Sponsoredby: - New Orleans City Business

Donna K.Alley Dianne Baham Gaynell Bellizan Ruth Berggren Lolita Burrell Jeanette C. Butler Vanessa 

Claiborne Jacquelyn 

womenoftheyear 

Brechtel Clarkson Elaine E. Coleman Katherine Conklin Charlotte M. Connick Lisa 

Crinel Susan 

2 

G. 

0 

D’Antoni 

0 3 

M. Christine D’Antonio Sandra Dartus Camilla Q. Davis Catherine C. Dunn 

Carol Etter Peggy A. Feldman Susan K. Fielkow Deborah Duplechin Harkins Deborah C. Keel Patricia A. 

Krebs Sen. Mary Landrieu Janet E. Leigh A. Kelton Longwell Laura K. Maloney Eve Barrie Masinter Elsie 

Mendez Eileen F. Powers Tonnette “Toni” Rice Deborah B. Rouen Dionne Rousseau Diane M. Roussel 

Kim Ryan Grace Sheehan Andrea Thornton Keely Williams Verrett Dawn Wesson Charlee Williamson 

Sponsoredby:

Thanks 

Camilla Davis 

for thirteen years of dedicated service to our 

company and the insurance industry. 

We congratulate her as one of the 2003 

CityBusiness Women of the Year. 

Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Mandeville, LA, FARA is a nationwide insurance services 

provider of risk management solutions and group benefits administration to insurance 

companies, self-insured corporations and governmental entities. 

2360 Fifth Street • Mandeville, LA 70471 • 1-800-259-8388 • www.fara.com


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Chaffe & Associates, Inc. 

Congratulates 

Vanessa B. Claiborne 

table of contents 

Donna K.Alley 

5B 

Dianne Baham 

6B 

Gaynell Bellizan 

8B 

Ruth Berggren 

9B 

Lolita Burrell 

10B 

Jeanette C. Butler 

12B 

Vanessa Claiborne 

13B 

Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson 

14B 

Elaine E. Coleman 

15B 

Katherine Conklin 

16B 

Lisa Crinel 

17B 

Susan G. D’Antoni 

18B 

M. Christine D’Antonio 19B 

Sandra Dartus 

20B 

Camilla Q. Davis 

21B 

Catherine C. Dunn 

22B 

Carol Etter 

23B 

Peggy A. Feldmann 

24B 

Susan K. Fielkow 

25B 

Deborah Duplechin Harkins 

26B 

Deborah C. Keel 

27B 

Patricia A. Krebs 

28B 

Sen. Mary Landrieu 

29B 

Janet E. Leigh 

30B 

A. Kelton Longwell 31B 

Charlotte Connick Mabry 

32B 

Laura K. Maloney 

33B 

Eve Barrie Masinter 

34B 

Elsie Mendez 

35B 

Eileen F. Powers 

36B 

Tonnette “Toni” Rice 

37B 

Deborah B. Rouen 

38B 

Dionne M. Rousseau 

39B 

Diane M. Roussel 

40B 

Kim Ryan 

41B 

Grace Sheehan 

43B 

Andrea Thornton 

44B 

Keeley Williams Verrett 

45B 

Dawn Wesson 

46B 

Charlee Williamson 

48B 

Photographer: Cheryl Gerber 

Published by the NOPG LLC 111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., 

Suite 1440, Metairie, La. 70005 

504-834-9292; Fax: 504-837-2258. 

One of the 

CityBusiness 

Women 

of the Year 

for 2003 

ASSOCIATES, INC. 

INVESTMENT BANKERS 

201St. Charles Ave, Suite 1410 

New Orleans, LA 70170 

524-1801 www.chaffe-associates.com 

Congratulations 

Councilwoman 

Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, 

a wonderful example of caring for our City. 

Mayor C. Ray Nagin 

and the 

City of New Orleans Employees 

Publisher and president: D. Mark Singletary 

Editor: Terry O’Connor 

Senior associate editor: Megan Kamerick 

Director/custom publishing and industry reports: McKenzie Lovelace 

Account executive/custom publishing and industry reports: Ann Bower 

Art director: Lisa Finnan 

Production manager: Julie Bernard 

Advertising coordinator: Heidi Decker


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“I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: 

I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments 

that differentiate me from a doormat.” 

Rebecca West 

We always wonder each year when we start the 

process of soliciting nominations for Women of the 

Year if we’ve exhausted all our possibilities. Can 

there really be another batch of at least 40 women 

doing amazing things in this community? 

You have the answer in your hand. 

They are a varied group in age and experience and 

Megan Kamerick 

goals. Some have struggled with discrimination or 

poverty. Some have taken on the role of superwoman, pursuing a 

stressful demanding career while raising children. Most have found 

time to give back to their community in some way. They are doctors, 

lawyers, entrepreneurs, politicians and members of the military. 

I get a kick out of reading these every year and interviewing some of 

the women myself. They introduce me to professions and facets of the 

New Orleans community I would otherwise never know. I chose the 

Rebecca West quote because so often I interview women like these and 

they are quick to tell me “I’m not a feminist or anything.” West’s quote 

is usually my response. 

Our editorial committee once again found it difficult to narrow the 

field down to 40 women. We even had several nominees who are past 

winners: Jennifer Magee, Sandra Shilstone and Judy Perry Martinez. 

Next year we plan to establish a CityBusiness Hall of Fame for multiple 

Women of the Year nominees. 

We thank the nominators for bringing these women to our attention. 

And we thank these women for their contributions to New 

Orleans. Please keep up the good work. 

Megan Kamerick 

Senior associate editor 

New Orleans CityBusiness 

THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS SALUTE 

DR. SUSAN FIELKOW 

AS ONE OF CITYBUSINESS’ 40 WOMEN OF THE YEAR 

saints football. 

gotta be there. 

NEWORLEANSSAINTS.COM 

For season or group tickets call 731-1700


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honorees 

1999 

2000 

2001 

2002 

2003 

Phyllis Adams 

Tonia Aiken 

Julie Condy 

Ann Cassagne Anderson 

Donna K. Alley 

Jan Boatright 

Lauren Anderson 

Sherie Conrad 

Annie Avery` 

Dianne Baham 

Patricia Denechaud 

Carol Asher 

Sheila Danzey 

Trilby Barnes 


Maura Donahue 

Judy Barrasso 

Judy Dawson 

Ginger Berrigan 

Ruth Berggren 

Betsy Dresser 

Diane Barrilleaux 

Ann Duplessis 

Dianne Boazman 


Lana Duke 

Suzette Becker 

Patti Ellish 

Donnie Marie Booth 


Nanci Easterling 

Elodia Blanco 

Jean Felts 

Christine Briede 


Midge Epstein 

Julia Bland 

Patricia Gray 

Kay Brief 


Mignon Faget 

Cindy Brennan 

Beverly Gianna 

Stephanie Bruno 


Donna Fraiche 

Maureen Clary 

Sheilah Auderer Goodson 

Kimberly Williamson Butler 


Patricia Habeeb 

Sally Clausen 

Norma Grace 

Jane Cooper 

Lisa Crinel 

Connie Jacobs 

Dr. Elizabeth Terrell 

Deