent


After Hurricane Katrina, Tina Dandry-Mayes mailed contactletters to clients scattered across the United States. After shefound most of them, she discovered helping them plan theirfinancial futures helped them weather the storm.

When creating a financial profile, Dandry-Mayes, a finan-cial services professional for more than 20 years, looks at thebig picture.

“I made sure they have adequate insurance coverage toprotect their assets, for example their houses,” she said. “Bydoing my job, they had enough insurance in place.”

Dandry-Mayes has been named to the Million DollarRound Table, an international association of financial serviceadvisers who achieve a certain level of production each yearand meet the organization’s code of ethics.

Dandry-Mayes is certified as a chartered life underwriter,chartered financial consultant and long-term care specialist,degrees she earned from American College.

She said providing clients with personal attention makesher job rewarding.

“When I meet with them the first time, I say, ‘This is whatI can do ... Now tell me what you need.’ ”

Dandry-Mayes finds excitement in defining the cus-tomer’s needs and developing a financial strategy to help

them succeed. She said she shares in their joy when theysend their child to college, and she is also there whentragedy strikes.

“Right now (the goal) is watching them survive in thisworld post-Katrina.”

As an adjunct professor for Tulane University, Dandry-Mayes helps undergraduates understand the importance ofprotecting their credit.

Dandry-Mayes spent 12 years in the banking industrybefore becoming a financial services professional.

“It enabled me to work from home while my child crawledaround on my home office floor,” she said.

Dandry-Mayes credits the change in career for giving herthe time and freedom to devote to community projects. Sheis a member of the state planning council, vice chair for theJefferson Economic Development Commission and a schoolboard member for Visitation of Our Lady School.

As president of the New Orleans chapter of the NationalAssociation of Women Business Owners, she has worked onseveral charity events including its charity walk/run, WomenWalking for Women, being held April 8 at Audubon Park.Last year, the event raised $5,000 for charities.

— Marcy Roberts

Tina Dandry-MayesPosition: financial services professional

Family: husband, Larry; son, Kyle, 11

Education: master of business administration, University of New Orleans; bachelor ofscience in finance, UNO; chartered life underwriter, chartered financial consultant, long-term

care specialist, American College


Gayle Dellinger, first vice president of investments and sen-ior quantum portfolio manager of Wachovia Securities,assists about 300 high net worth individuals, corporations,trusts and foundations with individualized financial advis-ing and planning.

“My greatest impact is the way I work one-on-one with myclients — being responsive to their needs, being aware oftheir risk tolerance, being able to understand what they needand being able to accomplish that,” she said.

Dellinger finds satisfaction in seeing clients achieve finan-cial goals after following through with the savings plans setforth with her assistance.

For individuals, that satisfaction may stem from a success-ful retirement through a company-sponsored retirement plan,or being able to send a child to college. For corporations andothers, capital gain comes from the ability to contribute tothe company as a direct result of an investment turning overprofit.

“I make sure people’s money is working as hard as they do,”said Dellinger.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Dellinger interacted dailywith clients while her family was temporarily based in Destin,Fla. She used Wachovia technology, which allowed her to

access client records and import transactions. In doing so, sheassured clients their assets and accounts remained secure.

This year, she plans to continue to work with clients andhelp them meet their financial goals as well as publish a finan-cial self-help workbook titled, “Before I Die.”

The workbook will serve as a guide for individuals makingfinancial decisions before their death, said Dellinger, and willcover issues such as final wishes regarding burial and distribu-tion of assets.

“As we have just learned with Katrina, we are not incontrol of tomorrow and there are numerous choices andmatters that can only be decided today, before I die,” shesaid.

Dellinger has worked at Wachovia Securities for 23 years,first with the company’s predecessor, Prudential Securities.She has served on the regional advisory council for both com-panies and said her seniority and experience prompted hercareer advancement and accomplishments.

Dellinger is president of the Women’s Professional Counciland was recently named to the Evergreen Insignia Program.She is a board member for the New Orleans BalletAssociation and also royal coordinator for the Krewe of Cork.

— Nayita Wilson

Gayle DellingerPosition: first vice president of investments and senior quantum portfolio manager,Wachovia Securities

Family: daughter, Lauren Dellinger, 26

Education: bachelor of science, Winthrop University


Rosemary James DeSalvo has spent 30 years working in thearts, literature and communication fields. The Pirate’s AlleyFaulkner Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to writ-ers that DeSalvo co-founded in 1990, is a culmination of hercreative path.

DeSalvo founded the Faulkner Society with her hus-band, Joe DeSalvo, a rare book collector, two years afterthey purchased the residence at 624 Pirate’s Alley in NewOrleans — the house in which William Faulkner authoredhis first novel.

The DeSalvos wanted to open a rare bookstore and weresurprised to find the house had been vacant for a while.

“We bought it because of the plaque on the door,” she said.“We knew there would not be another chance to have ahouse with this sort of cache. We decided to not just have thebookstore but also to make (the house) available to others.”

DeSalvo wanted to make the grand opening of FaulknerHouse Books an event, so on Sept. 25, 1990, Faulkner’s birth-day, she invited special guests for readings and 500 peopleshowed up for the festivities.

“Since the idea was well received we decided to start anonprofit to help enhance the positive, intellectual side ofNew Orleans,” DeSalvo said.

DeSalvo revived the 1920s literary journal: “The DoubleDealer” and included “The Double Dealer Intern Program”for high school and college interns who receive course creditfor their time. DeSalvo edits the journal pro bono.

She helped establish the William Faulkner-WilliamWisdom Creative Writing Competition, which she describes

as a “national talent search for the unpublished writers whoare trying to make it.” The writing competition is composedof seven categories such as novel writing, essay and poetrywith cash prizes for winners.

“Our winners have all been published or signed to be pub-lished,” DeSalvo said.

In 1997, on the 100th anniversary of Faulkner’s birthday,DeSalvo created the national literary writers conference:Words & Music: A Literary Feast in New Orleans. The con-ference brings the literary community together for stagedreadings and discussions and most recently, the conferencehas added music to “make it different.”

Additionally, DeSalvo created an annual class for creativewriting students who can pick the brains of well-knownauthors.

Hurricane Katrina shut down the conference, whichDeSalvo said could not be rescheduled for 2005 so it willresume in 2006. “The Double Dealer” also will be reinstatedin 2006. DeSalvo said she is unsure about the long-termfuture of the society, as well as the New Orleans art commu-nity — possible casualties of Katrina.

“The entire arts community has been dealt a serious blow,”DeSalvo said. “It’s harder for the literary community. Peopleare more willing to give money for performing and visual arts.It’s going to be tough going for a while.”

But DeSalvo said she’s witnessed “a coming together in thearts community that hasn’t existed in a long time.

“It’s that part of Katrina that is heartwarming.”— Jaime Guillet

Rosemary James DeSalvoPosition: co-founder of The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society; owner, Faulkner HouseDesigns and Rosemary James & Associates

Family: husband, Joe; four stepsons, Terrell James, David James, Joseph DeSalvo,Lee DeSalvo

Education: bachelor of arts in History, College of Charleston


Covering the arts, entertainment and news of New Orleanshas been Margo DuBos’ passion since childhood, and she nowis publisher of Gambit Weekly.

DuBos said she knew she wanted a career in journalismever since childhood, which she attributes to her mother LilyJackson — a feature writer for The Times-Picayune — andalso to her “need to be stimulated” and “always wanting toknow what’s going on.”

DuBos says Gambit, an alternative weekly newspaper, is agood fit for her.

DuBos became publisher of Gambit in 1987 under LandmarkCommunications before she and her husband became part own-ers in 1991 and sole proprietors four years later. At the time,DuBos said the voice of Gambit captured her attention.

“In the early days (Clancy and I) felt like we worked for apaper that had important things to do for the community andwe had to present a different voice because it was The Times-Picayune or nothing,” said DuBos.

DuBos has been operating Gambit Weekly in the format of“lifestyle and good journalism” for 23 years. Her plan pre-Katrina was to become a bigger publisher, not to increase cir-

culation but to launch a marketing campaign celebratingGambit’s 25th year. Gambit’s office sustained critical damagein Hurricane Katrina, and DuBos has been working hard toput the pieces back together and to place the publicationback in the hands of New Orleans residents.

“My initial shock was that the city was going to be gone fora while,” DuBos said. “Then I had the difficult task of findingall of my people and getting back into town.”

In a new office in Metairie, DuBos says “it’s been a non-stop, get-it-done mode” for her and her staff.

On Nov. 1, Gambit published 25,000 issues. On Jan. 4, thecount was boosted to 40,000.

DuBos said her 2006 plans are to help bring back NewOrleans and remain true to Gambit’s style while coveringthe news “driven by what has happened in the city.”

“I think in a lot of ways we’ve become the lifeline for thecultural community to know who is back up and who’s doingwhat,” DuBos said. “Gambit was that before but now in amore needy way. We’ll continue to see that as an importantaspect of what we do.”

— Jaime Guillet

Margo DuBosPosition: CEO, Gambit Weekly

Family: husband, Clancy; sons, Brandin, Will

Education: bachelor of arts in journalism, Louisiana State University


Kim Dudek has dedicated her life to providing the service ofemotional and physical wellness. Now with her adopted cityof New Orleans in despair following Hurricane Katrina,Dudek’s services are all the more invaluable.

A native of Bronxville, N.Y., Dudek founded BelladonnaDay Spa and Retail Therapy and the more recently createdBellanoche, a fine bedding and linen shop — both locatedUptown on Magazine Street. Dudek moved to New Orleans in1977 and attended Tulane University before graduating in1982 from Louisiana State University Medical Center’sDepartment of Allied Health in rehabilitation counseling.

After spending two years working at Rancho RioCalliente, a resort spa in Guadalajara, Mexico, followed byrehabilitating patients with severe head trauma, Dudek con-ceived a new concept in spa treatment.

“After being (in Mexico) and seeing all of the differentkinds of treatments and modalities that were available, I real-ly felt people healed through those modalities,” she said. “Atthat time, salons were hairdos and facials were done in somedirty room in the back.

“The whole lifestyle of taking care of yourself just wasn’t inthe mindset then. After having lived that lifestyle, my origi-nal concept was to bring it back to New Orleans.”

Dudek opened Belladonna in 1989 on St. Charles Avenuewith five employees. Six years later, she moved the spa toMagazine Street and by 2005, Belladonna was a “big, small-business” with a 12,500-square-foot space and 60 employees.

Belladonna offers massages, manicures, pedicures, facials,skin products and makeup and includes a retail area of homedécor items and jewelry.

Dudek’s mission statement for Belladonna evolved into thesimple “Be,” which refers to “allowing people to just be.” She

opened Bellanoche a few blocks down the street in 2001. Dudek’s range of charities to which she contributes times and

resources have been an important consciousness of Belladonna.She implemented an annual “Be Supportive” campaign, whichaids the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the “Be aHeart-Throb” campaign that supports the American HeartAssociation and the “Be Kind-Hearted” campaign, which raised$8,000 for the victims of the Asian tsunami disaster.

Dudek said her future fund-raising efforts will be gearedtoward New Orleans and people who need assistance afterHurricane Katrina.

Dudek rode out Katrina at her house on the West Bank,protecting 15 dogs. She said her concern was locating all ofher staff but she was aided in the endeavor by some of hervendors and other spas outside of the city.

“I’m a workaholic and my first thought was to moveBelladonna to Baton Rouge,” Dudek said.

Dudek said she didn’t realize what a difficult task thatwould be and by the time it happened, New Orleans would bereturning to life. In addition, her staff kept telling her “wewant to get back to work.”

“So, my focus was to stay and to help New Orleans byemploying as many people as I could. We started to put thepieces back together and reopened Oct. 7.”

Dudek has reopened Bellanoche and said expansion isalways a thought, but she says her main focus is being home,revitalizing Belladonna and getting the new staff up to par.

“I want to continue to be able to provide New Orleans aplace to come to that they are familiar with, that they feel safein and that they can forget for half an hour, or however longthey want to be here, about the troubles facing them.”

— Jaime Guillet

Kim DudekPosition: founder, president, Belladonna Day Spa and Retail Therapy

Family: single

Education: bachelor of science in rehabilitation counseling, Louisiana State UniversityMedical Center


Kirsten Early’s favorite quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt:“People grow through experience if they meet life honestlyand courageously. This is how character is built.”

Early’s character was tested when she was made partner atSRSA Commercial Real Estate just three months beforeHurricane Katrina hit New Orleans Aug. 29.

“Being a partner for only three months, I feel I stepped upas a leader,” she said. “I was able to locate our (35) employeesand let them know they had a job to get back to and theywould be paid, and at the same time, assure our clients thatwe would help them rebuild. We are team players.”

Early was made partner after working at SRSA for eightyears.

Being a team member resonates with Early. She has workedas a team member in some of the largest commercial transac-tions in the city, such as the $12.5-million redevelopment ofthe former St. Thomas public housing site in the LowerGarden District into a mixed-use residential and retail devel-opment.

In 2004, Early won the award for overall top producer inthe commercial investment division from the New OrleansMetropolitan Association of Realtors. In conjunction, shereceived the top office sales producer award. One of the trans-actions she was involved in that year was the $76-millionPoydras Plaza Office Complex.

From 2004 to 2005, she worked with Dress for Success, anonprofit organization that provides low-income womenwith business clothing, access to motivational speakers andmentors. She was also associated with the Young LeadershipCouncil from 2001 to 2002.

“I have been committed to rebuilding our beautiful cityand will continue to support and encourage families and busi-nesses to remain in New Orleans,” she said.

Early served for six years on the Loyola UniversityAlumni Board; worked with the Archbishop’s CommunityAppeal; and formerly sat on the Mount Carmel AcademyAlumnae Board.

— Marcy Roberts

Kirsten EarlyPosition: partner, SRSA Commercial Real Estate Inc.

Family: single

Education: bachelor of science and business administration, Loyola University; certi-fied commercial investment member designation


After Hurricane Katrina, Donna Fraiche has spent abouteight hours a day, seven days a week working as chair of theLouisiana Recovery Authority’s long-term community plan-ning committee.

In her spare time, Fraiche juggles her full-time job as share-holder of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, afirm with more than 400 attorneys in 10 U.S. markets and aninternational office in Beijing.

“There is nothing that is more important right now thanthe work of building a foundation for Louisiana to recover,”said Fraiche. “We work with expert planners and consultantsto redo planning efforts in the city’s most devastated areasafter Katrina.”

Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco created the LRA as aplanning and coordinating body to assist in implementingher vision for the state’s recovery post-Katrina. Fraicheestimates her work on the committee will last at least twoyears.

Fraiche has worked at Baker Donelson since the inceptionof its New Orleans office two years ago. She was previouslythe managing partner at Locke Liddell & Sapp, where sheworked 12 years. Fraiche practices health care law and pro-vides general counsel business strategy for clients.

Baker Donelson has the second-largest health care practicegroup in the United States. Fraiche formerly served as presi-dent of the American Health Lawyers Association.

“We have a top-notch health care practice group, and thekind of strategic work I do lends itself to having anInternational and national presence like Baker Donelsonhas,” Fraiche said. “Our Washington, D.C., office helps meout because policy is developed there, and it’s crucial for meto have that kind of access.”

Chairwoman of the Louisiana Health Care Commission

and serving on its subcommittee for the uninsured, Fraicheworks with other state leaders to recommend policy changesto the Louisiana Legislature.

In the summer of 2000, Fraiche spoke at an AmericanBar Association health law section meeting in London andhas appeared before the Joint Economic Committee ofCongress to speak on the structure of the hospital industryin the 21st century.

Fraiche also serves as an adjunct faculty member of TulaneUniversity’s School of Public Health and Administration andas preceptor for the residency program in health systems man-agement.

Fraiche is past president and now an active board memberof the World Trade Center, leading a Louisiana delegation ona trade mission to Costa Rica.

“We wanted to emphasize the relationship betweenLouisiana and Costa Rica and the effect of the passage of theCentral America Free Trade Agreement on enhancing thatrelationship,” Fraiche said. “It’s important now more than everto improve our infrastructures here and strengthen our abilityto handle imports and exports so that we can show Centraland South America that Louisiana is the immediate gatewayto the United States through the Gulf of Mexico.”

Throughout her more than 30 years as a lawyer, Fraichenever shied away from volunteering time to crucial econom-ic issues in New Orleans and Louisiana

In June 2005, she was named president of the LouisianaBar Foundation, which raises money to provide legal servicesto the poor. Since Katrina, Fraiche said the organization hasraised over $500,000 in disaster relief efforts.

Fraiche also received CityBusiness Women of the Yearrecognition in 1999.

— Tommy Santora

Donna FraichePosition: shareholder, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz

Family: husband, John; son, Geoffrey, 26; daughter, CoCo, 18; grandchildren, Logan, 7 and Garrett, 3

Education: juris doctorate, Loyola University School of Law


In recent years, Delgado Community College has enjoyed arenaissance in New Orleans.

At the center of this revival is Carol Gniady, Delgado’sdirector of public relations the past six years.

Born and raised in New Orleans with a degree from LoyolaUniversity in communications, Gniady worked in several dif-ferent areas of the communications field before settling atDelgado. She has written and produced commercials forWWL-TV Channel 4, written articles for publicationsWavelength and Off Beat, and was president of the NewOrleans Film Festival.

For many years in New Orleans “Delgado was your lasthope” among area schools said Gniady, whose work atDelgado the past six years has been in an effort to change thispublic perception.

“Word has gotten out that Delgado is a good thing, notjust as an educational value but as a school with award-win-ning programs and faculty that gives students what they needto go on to bigger and better things, be it a job or a four-yearcollege.”

Enrollment has consistently gone up since Gniady beganat Delgado.

In August 2005, 17,400 students were enrolled at Delgado— a new record. At the time Katrina struck, students werestill enrolling. If the storm had not occurred the record wouldhave been broken, said Gniady.

Gniady estimates 50 percent of Delgado’s students lived in“severely affected areas” such as Lakeview, eastern NewOrleans or the Lower Ninth Ward. Many of these studentsmay not return, she said.

“My biggest challenge is reaching students and gettingthem back to campus,” said Gniady. She has sent Delgadorecruiters to malls to remind people the school will reopen inJanuary. In addition, she is marketing online courses for stu-dents in Baton Rouge and north Louisiana who will not beable to return to New Orleans for the spring semester.

Gniady said she will continue to build public support andlobby for support from the Legislature.

Since Delgado is the state’s largest provider of work forcetraining, Gniady hopes lawmakers will aid Delgado in a timeof need.

“I hope they will realize what an integral role Delgado playsin rebuilding the community.”

— Fritz Esker

Carol GniadyPosition: director of public relations, Delgado Community College

Family: single

Education: bachelor of arts in communications, Loyola University


On Nov. 14, 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges began classes atWilliam Frantz Public School in New Orleans. A federalcourt had recently ordered the New Orleans school system todesegregate, and a handful of African-American childrenwere selected to begin the process.

Bridges was the only child chosen to desegregate Frantzand was also the only student present in her school that firstyear, as white parents withdrew their children to boycott theschools.

Bridges’ courageous story has been told in numerous books,including her own, titled, “Through My Eyes.”

Norman Rockwell’s, “The Problem We All Live With”,famously depicts Bridges being escorted to school by U.S.Marshals. In 1995, Disney produced “The Ruby BridgesStory,” a television movie.

Bridges is the chairperson for the Ruby BridgesFoundation, which she formed to involve parents in the edu-cation of children with a goal of bringing children togetherfrom different racial backgrounds.

“If we are going to get past racial differences, it will comefrom our children,” Bridges said. “We need our children tolearn to respect the differences of other people and becomefriends.”

Aimed at educating students about tolerance, respect andappreciation of all differences, the Ruby’s Bridges program waslaunched in 2002. It pairs schools of predominantly different

races together to learn about and experience other cultures.Schools from all over the country participate in the program,including ones in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlantaand New York.

Bridges was recently named an ambassador for Book Relief,an effort to get books in the hands of all children displaced byhurricanes Katrina and Rita. Books are donated to displacedchildren, schools and organizations supporting these children,and to schools and libraries being rebuilt along the GulfCoast. Within two months of its creation, Book Relief distrib-uted 1.1 million books in 22 states, including Louisiana,Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.

Bridges has received many honors and awards, includingthe Presidential Citizen’s Medal, bestowed by formerPresident Bill Clinton.

Bridges has hopes New Orleans can recover as a communi-ty and continue working on issues that were being dealt withlong before Hurricane Katrina arrived.

“I’m hoping for a better, stronger New Orleans,” she said.“We need to find ways to bring people together. We somehowhave gotten away from that. We need to unite and cometogether against all evil.

“I tell kids all the time: Evil comes in all shapes and colors.Racism is a grownup disease and we must stop using kids tospread it.”

— Mike Patton

Ruby Bridges HallPosition: author; chair, Ruby Bridges Foundation

Family: husband, Malcolm Hall; sons, Craig, Dana, Shaun and Malcolm Raeshad

Education: honorary doctorate degrees, Connecticut College of New Rochelle andColumbia University Teacher’s College


Dr. Jodie Holloway says she always has been a good listener.Even while attending McNeese State University in LakeCharles, Holloway provided guidance to her friends andencourage positive thinking.

“It just seemed natural to me to enter into psychiatry,” saidHolloway, who is board certified in psychiatry and neurology,adult psychiatry, adult and children psychiatry and forensicpsychiatry. “It has always been my goal to improve the quali-ty of life of others.”

The Louisiana native started her private practice in 1992with a concentration on child and adolescent psychiatry.Following a stint as clinical director of the acute child andadolescent program at DePaul Hospital, now known asDePaul-Tulane Behavioral Center, Holloway saw a need towork with individuals with developmental disabilities.

She became a consultant to the state Department ofHealth and Hospitals at the Office for Citizens withDevelopmental Disabilities in 1996.

Holloway works with developmentally disabled individualsby assessing their cognitive limitations, educating them ontheir mental state and working with them to improve theirquality of life.

“I feel so blessed that I am able to facilitate care and serv-ices to people with developmental disabilities and to helpthem and as well as educate others about people with devel-opmental disabilities,” Holloway said.

In addition to being an independent statewide consultantfor the OCDD, Holloway serves as the president of theLouisiana Psychiatric Medical Association — a position thatproved vital after Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29.

“In the days following the storm, I received more than 700

e-mails nationally from individuals and organizations lookingto help,” she said.

Since Katrina, Holloway has organized efforts for morethan 400 psychiatrists throughout Louisiana to meet theneeds of individuals suffering from mental health stress. Shealso was instrumental in forming the nonprofit Gulf CoastInstitute for the Study of Mental Health in Natural Disasters.

The purpose of GCI is to provide a vehicle for cliniciansand researchers to obtain donations, grants and contractsand to help educate psychiatrists on disaster psychiatry,Holloway said.

Holloway’s workload also skyrocketed after Katrina. Sincemany facilities were damaged in the New Orleans area,roughly 200 individuals from the OCDD’s MetropolitanDevelopmental Center were moved to its HammondDevelopmental Center until Dec. 1, increasing the patientload for Holloway and other employees.

Holloway said she doesn’t mind the added work or pres-sure. Her hope is to see the system accommodate the need formental health care post-Katrina.

“There has been a shift in the profession,” Holloway said.“Clients have shifted. Doctors have shifted. We are seeingpeople experiencing mental health stressors related to thestorm. But many doctors, such as those from Tulane, areworking out of Texas. We need to accommodate the level ofmental health care needed to recover.”

And Holloway is looking forward to recovery. “My true joy is working with the developmentally disabled,

but I can’t wait to restart my other passion — playing golf andspending time with my son.”

— Jodi Cararas

Dr. Jodie HollowayPosition: forensic, adult and child psychiatrist; psychiatric consultant to the Departmentof Health and Hospitals for the Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities

Family: husband, Dr. Gregory Gutgsell; son, Austin, 15

Education: bachelor’s degree in science from McNeese State University; medicaldegree, Louisiana State University School of Medicine


Because it was one of the neighborhoods least damaged byKatrina, Algiers will be an integral part of New Orleans’recovery. At the forefront of the Algiers community is KathyLynn Honaker, executive director of the Algiers EconomicDevelopment Foundation and president of the Algiers PointAssociation.

Honaker’s path to New Orleans is an interesting one. Afterteaching high school English for a year, she worked 24 yearsfor Allstate Insurance in sales, marketing, public relations andhuman resources. She worked with the insurance company inIndiana, Illinois, Michigan and Texas.

Honaker’s home has been in the New Orleans area since1979. She settled permanently in the Algiers Point areafour years ago, an area she says “is such a special place ... Ithas the old neighborhood feel of the ’50s and ’60s.”Recently, Honaker’s efforts helped save the Naval SupportActivity base in Algiers, which the Department of Defensetargeted for closure.

“We were very proud to be part of saving our military basein Algiers,” she said. “Algiers will become the place for themilitary.”

In addition to her work in Algiers, Honaker is vice presi-dent of the French Quarter Business Women’s Network. Shehas been with the organization for five years and handled theChristmas in July fundraiser for two years. Proceeds from theevent go to charitable causes such as Crescent House, a shel-ter for battered women. The French Quarter BusinessWomen’s Network also awards three University of NewOrleans scholarships to women each year.

Honaker is particularly proud of working with formerSecretary of State Colin Powell on America’s Promise, a pro-gram that works closely with at-risk children.

Honaker also runs her own company, Gatsby Consulting,which handles business and public relations for local clients.

Honaker embraces Algiers’ unique position to help in therenewal efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

“I’d really like to be a part of the rebuilding of all of NewOrleans from the base of Algiers and contribute whatever wecan to help the entire city.”

— Fritz Esker

Kathy Lynn HonakerPosition: president, Algiers Point Association; executive director, Algiers EconomicDevelopment Foundation; owner, Gatsby Consulting, LLC

Family: single; Yorkshire terrier, Gatsby

Education: bachelor of science in education, East Tennessee State University


Tonja Koob is proud of her small business.Gaea Consultants LLC, an engineering firm, is a powerful

player in a field dominated by men. “Being a woman is an issue,” Koob said. “Some people are

more blatant about it than others.” But Koob doesn’t letimmediate perception affect her.

“A lot of times, I am the only female at the meeting,” Koobsaid. “When I get my chance to talk, I prove I can hold myown. It’s kind of refreshing — women think differently. Itmakes a better technical team. (There have been) bad expe-riences and wonderful ones.”

Gaea Consultants specializes in hydraulics engineering,making it the “go-to” contractor for such projects.

“We focus on this, and we are very good at it,” Koob said.Gaea Consultants is continuing to make strides by taking

part in southeast Louisiana’s recovery efforts post-HurricaneKatrina. The company holds a $3 million debris removalcontract, under Environmental Chemical Corp., for thesouthern portion of Orleans Parish, south of Interstate 10,and is in charge of the removal of household and electronicwastes and asbestos.

Koob said this is the biggest contract GaeaConsultants has ever held. “I wanted to be part of therecovery effort,” Koob said. “I can use my education. Ican use my experience.”

“I am glad they wanted to hire a local person with theexpertise. It’s been a very good working relationship.”

Koob implements a philosophy of “creating the village” atGaea Consultants. “Part of my business philosophy has beento create a technical environment where women don’t haveto chose between a career and a family,” Koob said, addingGaea Consultants is an environment where women can“work in technical fields, be technical career women and stillhave their family.”

Gaea Consultants includes a room set aside for employees’children — a playroom for when children need to accompa-ny their parents to work. Koob, when not concentrating onhydraulic engineering, volunteers for community events andserves as a member of several organizations.

She is the president and founding member of the NewOrleans chapter of Engineers Without Borders and is a mem-ber of the Society of Women Engineers, the AmericanSociety of Civil Engineers, the Society of Military Engineersand Tulane Engineering Foundation.

Koob, assistant director for the Southeastern UniversityWestern Lake Pontchartrain Basin Research Program, teach-es several graduate level courses and an undergraduate courseas a visiting assistant professor in the civil and environmentalengineering department of Tulane Engineering.


Tonja KoobPosition: president, Gaea Consultants LLC

Family: single

Education: bachelor of science degree in biology, Newcomb College; master of sci-ence and public health in environmental health science, Tulane School of Public Health

and Tropical Medicine; master of science and engineering in environmental engineering,

Tulane University; doctorate in civil engineering, Washington State University


Mary von Kurnatowski spends every day helping enhance theNew Orleans music industry.

In 1996, Kurnatowski and her husband, Roland, becamesole proprietors of The Tipitina’s Foundation, an organizationof programs designed to provide training, housing, instru-ments and opportunities for musicians.

“Instruments A Comin’” is an annual benefit to purchaseinstruments for New Orleans Public Schools. The Tipitina’sInternship Program is designed to teach students all aspects ofthe music industry such as writing press releases and showingup on time. Tipitina’s Music Office Co-op is a job develop-ment program for musicians.

“New Orleans is the birthplace of the only true Americanart form, which is jazz,” said Kurnatowski.

Kurnatowski cradles New Orleans musical enchantmentwith these programs, especially with children’s musical aspira-tions. In 2002, the first year of “Instruments A Comin,” theprogram raised $22,000 and outfitted two schools with instru-ments. In 2005, the program raised $100,000 and suppliedfour schools.

Kurnatowski said the intern program, which she saysteaches children how to “have a career in music,” is notjust about music lessons. She said students in the program

are required to have a high grade point average becauseshe didn’t want this program to “detract from their coreeducation.”

“Before Katrina, so many kids in Orleans Parish schoolswere living in poverty,” Kurnatowski said. “I think this pro-gram helps show them there are better things in life. “

Kurnatowski said the co-op was an “uphill battle” at firstbut has blossomed into a group of 400 members.Kurnatowski has helped local musicians find shelter, payrent, buy instruments — whatever they’re without, she said.

“We’ve been trying to help get as many musicians backinto town or help them wherever they are,” she said. “We’vesent checks to landlords, bought plane tickets, whatever islacking.”

Kurnatowski has contributed to other charities such as theSusan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Kurnatowski’s plan is to expand the co-ops statewide andinto the entire Southern region.

“There are really great things in store for the future,”Kurnatowski said. “You have to keep the wheels turningwhether you like it or not.”

— Jaime Guillet

Mary von KurnatowskiPosition: director, The Tipitina’s Foundation

Family: husband, Roland; daughter, Mary Grace, 2

Education: bachelor of arts in English and history, Louisiana Tech University


When is a 100-percent occupancy rate not optimal for anapartment management company?

When it comes off the heels of Hurricane Katrina.Michele Shane L’Hoste, president of 1st Lake Properties,

which professionally owns and manages over 8,300 apartmentunits in 60 different locations, said approximately 2,000apartment units were severely damaged by Katrina and arenot back online.

“The biggest challenge we have had is getting our unitsrepaired. We had rising water and roofs blown off and we’redown to the studs on some of them,” L’Hoste said. “Some ofthe damaged ones are coming online now and others will becompleted in a year.”

L’Hoste said the occupancy level is at 100 percentbecause there is a long waiting list of people waiting forapartments and “as soon as an apartment comes online it isfilled.” The pre-Katrina occupancy level was 95 percent for1st Lake units.

1st Lake also has work force issues. Of the 300 employeesthey had before Katrina, 100 did not return to work, accord-ing to L’Hoste.

L’Hoste has been president at 1st Lake for three years afterstarting with the company 20 years ago as a manager. Herfather, Henry Shane, help founded the company as a sub-sidiary to the core group Favrot & Shane, which handles newacquisitions, construction and refinances while 1st Lakedesigns, develops and manages the properties.

The portfolio of properties is mainly based in the New

Orleans area, primarily in Metairie, Kenner and River Ridge.1st Lake Properties also has communities in Baton Rouge,Slidell and in Jackson, Miss.

L’Hoste is a licensed real estate broker and a certified apart-ment manager and apartment property supervisor throughthe National Apartment Association.

She was president of the Apartment Association ofLouisiana in 2004-2005 and is past president of the GreaterNew Orleans Apartment Association. L’Hoste remains onboth boards.

“The main job before Katrina was to lobby for legislationwithin the industry and travel to Washington, D.C.,” saidL’Hoste of her term with the Apartment Association ofLouisiana. “After Katrina, our biggest challenge was dealingwith the lifting of tenant evictions and figuring out whatapartment units are available throughout the entire city.”

L’Hoste serves on the political action committee and advi-sory board for the Jefferson Chamber and formerly sat on theexecutive board for the Jefferson Economic DevelopmentCommission and Port District.

She is a member of Jefferson Beautification Inc. andserves on the committee of its annual Parkway Promenadeevent.

“What you receive from these organizations is a big part ofwhy I participate in them,” L’Hoste said. “You’re able to giveyour resources and knowledge to make the community betteras a whole and that makes everything worth it.”

— Robin Shannon and Tommy Santora

Michele Shane L’HostePosition: president, 1st Lake Properties

Family: husband, Randy L’Hoste

Education: bachelor’s degree in business administration, Loyola University


Although Angelle LaBorde has worked in the nonprofitarena most of her life, her one stint with a for-profit businessled to her position as president and CEO of the JeffersonChamber of Commerce.

While working with Health Management Partners — acompany offering counseling services to small businesses —LaBorde learned about the inner workings of operating a smallbusiness. Through one of their clients, she received a job offerwith the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.

“I actually felt like I had the best training at that companyto come work with the chamber,” she said. “Honestly, I didn’teven know that much about the chamber until I got there butI had learned a lot about business.”

After three years with the New Orleans Chamber ofCommerce, LaBorde accepted a position to lead the JeffersonChamber of Commerce. Born and raised in Jefferson Parishand a graduate of Grace King High School, LaBorde wantedto serve her home community. She headed the chamber in1998 when it was less than a year old and it has since grownfrom 100 to 900 member companies.

LaBorde will complete her stay at the leadership helm ofthe Jefferson Chamber Feb. 10 and become president of theGreenwood, S.C., Chamber of Commerce.

During her tenure at Jefferson Chamber, the organizationimplemented a leadership program, four successful fund-raisingspecial events and aggressive member programming, includingadvocacy events at the state capitol and in Washington, D.C.

LaBorde also helped implement the Metro ChamberAlliance, an alliance of seven independent chambers ofcommerce in the greater New Orleans region that met quar-terly. She worked to advance the business agenda with the

Jefferson Economic Development Commission, GreaterNew Orleans Inc., Jefferson Parish Public School System,Jefferson Business Council and the Louisiana Association ofBusiness and Industry. Collaborating with Jefferson’s workforce investment board, the Jefferson Chamber received a$275,000 contract to operate a business center for employ-ers in 2005.

LaBorde is a graduate of the Chamber Institute, a four-yeareducational program for chamber of commerce executivesoffered by the Institute for Organization Management. Shehas served in a leadership capacity with numerous organiza-tions, including director of Volunteers in Agencies, GreaterNew Orleans Alumnae Panhellenic and the New OrleansCouncil of the Camp Fire Boys & Girls. LaBorde said she ismotivated by having an opportunity to better the businessesand the quality of life for the community. The chamberfought hard for the expansion of the Huey P. Long Bridge, adream that will soon become reality.

“What attracts me is the work that the chamber does inbettering the community. It’s a whole lot about improving thequality of life in a community, proactively tackling toughissues and trying to make things better for everybody, not justbusinesses,” she said.

Post-Katrina, LaBorde said one of the biggest problems fac-ing the area is the lack of a labor force. The chamber has heldfour major job fairs since the storm and is planning more spe-cialized fairs in 2006.

“I think we’ve really grown the chamber in size but also incredibility. I attribute it to a combination of a vision and ideasfrom the board of directors. My job was just to implement it.”

— Craig Guillot

Angelle LaBordePosition: president and CEO, Jefferson Chamber of Commerce

Family: husband, Mark; son, Matthew, 4

Education: bachelor’s degree in speech communication, Louisiana State University;master’s degree in human resources management, Florida Institute of Technology


Mary Helen Lagasse experienced an eventful 2005. Her debut novel, “The Fifth Sun,” which has already

earned numerous awards, received yet another accolade: the2005 Independent Publishers Award, for Best MulticulturalFiction. The novel is also being considered for Hebrewtranslation.

She also completed her second novel, “Navel of the Moon,”and continued to work and research for her next two projects.

Beginning her career as a freelance writer has givenLagasse the opportunity to research and learn about many dif-ferent topics; she utilizes her Latina-American background inher writing.

“You might say my voice is unique in that unlike thework of other Latina writers, my novel is not based in thebosom of the barrio,” Lagasse said. “It does not describe lifewithin the extended family of abuelos (grandfathers) andabuelas (grandmothers) and innumerable cousins andvatos (street slang for dude, guy or brother) of the hood,but is based on growing up in the Deep South, specificallythe Irish Channel. My work is of the Hispanic genre but isuniversal in all aspects as well.”

Lagasse has done her part in the community. She hasattempted to raise awareness through articles published onsocial issues, including old New Orleans neighborhoods, the

problems of the aged, slum housing, conditions of the state’sforensic facilities, Angola Prison, and the women’s prison atSt. Gabriel.

She is also involved with a number of environmental andanimal rights organizations. Her two-part series in the 1970son the poor conditions for animals at the Audubon Zoospurred investigations by the federal government.

Most recently, Lagasse has been devoting her time to help-ing friends, neighbors, and family members adjust to life afterHurricane Katrina.

“I want New Orleans to come back smaller and better,”Lagasse said. “For a number of years we’ve been on a down-ward spiral and it seemed that nothing short of a miraclecould save New Orleans. Ironically, but hopefully, it will bethe Katrina tragedy that will revive our city to make it more,much more than The Big Easy.”

As for her writing career, Lagasse hopes the success contin-ues. Lagasse has contributed an essay to the anthology, MyNew Orleans: Ballads to the city by her sons, daughters andlovers, edited by Rosemary DeSalvo.

“My personal goals are to write, write, write; to meet newpeople; to know and understand other cultures; to see asmuch as I can; to live.”

— Mike Patton

Mary Helen LagassePosition: author

Family: husband, Will; sons, Donald and Gary

Education: bachelor’s degree in English, Tulane University; post-graduate studies,University of New Orleans


One morning 28 years ago, Susan Laudeman walked into TheHistoric New Orleans Collection in the French Quarter toenlist as a volunteer. One week later, she was hired onto thepermanent staff and has been there ever since.

Laudeman’s zeal for the history and culture of New Orleansis evident through her varied efforts at the museum. As cura-tor of education, Laudeman coordinates social service proj-ects, develops and maintains the museum store, and hasorganized teacher-training workshops on how best to teachaccurate, unbiased history.

To Laudeman, nothing is more necessary than studyinggenuine historical artifacts to properly understand the past.

“We trained teachers to use primary source materials intheir classrooms, like paintings and letters, which is the rightway to teach history,” Laudeman said. “Materials from a spe-cific time and event are much more likely to be the correctinformation about what really occurred.”

The Entergy Excellence in Education CharitableFoundation agreed with Laudeman about the importanceof the project, awarding the Historic New OrleansCollection $45,000 in grants to train 400 teachers overthree years.

While Laudeman cites her volunteer work for the JuniorLeague and other organizations as fulfilling, she is most proudof her work educating children through the collection’s out-

reach programs. Last year, Laudeman initiated a programabout the history and preservation of Creole cooking. “ADollop of History in Every Bite,” engaged 450 New OrleansPublic School students in an oral history of Creole cuisineand its cultural impact in New Orleans. According toLaudeman, children kept meal journals, visited restaurants,interviewed relatives on cooking traditions and studied fooditems in their grandparents’ pantries.

“We were not just out there to educate children,”Laudeman said. “We were out there to educate children abouttheir history and their culture.”

Like Laudeman’s teacher-training programs, “A Dollop ofHistory in Every Bite” received national recognition. TheHistory Channel recently named the project the best preser-vation endeavor in the country.

Since Hurricane Katrina, Laudeman feels an increasedurgency to preserve New Orleans’ culinary heritage. She istrying to locate children who participated in the program toguarantee their well-being and encourage them to take stockof what they learned in their family kitchens.

Many New Orleans cultural legacies are now at stake andLaudeman said she hopes to do her part in saving them.

“If I could end this life with just preserving our culinaryheritage,” Laudeman says, “I’d be happy.”

— Patrick Strange

Susan LaudemanPosition: curator of education, The Historic New Orleans Collection

Family: husband, Elliot; daughters, Keppy Martin and SuSu Kellam; grandchildren, Polk

Kellam and Elliot Kellam

Education: bachelor of arts with honors, Newcomb College at Tulane University


Belinda Little-Wood said she doesn’t spend a nickel on adver-tising; her client base has grown through word-of-mouthreferrals. “It is so personal when I start working with a newclient. I tell them, ‘We are going to do this together.’ ”

Little-Wood is the president of Little-Wood Associates, aNew Orleans-based business consulting firm she has ownedand operated since 1985. “Others firms have started in thesame arena but for whatever reason have been short-lived.I’ve stuck with it.”

The firm specializes in strategic planning for new business-es but its main focus is on financial management. Little-Wood Associates has more than 300 clients and has helpedthem receive more than $70 million in Small BusinessAdministration loans.

The business has been so successful that Little-Wood hasstarted a successor firm to Little-Wood Associates: 10thCapital Small Business Advisors LLC. The company willfunction as part of a three-firm conglomerate including 10thCapital Group, LLC and 10th Capital Investment AdvisoryServices LLC.

“My partners and I understand the significance of capitalin the Louisiana marketplace. We all have vested interests inthe region in terms of business, family, and friends,” she said.“We want our work to matter and make a difference at theend of the day.”

Little-Wood said she and her partners pledged 10 percentof their profits to local nonprofit groups that “epitomize thefocus, drive, and results that our team embodies.”

Little-Wood also helps the community as a member of theAlgiers Economic Development Foundation. She served twoterms as AEDF’s president and held every other office in thefoundation in her 10 years of membership.

In 1999, she spearheaded an Urban Land Institute studythat provided the blue-print for growth in Algiers.

Since Hurricane Katrina, Little-Wood has used herknowledge of SBA loan procedures to help local business-es apply for the loans. She was also very active in settingup a small business recovery center in the aftermath of thehurricane.

Belinda has been named Outstanding Young Careerwoman by the Memphis, Tenn., chapter of National Businessand Professional Women. She was recognized as Woman toWatch by New Orleans CityBusiness and was an honoree atthe Mayor’s Conference on Women.

But to Little-Wood, raising her two sons is her greatestaccomplishment, she said. Her eldest son, Morgan, is aboutto graduate with honors from Louisiana State University andher younger son, Grant, will graduate from Holy Cross HighSchool in 2007.

— Marcy Roberts

Belinda Little-WoodPosition: president/chief executive officer, 10th Capital Small Business Advisors LLC

Family: single; sons, Morgan, 21, and Grant, 17

Education: bachelor of science in English speech, Mississippi University for Women; masterof business administration, Delta State University; degree from Mid-South University of Banking


While many people learn to enjoy a career they fall into, feware fortunate enough to fall into a career while simply doingsomething they love.

Ever since she was a child, Barbara “Babs” Mollere had astrong interest in music and concerts. After a few years as ateacher in East Baton Rouge Parish and a military base inGiessen, Germany, Mollere returned to New Orleans in themid-1970s to raise a family and follow her musical interests.In the past nine years, she has gone from volunteer to themanaging director of the Louisiana PhilharmonicOrchestra.

“I came to the orchestra originally as a concert-goer. I start-ed out as just a person who liked concerts but I eventuallybecame interested in the administrative inner workings,”Mollere said. She became president of the volunteer associa-tion before being placed on the board of trustees.

Mollere assumed the role of managing director a year anda half ago, knowing it can be a tough job to manage and runa symphony in a city with so many diversions, she said.

Formed in 1991 out of the ashes of the bankrupt NewOrleans Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra isthe only full-time symphony in the United States owned andoperated by its musicians. Mollere credits the success of the

organization to teamwork, local support and a highly collab-orative managed body.

“The challenges have been to establish the value of theorchestra within the community and to continue to support ahigh-quality art resource both for the musicians and the com-munity as a whole,” she said.

Katrina elevated those challenges by displacing orchestramembers across the country and destroying its equipment andhome at the Orpheum Theatre. Since the storm, Mollere hastaken the orchestra to Nashville and New York where theyraised $400,000. A portion was given directly to musiciansand the rest went into a relief fund to help maintain instru-ments, health benefits and salaries.

“Literally, these last four months, I’ve been alone in anoffice in Baton Rouge and our staff and musicians havebeen in cyberspace. We all meet on the phone and by e-mail,” she said.

As a resident of the Lake Vista subdivision, Mollere’shome took on 18 inches of water. She and her husband arein the process of gutting the first floor and plan on remod-eling in the immediate future while temporarily living inBaton Rouge.

— Craig Guillot

Barbara ‘Babs’ MollerePosition: managing director, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

Family: husband, Phillip; sons, Allen, 29, and Rocky, 21; daughter, Simone Burke, 31

Education: bachelor’s degree in history, Vanderbilt University


At Ochsner Clinic Foundation, people come first and it is thejob of Joan Mollohan, vice president of human resources, tomake sure that happens.

Mollohan has held her post at Ochsner for six years but hasbeen in the human resources field for 25 years. She owned aplacement/employment company, Talent Tree Personnel, andworked in the human resources departments of ColonialSugars in Gramercy and Stone Pigman law firm in NewOrleans.

“At Ochsner, the employees have access to the top execu-tives,” Mollohan said.

Ochsner employees can have breakfast with the CEO anddinner with the president. Regular town hall meetings occurwhere employees can voice ideas or concerns. After Katrina,a toll-free phone number was established so employees couldhear live updates about the status of the hospital and NewOrleans.

In 2005, New Orleans CityBusiness named OchsnerClinic Foundation the Best Place to Work in the city.

Mollohan said two of her most prized accomplishments inher tenure are the Ochsner Learning Institute and theOchsner Leadership Institute.

Founded in 2002, the Leadership Institute conducts regu-lar evaluations of Ochsner’s top executives. “If our leaderswere evaluated and developed, then from the top-down weknew we would have good people management.”

The program has received national recognition from theHealth Care Advisory Board in Washington, D.C., as an

exemplary program and has also received the Veterans HealthAdministration Inc. Leadership Award.

The Learning Institute set up a university-based curricu-lum for Ochsner employees. All employees are required totake eight hours of classes in a variety of subjects, rangingfrom communications to customer service. Executives musttake 40 hours, and most leadership classes are taught by exec-utives, giving employees more “face-to-face contact withexecutives and the benefit of their knowledge.”

When Katrina struck, Mollohan’s greatest challenge wascontacting Ochsner’s 7,400 employees.

The day after the storm, Mollohan set up a registrationnetwork — and within four days, had accounted for 85 per-cent of the employees.

“The purpose of this was so Ochsner could focus on whatit could do for its individual employees. When I went to bed(Tuesday night), I said ‘Now, we have to focus on our people.Without them, we can’t take care of the patients.’ ”

Mollohan applied for a $550,000 education and traininggrant from the Department of Labor, which she hopes willteach entry-level health care skills to “people who might nothave considered health care as a career pre-Katrina but needwork now.”

In addition to her work at Ochsner, Mollohan has servedon the area Girl Scouts board for 10 years and is working toraise funding to repair Girl Scout camps severely damaged byKatrina.

— Fritz Esker

Joan MollohanPosition: vice president of human resources, Ochsner Clinic Foundation

Family: husband, Bob; daughter, Gini, 22 and son, Jay, 20

Education: bachelor of science in education and biological sciences, University ofNorth Alabama


When 6-year-old Sam Moses went to work in November withhis mom, Leann Moses, he was a bit confused walking intothe law offices of Carver Darden Koretzky Tessier FinnBlossman & Areaux.

“This isn’t the Food Bank,” Sam said to his mother.Moses explained to her son, “Mommy has a job she’s paid

to do and a job she’s not paid to do.”Moses, chair of the Second Harvest Food Bank of

Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, worked nonstop pro-viding food to 23 parishes in south Louisiana sinceHurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29. Just 48 hours after thestorm’s landfall, the Food Bank provided more than 1 mil-lion pounds of food to evacuees. By the end of November,the Food Bank provided 32 million pounds of food to theresidents of south Louisiana.

An affiliate of American Second Harvest Food Bank, theSHFB usually distributes 14.5 million pounds of food a year.

Stationed at a warehouse in Baker, Moses said “just beingthere was the most important thing” so the Food Bank couldprovide food to different agencies to distribute.

Moses continues practicing law in addition to volunteerwork with the Food Bank. In Carver Darden’s bankruptcy andcommercial litigation department, Moses has been instru-

mental in a number of prominent bankruptcy cases, includingTorch Offshore and Harrah’s Jazz Co.

Moses said working at Carver Darden has given her theopportunity to work with good professionals. “People get toknow you,” Moses said. “You represent something that’s thetruth.”

Moses said she has faced few adversities throughout hercareer, turning the ones she’s encountered into positive chal-lenges.

When she began her judicial clerkship for LouisianaSupreme Court Justice Jack Watson, she said several oldermen “perceived (her) as “the little girl.” She lets this conde-scending nature work in her favor, “because then they under-estimate me.”

“I let it work for me,” said Moses.Moses is a member of the American, Louisiana, New

Orleans and Texas Bar associations. In addition to theSHFB of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, Moses is aboard member of the Anti-Defamation League and a mem-ber of the Archbishop’s Community Appeal, CatholicCharities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the JewishCommunity Center.


Leann MosesPosition: attorney, Carver Darden Koretzky Tessier Finn Blossman & Areaux, LLC

Family: husband, Ted; daughter, Jordan, 16; sons, Sam, 6, and Max, 4

Education: bachelor of science in history, Vanderbilt University; juris doctorate, TulaneLaw School


Beverly Nichols admits the prospects of good money firstdrew her to accounting.

Born and raised in Abbeville, Nichols didn’t come from awealthy family but was high school valedictorian and knewshe wanted to follow a professional career path.

“This was a long time ago and in 1964, the accounting pro-fession was just starting to open up to women,” she said.Nichols was actually discouraged by some male professors asshe studied accounting at the University of Louisiana atLafayette before moving to New Orleans to attend LoyolaUniversity and the University of New Orleans.

In 1972, Nichols started as a staff employee at BourgeoisBennett and has been with the firm ever since. She became apartner in 1981, director of the employee benefit services thefollowing year and has been on the firm’s management com-mittee since 1991.

About the time Nichols entered the field, the EmployeeRetirement Income Security Act of 1974 was passed. Shetried auditing and other areas of the profession but was espe-cially interested in public accounting and became a widelyrecognized expert in the area of qualified pension plans andindividual retirement accounts.

“What has always appealed to me about public accountingis that it changes constantly. I like being challenged. Besides,I discovered I’m very much a people person. I love interactingwith my clients and staff and interacting with many differenttypes of people,” she said.

As a resident of the Riverbend area, Nichols’ home sur-vived Katrina but she spent almost six weeks on the road. Thefirm survived by temporarily relocating near its Houma officewhere almost 40 people occupied a space intended for 15.Nichols said most clients have strong businesses or multiplelocations and will survive the economic fallout.

Nichols said she is an optimist at heart and believesNew Orleans will be rebuilt better as long as a strongereducational system is a top priority. She is a long-term vol-unteer with the United Way, has chaired the JuniorAchievement board and is a member of the Women’sLeadership Initiative.

“What matters most to my husband and I is the educationof the youth in the city,” she said. “I very much believe thatfor any place to succeed that the children have to be educat-ed and promoted into doing the right things.”

— Craig Guillot

Beverly NicholsPosition: director and partner, Bourgeois Bennett LLC

Family: husband of 40 years, Ray; pet German shepherd

Education: attended University of Louisiana Lafayette, Loyola University and Universityof New Orleans; awarded Louisiana Certified Public Accountant certificate in 1975


Julie Noto had no indication the 1980s television series“Hotel” would provide a path for her history-making career.

In May 1984, one week after receiving her bachelor’sdegree in human resource management from Nicholls StateUniversity, Noto took a job as a front desk receptionist at theOmni Royal Orleans, making $5 an hour.

Noto remained at the Omni for 22 years — rising upthrough the ranks — to become the first female general man-ager of a major “four-diamond” New Orleans property.

“I loved the show ‘Hotel’ and when I finished college I said‘I want to work in the hotel industry,’ ” said Noto. “The indus-try has changed drastically over the last 20 years. You learnwhat you don’t want to be.”

Noto said the tradition of the hotel requires changes to besubtle. She keeps the institution running smoothly by hiringthe best people and letting them express their thoughts andideas, she said.

“My relationship with my staff is one of mutual respect,”said Noto. “When I was coming up through the ranks, therewas nothing I detested more than someone asking me ‘Whatdo you think?’ when they really couldn’t care less. I thinkeveryone here feels very comfortable letting me know whatthey think and (giving) their input.

“The bottom line is whatever is best for the guests.”

As the first female general manager of the 45-year-oldOmni Royal Orleans hotel, Noto guided her staff and a slewof hotel guests through the most devastating storm in U.S.history.

During Hurricane Katrina, Noto had to maintain the safe-keeping of 150 guests and 80 rooms where employees andtheir families stayed, and house New Orleans PoliceDepartment’s 8th District on her second floor. Aided by herexecutive emergency committee, she held introductions withthe guests, fed each person three meals a day and oversaw acaravan operation on Tuesday morning to evacuate every per-son out of the city.

“To know that that not one guest or associate got hurt —I’m so thankful,” Noto said. “Professionally, I learned thatbeing prepared is so important as well as remaining calm andhaving confidence that you know the right thing to do.”

Noto still had 55 hotel rooms filled with staff membersand their families in early January. Her work force hasdiminished from 310 to 160, but Noto said her goal sincethe storm has been to get all of the employees back as soonas possible.

“We’re a family,” Noto said. “This job is the livelihood formany of them and I take the responsibility very seriously.”

— Jaime Guillet

Julie NotoPosition: general manager, Omni Royal Orleans

Family: single

Education: bachelor of science in human resource management, Nicholls StateUniversity


Vera O’Brien, chief financial officer of Standard MaterialsLLC, offers long-term financial solutions and advice to thecompany’s owners, which in return have helped the PearlRiver-based ready-mix concrete firm to limit expenditures,increase sales and retain staff.

O’Brien prompted company expansion and increased salesrevenue when she recommended Standard Materials redirectresources into its ready-mix division.

Heeding her advice, the owners closed down a pre-stressdivision that was not performing as expected and hired salesindividuals to market the ready-mix concrete.

Now, with its concentration on ready-mix, material used tomake slab or houses and shopping complexes, Standard hasexpanded from Slidell to Covington, and is setting up opera-tion in Tangipahoa Parish, said O’Brien, who was also direct-ly involved in establishing a site in Mandeville.

O’Brien is the financial liaison between Standard andbanking institutions and other investment functions. She alsooversees general accounting, prepares financial statements forthe company and supervises the accounting staff. StandardMaterials did $11 million in annual sales throughout St.Tammany Parish.

“I don’t have a typical schedule. Most often there are newthings that come up each day. I have a good staff,” O’Briensaid. “I do have to make decisions.”

At times, O’Brien has had to merge her problem solvingand decision making skills to address owner and fiscal con-cerns.

In one instance, she helped improve employee retentionby implementing a benefits package with a 401(k) plan withcompany contributions and a section 125 plan, which allowsemployees to reduce medical premiums through pre-tax con-tributions.

“I am well seasoned. I am able to direct the project andobtain the results — hopefully the expected results.”

O’Brien worked as a CPA prior to being recruited toStandard Materials. She said her extensive professional andeducational backgrounds in accounting have helped herthroughout her career.

Altogether, she helped Standard attain a 12 percent annu-al growth in sales revenue.

Aside from business contributions, O’Brien was recent-ly elected to the University of New Orleans InternationalAlumni Association Board, where she was involved inacquiring donations for the organization’s gala and recruit-ing alumni from the North Shore. O’Brien is also activewith the Women’s Professional Council and worked withits holiday project of adopting a displaced family forChristmas.

— Nayita Wilson

Vera O’BrienPosition: chief financial officer, Standard Materials LLC; certified public accountant

Family: husband, Bill; son, Thomas, 43; daughter, Colleen, 40

Education: bachelor of science in accounting, University of New Orleans; master’sdegree in accounting and tax option, University of New Orleans


When the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated the coast ofsouthern Asia Dec. 26, 2004, Rajender Pannu had to help.The next day she joined with Hibernia Bank, Freeport-McMoRan and other businesses to create a relief fund for thevictims.

As chairperson of the Asian Pacific American Society,Pannu watched the relief fund grow to nearly $500,000.

But helping financially wasn’t enough. Pannu wanted tosee first-hand the disaster Mother Nature created by the wallsof waves. In May, Pannu left for Malaysia to see the affectedcountries.

“There is so much destruction that your mind goes blank,”Pannu said.

She spent three weeks touring Thailand, Indonesia and SriLanka. Pannu returned home June 17 to her family and herbusiness running six Subway franchises. Two and a halfmonths later, Mother Nature would change her life again.

Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing levee breaches leftmost of New Orleans underwater. Floodwaters and windstormdamage destroyed Pannu’s three New Orleans Subway fran-chises and her Kenner store.

Pannu said her biggest challenge was repairing her two

stores in Metairie. Before the storm, Pannu had 52 employees;only one returned after the hurricane. She’s running her twostores with 14 employees while trying to persuade her insur-ance companies to pay her for her damage. Like many busi-ness owners, Pannu had commercial liability insurance but noflood insurance. She estimates she’s lost $1 million. Pannu isdetermined to rebuild her three New Orleans stores despitethe insurance challenges.

Pannu is still dedicated to focusing attention on tsunamivictims. In December, she outlined the first installment of a$40,000 donation from the relief fund to go to an Indonesianrelief group. The money will be used to build 10 semi-perma-nent homes for victims. The fund will also set up a villageschool. Pannu is in touch with Sri Lankan and Thai groupsand will be finalizing their donation proposals in the nextmonth or two.

Pannu feels helping others is something everyone iscalled to do.

“We are all here for something in this world, finding outwhat is 95 percent of our life. When we find our purpose,doing it is just 5 percent.”

— Jackie D’Amico

Rajender ‘Raj’ PannuPosition: owner, Pannu Enterprises

Family: husband, Noni; sons, Nauraj, 18, Kit tu, 15; daughter, Preeti Kaur, 31; stepson,Sigmund, 35

Education: bachelor of arts in English literature, Punjabi University, India


At a time when most college students are just trying to figureout how to graduate on time, Lisa Roth was already plottingout her post-graduate moves.

“My plan even when I was in school was to eventuallyhave my own company,” Roth said. “I knew I wanted to starta firm that was somewhat unique.”

Roth studied architecture and interior design and went onto attain licenses in both fields. Now as principal ofMontgomery Roth Architecture and Interior Design, Roth’scompany focuses on the structural design of buildings and theaesthetic makeup of their interiors. Such a combination isunconventional in the industry, said Roth, because most firmsare either grounded in architecture or interior design and sel-dom practice both.

“We feel like we have a niche in the industry by joiningthese two together,” Roth said. “Being a firm that providesplanning for both architecture and design just makes sense.”

Since founding the company in 1998 with her partner,John Montgomery, Roth said the firm consistently gravitatestoward the hospitality and service industries. Businesses suchas restaurants, clubs and hotels require more detailed atten-tion to interior designs, making the firm’s distinctive servicesall the more alluring, she said.

Roth’s clients include the W Hotel, Harrah’s Casino andthe Hong Kong Disney Hotel. Roth has also spearheadedprojects in the Bahamas, Tunisia, California and Florida.

“Doing work in another country is always very enlighten-

ing and always very challenging,” she said. “It’s always a won-derful opportunity to work with consultants and clients fromother cultures.”

Apart from her endeavors abroad, Roth donates her timeand energy to community projects in New Orleans. She hasperformed pro bono work for the New Orleans Children’sMuseum and has volunteered at the Contemporary ArtsCenter on Camp Street.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Roth was forced to open asecond office in Houston due to severe damage to the NewOrleans location. As early as Sept. 4, she and her associateswere working hard to keep up with the demands of ongoingprojects.

“Our main goal was to meet the deadlines and goals thatwe had already established with our existing clients,” she said.“Our second objective was to look at our clients who hadprojects in New Orleans and see how we could help them.”

Montgomery Roth is engaged in rebuilding efforts at theSheraton Hotel, Harrah’s Casino and the new Mandina’srestaurant. The firm is moving forward with projects initial-ly planned to start in the immediate weeks following Katrinasuch as the Fairfield Resort on Tchoupitoulas Street.

“We still want to be true to our original goal, which is toprovide architecture design to hospitality and residentialclients,” Roth said. “We will continue to fill the need in theareas that we are well versed.”

— Patrick Strange

Lisa RothPosition: principal, Montgomery Roth Architecture and Interior Design

Family: single

Education: bachelor of arts in interior design, Louisiana State University; master ofarts in architecture, Tulane University


Diane Roussel has lifelong ties to Jefferson Parish, ties shestrengthens with her work as superintendent of the JeffersonParish Public School System.

Roussel graduated from Riverdale High School, latertaught English and journalism there, became assistant princi-pal, then became the school’s principal before becoming theassistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction forthe Jefferson Parish Public School System.

As superintendent, Roussel has “made construction theNo. 1 priority of the school system.” She has secured land fora new elementary school on the West Bank, which will be thefirst new public school built in Jefferson Parish in 20 years. Inaddition, she has secured a plot of land with the JeffersonParish Economic Development Commission to build a newfacility for the Patrick Taylor Science and TechnologyCenter. On top of these construction projects, Roussel hasalso created two magnet schools at Haynes Academy andMetairie Academy during her tenure.

When Roussel took her position about two years ago, “weweren’t meeting the needs of parents or students in the com-munity. ... Honestly, I believe we were a stagnant school sys-tem. We were busy defending the status quo.”

This is something Roussel fought to change. She “assem-bled a team of people who believe we should no longer bedefending the status quo.”

Roussel hopes to “bring some students who were not pub-lic school students into public school.”

During the 2003-2004 school year, enrollment forJefferson Parish Public Schools went up for the first time

in years, increasing from 49,391 to 49,739. In the 2004-2005 school year, enrollment maintained stability at49,741.

Roussel said the Jefferson Parish Public School System iscritical to rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina, in partbecause of the population shift to Metairie, Kenner and theWest Bank. “People will move here if you have the kind ofeducation they want,” she said. Only three Jefferson ParishPublic Schools are not open at their original locations as aresult of Katrina. The rest reopened Oct. 3.

Roussel has other plans for the future. She hopes to buildMontessori and performing arts schools in Jefferson Parish.She also plans to establish two fundamental schools to helpprepare sixth-and seventh-graders who have been held backtwo or more years for high school, children who are “caughtin a failure cycle ... These children become our dropouts.”Roussel said this program has worked well in other parts ofthe country and she is optimistic it can reap benefits forJefferson Parish.

Roussel created the nonprofit Community of One to trans-fer good character traits from the school system into the livesof Jefferson Parish citizens. The Louisiana Department ofEducation recognized the program in 2005.

“It is a program to engage the entire community intoinstilling community values into our children,” she said.“When we teach honesty and responsibility, we want that tobe reinforced throughout the community, not just in school.”

Roussel was a CityBusiness Women of the Year in 2003.— Fritz Esker

Diane RousselPosition: superintendent, Jefferson Parish Public School System

Family: husband, Larry McDonald; daughters, Celeste, 18, and Stephanie, 22

Education: doctorate in educational administration, University of New Orleans; masterof arts in curriculum and instruction, University of New Orleans; bachelor of arts in

English education, Louisiana State University in New Orleans


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Editor’s Note: Martha Ann Samuel, 80, passed away Nov. 23at Touro Infirmary. She was a licensed Realtor for 40 years and isbeing named a CityBusiness Women of the Year for her contribu-tions to the real estate industry and her longtime communityinvolvement.

When you think of the real estate market in the New Orleansarea, one name that always came to mind was Martha AnnSamuel. She’s been a prominent name in the business for over40 years, and her career was successful from the start.

Samuel began as an agent with Gertrude Gardner Realtorswhere she became one of the firm’s top agents, consistentlypulling in multimillion-dollar transactions and being nameda life member of the Million Dollar club. Her early success ledto the formation of her own company, Martha Ann SamuelInc., in 1975.

The firm grew to eight branches across the metro areaemploying more than 300 people, many agents who havemoved on to success.

“She was always very professional in her work,” saidCarolyn Talbert, an agent at Prudential Gardner who was asecretary for Samuel. “She had a lot of knowledge and washighly respected by her peers.”

Eleanor Farnsworth, an agent at Prudential Gardner, saidSamuel knew the market well. “She was always high energyand pleased with the work she was doing.”

Farnsworth said Samuel’s firm represented Southeby’sInternational Realty, which was equated with the upper end

of society. Farnsworth said Samuel greatly enjoyed represent-ing them.

“It was one of the things she hated to give up,” saidFarnsworth.

In the mid-1990s, Samuel sold her firm to PrudentialGardner and became an agent with them.

Samuel won the Max Derbes award from the Real EstateBoard of New Orleans and was a former president of theWomen’s Council of Realtors. She served several years on theboards of the Louisiana Realtors Association, the Real EstateBoard of New Orleans and the New Orleans MetropolitanAssociation of Realtors.

Samuel was also an active preservationist in New Orleans.With her late husband, J. Raymond Samuel, she restored ninebuildings in metro New Orleans and twice won awards fromthe Garden District Association.

“She really loved historic property,” Farnsworth said. “Shewas always active in preserving what New Orleans had.”

Samuel was a member and supporter of cultural organiza-tions, including the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, theNew Orleans Opera, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, theLouisiana Historical Society, the Louisiana LandmarksSociety and the Friends of the Cabildo.

Samuel was also a collector of and expert on Southernregional art. She gave lectures at The New Orleans Museumof Art and made the collection available for study by art loversand historians from Yale University and other institutions.

— Robin Shannon

Martha Ann SamuelPosition: former real estate agent, Prudential Gardner

Family: daughters, Cynthia Ann Samuel Brockhoeft, Stephanie Brett Samuel Dupuy

Education: bachelor of arts, University of Mississippi


Miriam Schulingkamp can talk for hours about theater. It’s thegreatest passion of Schulingkamp, an international trade lawyer.

“I am a very strong proponent of professional theater and Ibelieve every strong community needs one,” she said.

Schulingkamp spent years boosting the caliber ofSouthern Rep Theater. In December, she finished a four-yearrun as president of the Southern Rep and now chairs itsexecutive committee.

Turning Southern Rep into a success wasn’t easy.Schulingkamp began her term as president three months afterthe terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a time full of insecuri-ties and tight wallets. With the help of Southern Rep mem-ber Ryan Rilette, they turned the theater around.

“We took a theater and took it many steps up. It was on itslast legs,” Schulingkamp said. “We got together and, muchthrough his artistic effort and my fund-raising efforts, wereable to rebuild it in a way that New Orleans never had pro-fessional theater.”

Miles away in Michigan, evacuated with her children for

Hurricane Katrina, Southern Rep is still in Schulingkamp’sthoughts.

“We went from a theater that was barely full to packedevery night in one season,” she said. “We have managed tokeep this theater alive through the post-Katrina months,thanks in part to the national theater community.”

Post-Katrina support and funds for Southern Rep Theaterhave poured in from New York to Tucson, Ariz., she said.Vowing not to abandon her New Orleans community as itrecovers from Katrina, she is continuing her work withSouthern Rep, the New Orleans Board of Trade and her lawpractice.

In the 125-year history of the New Orleans Board of Trade,Schulingkamp was the first female elected president. Theboard is dedicated to increasing city commerce, trade andinternational maritime industry.

“My business is for making money. My public service iswhat I do for the community,” she said.

— Marcy Roberts

Miriam SchulingkampPosition: international trade lawyer, Southern Rep Theater benefactor

Family: husband, David; son, Thomas, 16; daughters, Lashley, 14, and Rachel, 9

Education: bachelor of arts, Kalamazoo College; juris doctorate, University of GeorgiaLaw School


The world of real estate has been a blessing to Lynda NugentSmith.

In her rookie year at Keller Williams Realty in 1972, Smithachieved sales level status in Jefferson Parish and then joinedthe “million dollar club,” a sales recognition award for topagents, in 1973. Over the past six years, Smith has been thetop producer at Keller Williams.

“Real estate puts you in an arena where you can grow anddo new things,” Smith said. “I’ve always been attracted tonew buildings and commercial development.”

Smith said her favorite element of real estate is the poten-tial for fresh expansion and production. She is responsible forsales of more than $100 million in land, development andnew construction projects, and formerly started her own con-struction and development firm, Limited Edition Properties.

Smith was turned on to real estate through a good friendwhose mother had been in the business.

“I was always fascinated by her,” Smith said. “She alwaysseemed to be having fun and making money, and I enjoyedthe experience of buying a house from her, so I said I reallyneed to do this because I like it.”

Smith said real estate is an attractive industry for womenbecause of the flexible hours and the ability to make quite abit of money.

“As a young working mother, real estate offered flexiblehours so that I could do things with my kids,” Smith said.

Smith is a member of the Jefferson Chamber of Commerceand the 2005 chairman of the Jefferson Parish EconomicDevelopment Commission. She said most of her time andenergy has gone to her work in JEDCO.

“It has consumed much of my life,” Smith said. “It’s hardto do a whole lot more when you chair an organizationbecause you are working with so many different groups ofpeople.”

Smith has also done much more than selling real estate inthe past few months following Hurricane Katrina, describingher job as part real estate agent and part therapist.

“It’s a schizophrenic market right now,” she said. “Peopleare scared and they have their doubts and concerns. It is a life-changing experience for some people and I have had to bethere to listen. It really makes you count your blessings.”

— Robin Shannon

Lynda Nugent SmithPosition: real estate broker, Keller Williams Realty

Family: husband, Robert W. Smith; sons, Chad Nugent, Todd Nugent; and daughter,Lesha Nugent

Education: attended Louisiana State University


Lagniappe is a quarterly magazine with a

circulation of 5000, and has been published by

the Junior League of New Orleans since 1930 to

promote the League’s missions and goals. Its

purpose is to educate League members and the

community at large about the organization’s

projects, activities, fundraisers and membership.

TO ADVERTISE IN THE JUNE ISSUE PLEASE CALL • Ann Herren • 504.293.9296 • [email protected]

THE JUNIOR LEAGUE’S MAGAZINE IS COMING BACK!

CongratulationsWendy Beron

on being selected as one of theWomen of the year.

We are so proud of you for not onlybeing an asset to The Apollo Group,

but also the community.

It is an honor to be part of your team.

William W. Waring, Jr. JD, MHA Nora E. Adkins, CPCwww.theapollogroup.net

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Congratulations,

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Increasing in-house reserves for emergency relief and main-taining a steady cash flow are top priorities for RaylynStevens, chief financial officer of the Jefferson Parish PublicSchool System.

When Stevens became CFO five years ago, there was $5million in the system’s rainy day fund. She began workingwith the superintendent and researched ways to increase thefund.

Ultimately, she recommended the parish roll forward mill-ages, which would reassess property values throughoutJefferson Parish every four years. Stevens said millages haverolled forward twice, and today the system’s rainy day fund sitsat $26 million.

Stevens’ financial foresight and planning benefited JPPSS,in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The system was ableto tap the rainy day fund to secure immediate resources andexpedite reopening of schools following the storm.

Additionally, the implementation of a mandatory directdeposit program ensured every JPPSS employee received paythe day after Katrina shut down the metropolitan area for sev-eral days and limited access to records for many employers.

Since then, Stevens has served as the JPPSS spokesper-son when dealing with Federal Emergency Management

Agency representatives to secure temporary housing forteachers and funding for construction repairs and trans-portation concerns.

Stevens has also recommended $16 million worth of cutsto the general fund budget, assisted in securing $80 million inbackup funds by testifying at legislative hearings and heads a20-person staff that assists her in accounting, payroll, purchas-ing and balancing the system’s $400-million budget.

“It’s the ability to correctly estimate revenues and to con-trol your expenditures,” Stevens said. “I think what motivatesme every day is the fact that 50,000 kids are depending on meto do my job and to do it to the best of my ability.”

Stevens started with JPPSS 10 years ago as an accountantfor the general fund and child nutrition.

Her financial expertise extends to her communityactivism. Stevens is the management trustee for the JeffersonFederation of Teacher’s Health and Welfare Fund. She isDistrict 1 board member for the Louisiana Association ofSchool Business Officials and is a member of the JeffersonChamber.

Stevens is also active in her parish church at Infant Jesusof Prague in Harvey.

— Nayita Wilson

Raylyn StevensPosition: chief financial officer, Jefferson Parish Public School System

Family: husband, John; son, Grant, 6; daughter, Lauren, 10

Education: bachelor’s degree in business administration, Loyola University; certifiedpublic accountant


Executives at many New Orleans-based companies remainednoncommittal about plans to return to the city in the monthsfollowing Hurricane Katrina. Whether or not they came backwould depend on the pace of recovery and return of essentialservices.

Not Phyllis Taylor. She made it clear the company, whichmoved its operations to Lafayette following Katrina, wouldcome back to New Orleans.

“Let there be no doubt — Taylor Energy is returning toNew Orleans, the city of its founding,” Taylor said inNovember.

Although company operations emerged relativelyunscathed from Katrina, Hurricane Rita, which sweptthrough the Gulf of Mexico in late September, caused exten-sive damage to several offshore facilities. The company is stillrecovering from Rita, Taylor said.

Taylor Energy returned to the city Jan. 3.“There was never any question,” Taylor said. “Our history

and everything about our company is rooted in New Orleans.”It’s difficult to talk about Taylor without bringing up her

late husband, colorful oilman Patrick Taylor. For nearly 40years, Taylor was the gracious and quiet counterpart to heroutspoken husband.

Following Patrick Taylor’s death in November 2004,Taylor assumed the role of chairman and CEO of TaylorEnergy. Although Taylor previously had little to do with theday-to-day operation of the company, Patrick Taylor preparedher to take over Taylor Energy if the need should arise.

It’s also difficult to talk about Taylor without mentioningthe Tuition Opportunity Program for Students, also known asthe Taylor Plan. TOPS, which Patrick Taylor originated andinitially funded in the 1980s, has paid the college tuition of

more than 43,000 Louisiana students.Phyllis Taylor graduated from Tulane Law School in 1966,

one of three women in her class. She met and married PatrickTaylor while in law school.

After serving as law clerk on the Louisiana Supreme Courtfor five years, she became general counsel for oilman JohnMecom Sr. In 1979, Patrick Taylor founded Taylor Energyand Phyllis Taylor gave up her law career to become a full-time volunteer.

Taylor serves or has served on numerous boards, includingthe Louisiana Special Olympics, the New Orleans AfterSchool Task Force and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.She also serves as chairman and president of the Patrick F.Taylor Foundation, a philanthropic organization started in1985 with an emphasis on benefiting education, law enforce-ment, military and other humanitarian efforts.

In November, Phyllis Taylor was ranked No. 283 on theForbes Magazine list of the 400 richest Americans with anestimated net worth of $1.2 billion, the only Louisiana resi-dent to make the list.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Taylor joined the board ofthe Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, a nonprofit organiza-tion with a goal of coordinating a network of organizations andgovernment agencies to deliver aid and services to displacedLouisianans throughout the state. Taylor also plans to work tostrengthen nonprofit organization throughout the city.

“I am extremely optimistic about the future of New Orleans,”Taylor said. “Like everyone else, I have doubts and frustrationsbut I do believe we have an opportunity of a lifetime to build anurban Eden. I look forward to being a part of it.”

— Richard Slawsky

Phyllis TaylorPosition: chairman, CEO and sole owner of Taylor Energy Co.; chairman and presidentof the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation

Family: late husband, Patrick F. Taylor

Education: bachelor’s degree in history and political science, University ofSouthwestern Louisiana; law degree, Tulane University Law School.


Cheryl Teamer’s first job out of law school was as an attorneyfor the Louisiana House of Representatives’ Committee onMunicipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs.

Since then, Teamer said she has had a diverse career, “fromthe law firm to the corporate world.” She has served as amember of the governmental affairs group at Adams & ReeseLLP, as well as an executive assistant for intergovernmentalrelations to former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial.

Because of Teamer’s former positions and familiarity withmany government officials, Teamer said she is able to bringher experience, relationships and understanding to her posi-tion as regional vice president of governmental relations forHarrah’s Entertainment Inc.

“I was able to join an incredible company,” Teamer said.“I’ve been able to be a part of this.”

Teamer said she holds a unique professional perspectivebecause she has worked in the corporate and government are-nas. Prior to Harrah’s, Teamer “worked on the opposite side ofthe table in (Harrah’s) bankruptcy hearings.”

Her position now focuses on working with federal offi-cials and national organizations, something Teamerbelieves she can “bring a whole new perspective to as some-one who’s been there.”

Teamer said she has not had many adversities in her career,but “it is always a challenge for a woman.”

“I’ve never wanted to be labeled a minority,” Teamer said,adding she does not want to be referred to as the “best minor-ity” or “best woman” lawyer.

“Differences about us make us stronger,” Teamer said.“It’s not a detriment. Adversity is something you stumbleinto as who you come into the world being — it hasn’thampered me.”

Teamer serves as an adjunct professor of public policy andurban affairs at the University of New Orleans and is a mem-ber of the Audubon Institute Board, the Greater NewOrleans Foundation Board, the Foundation for CulturalEconomy Board, Junior League, LINKS and the board ofdirectors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Teamer serves as an adviser to Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu’sLouisiana Rebirth Initiative plan.

Teamer’s primary concern post-Hurricane Katrina isreopening Harrah’s. It is set to reopen Feb. 17.

“We’re in the business of gaming,” Teamer said. “Theonly way to do that is to move forward. You can’t do thatwith the doors locked.”


Cheryl TeamerPosition: regional vice president of government relations, Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.

Family: Maltese, Sophie

Education: bachelor of arts, Spelman College; juris doctorate, Tulane Law School


Polly Thomas has not missed a beat since Hurricane Katrina. The professor of special education at the University of

New Orleans joined two community groups (Citizens for OneGreater New Orleans and Citizens for a Safer Jefferson); ishousing three adults, two babies and a dog at her Metairiehome; and plans to run for state Senate.

Thomas’ job involves screening elementary school chil-dren in reading, math and written language in the Pre-refer-ral Assessment Model program. In testing students, Thomasand her colleagues hope to “determine whether non-perform-ance is because of not knowing how to do the task or choos-ing not to do the task.” If needed, research-based interventionis staged for the children at these schools.

Thomas’ work is done throughout the greater NewOrleans area. Over a three-year period in St. Charles Parish,the referral rate for special education classes went downfrom 4 percent to 1.4 percent. As a result of her work, “onlythose children who truly need special education are beingplaced there.”

“It was a privilege to be able to help people,” she said.

Thomas has a hard time containing her enthusiasm for herwork. Her favorite words to describe her work are “way cool.”

Thomas has worked on a variety of community activitiesranging from serving on the Jefferson Parish School Board foralmost eight years, coaching girls cabbage ball and serving asmember of the Metairie Women’s Club. The two organiza-tions she recently joined aim to ensure locals receive protec-tion in case of another hurricane like Katrina.

During Katrina, Thomas evacuated with her husband,Loyola professor Robert Thomas, to New Iberia. While inNew Iberia, they went to a branch of the local public libraryto use the Internet.

While there, they noticed many people had trouble usingthe Internet, especially when dealing with online FederalEmergency Management Agency applications. Thomas andher husband volunteered for eight days at the library, helpingpeople with the FEMA online application process and settingup free e-mail accounts so they could receive confirmation oftheir application.

— Fritz Esker

Paulette ‘Polly’ ThomasPosition: professor of special education, University of New Orleans

Family: husband, Robert Thomas; daughters, Jennifer, 35, Aimee, 32; and son, Patrick, 26

Education: bachelor of arts, University of Louisiana Lafayette in speech pathology andaudiology; master of arts and doctorate in educational psychology, Texas A&M


Sharon Toups became interested in health care because shewanted to have an impact on lives.

Little did she know, nearly 20 years later, how much shewould affect the North Shore community.

After Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29, Toups, senior vicepresident and chief operating officer of St. Tammany ParishHospital, put the health and safety of North Shore residentsand hospital employees first.

Toups lived at STPH for two weeks where she helped pro-vide care for existing and incoming patients. She helpedcoordinate emergency services and obtain supplies.

“We put patients first. We had roughly 200 to 300 employ-ees who helped us remain operational and take care of ourpatients’ needs,” Toups said. “We became really creative dur-ing those integral hours. We had limited communication sowe had nonessential personnel drive as far away as BatonRouge to get a cell phone signal to call for supplies.”

Toups helped coordinate shelter and provided integralservices for employees and their families at the hospital andset up an Internet message board for hospital staff memberswho evacuated.

The New Orleans native also took in a family fromChalmette who lived with her for three months. Toups also pre-pared home-cooked meals for members of the National Guards.

Toups fell in love with the heath care profession in highschool and chose to pursue physical therapy. Following a four-year stint as a physical therapist for Ochsner ClinicFoundation, Toups saw an opportunity to “shape the wayhealth care is provided” by going into health care management.

“I have the opportunity to positively change people’s livesand I saw the need to come up with creative ways to providehealth care,” she said.

As Ochsner’s director of rehabilitation services for 11 years

and vice president of ancillary service for three years, Toupsoversaw patient care, personnel and financial managementand was vital in system development and strategic planning.She planned, designed and staffed two outpatient-therapyclinics, increasing patient visits by 30,000 and creating the$500,000 Center for Geriatric Medicine.

Toups also formulated and executed Ochsner’s $3.8 millionLieselotte Tansey Breast Center.

“Improving the time frame that women receive care hasalways been a passion,” said Toups, who directed the opening ofSTPH’s Breast Center. “If we can detect and prevent things earlyby the quality of care we provide, we are making a difference.”

Toups’ other passion is facility planning. She planned,designed and helped execute STPH’s 20,000-square-footOutpatient Pavilion, which houses therapy, diagnostics and awound care center.

She also is dedicated to leading her staff of 1,500 throughcomprehensive customer service training and programdevelopment.

Toups donates her time to educate children about healthcare by volunteering with the Girl Scouts and serving on theWest St. Tammany YWCA board and the Junior LeagueCommunity Advisory Board.

“It is important for us as health care professionals to exposeyoung people to health care careers,” she said. “I see STPHplaying an important role in growing the next generation ofhealth care workers.”

Toups also plans to continue the growth of the STPH.With the sudden population increase on the NorthShore, Toups said STPH is reassessing the needs of itscommunity and developing strategies to continueimproving health care.

— Jodi Cararas

Sharon ToupsPosition: senior vice president and chief operating officer, St. Tammany Parish Hospital

Family: single

Education: bachelor’s degree in physical therapy, Louisiana State University MedicalCenter; master’s degree in education, University of New Orleans


When Hurricane Katrina struck Aug. 29, temporarily paralyz-ing the tourism and convention industry, Nancy Trosclair,owner of Destination New Orleans, knew she would have atough road ahead.

Her company specializes in corporate and incentivegroups, event planning and production, tour programs, cre-ative custom marketing concepts and hospitality and conven-tion services — mainly for out-of-state clients.

Some clients canceled events and she feared the media’sportrayal of New Orleans post-Katrina would make it hard togain new business.

Trosclair did what any savvy businessperson would do. Shelooked in her own backyard and realized it was a perfect timeto help businesses plan events they were unable to hold ontheir own after the storm.

“I have the ability to help locals rediscover New Orleans,”said Trosclair. “We all need to look to ourselves and start put-ting money back into this city to help rebuild New Orleans.”

Trosclair’s first post-Katrina event was “New OrleansHospitality Hospital,” a networking function held Nov. 16 atSun Ray Grill in the Warehouse District. Proceeds went tothe New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and VisitorsBureau’s New Orleans Tourism Rebirth Fund.

She also scheduled two events for the Women’s BusinessCouncil Gulf Coast and is working with other potentialclients.

The University of New Orleans graduate started DestinationNew Orleans two and a half years ago after starting in the hos-pitality industry in 1999 at Bonnie Boyd & Co.

Trosclair previously taught English, speech and debate formore than 20 years.

DNO has amassed approximately 175 clients, including JPMorgan and General Electric. With the help of her husband,

Maurice, who is director of marketing, Trosclair is responsiblefor all operations and sales including conceiving and develop-ing new events, themes and tours, proposal and resourcedevelopment.

“I want to remain a small business,” Trosclair said. “Manytimes client needs get lost in bigger companies. By stayingsmall I am completely hands-on and know what is going onat all times to ensure that my clients get what they need.”

That means constantly researching and developing newand creative ways to put on events, she said.

“For example, I had a textile company client come intown. I learned all there is to know about textiles and foundways to incorporate textile themes into their meetings andevents, such as touring area homes that featured more than100-year-old tapestries,” Trosclair said. “It’s a fun job becauseI also get to learn about New Orleans each day.”

She also keeps abreast of industry happenings by beinginvolved in more than 12 organizations, including theAssociation of Destination Management Executives and theHospitality Education & Networking Association. Trosclairpublicly speaks on the hospitality industry and was awardedthe Meeting Professionals International Gulf StatesPresident’s Award in 2005. She has received five AdrianAwards from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing AssociationInternational in 2004.

Trosclair’s inspiration, she said, has always been her love ofNew Orleans.

“I fell in love with the city’s quirky personality and I justwant to share that with people from all over the world,” saidTrosclair, originally from St. Louis. “New Orleans has beengood to me and now more than ever I am going to continuespreading the great culture of New Orleans to others.”

— Jodi Cararas

Nancy TrosclairPosition: president and owner, Destination New Orleans LLC

Family: husband, Maurice; dogs, Beebop and Boudreaux

Education: bachelor’s degree in English, University of New Orleans


Most professionals squeeze volunteer work into tight sched-ules. Anne Witmer makes a full-time job out of it.

Witmer devotes her educational and professional careers toimproving public health care. While obtaining a master’sdegree from UCLA, Witmer received field fellowships toCuba and Mexico City where she researched primary carepractices and women’s health. After graduation, she worked asprogram manager for the Public Health Leadership Institute ofCalifornia before relocating to New Orleans to serve as pro-gram director for the Louisiana Public Health Institute.

Now as executive director of PACE Greater New Orleansand PACE Louisiana, Witmer continues serving those inneed. The Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly is anational project developed more than 30 years ago to providethe elderly with an alternative to institutional care.

Funded by Medicare and Medicaid, PACE centers offerseniors primary care such as extensive medical services andphysical therapy without forcing them to enter traditionalnursing homes.

“The whole idea is to try to give seniors as much independ-ence and dignity by allowing them to live in their own homesas long as possible,” said Witmer.

For five years, Witmer has enhanced alternative care inNew Orleans. One of her crowning achievements was estab-lishing the Shirley Landry Benson PACE Center at St.Cecilia in the Bywater. Witmer and PACE raised about $5million in grants and donations to convert the abandonedchurch into a state-of-the-art health facility that is the firstof its kind in Louisiana.

“We wanted to create an environment that was reallyabout celebrating life,” Witmer says. “The idea of walkinginto a building where you see the stained glass and wherethere is a sense of a spiritual presence contributes a lot to peo-ple’s ability to heal.”

Hurricane Katrina delivered an unexpected blow to thefacility, which was to open Sept. 1. Repairs won’t be complet-ed until March. In the meantime, Witmer is helping seniorsreturn to their communities and reconnect with displacedfamily and friends.

“Being in the last years of your life, it is important to comeback,” Witmer says. “People don’t have much longer and theyhave a great desire to be at home ... but it’s hard.”

Witmer says the most challenging obstacle for seniors fol-lowing Katrina is finding suitable housing. PACE is now seek-ing partnerships with officials assessing housing shortages toensure senior needs are met.

Witmer says that PACE is expanding its coverage area toJefferson and Orleans parishes. Once the center is fullyrestored, PACE will commence transport services for seniorsthroughout New Orleans and the West Bank. To Witmer,there is no better time than the present to reach out to thosewho have been through so much.

“There is more of a need for it now than ever before,”Witmer said. “To me, being able to create a program for sen-iors in New Orleans that celebrates their lives and treats themwith dignity and respect gives me so much gratification — Ifeel so honored to do the work I do.”

— Patrick Strange

Anne WitmerPosition: executive director, PACE Greater New Orleans and PACE Louisiana

Family: single

Education: bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of California at Berkeley;master’s in public health at UCLA

WHO ARE

New Orleans

OUTSTANDING

LAWYERS?This APRIL, New Orleans CityBusiness presents the

2ND

ANNUAL

LEADERSHIP IN LAW

award luncheon and publication.

APRIL 28TH, 2006

TO nominatE EMAIL TOMMY [email protected]

or visit our website at

www.neworleanscitybusiness.com.

For more information contact Ann Herren at

[email protected] or 504.293.9296

New Orleans

of the

2 0 0 5

Y

Help us by nominating our city’s best attorneys, women inbusiness, innovative minds and employers!

To nominate for these events email [email protected]

To find out more about our events or to participate as a sponsor, or advertise callAnn Herren at 504.293.9296 or email her at [email protected]

will continue to celebrate the verybest that New Orleans has to offer

with our annual events:

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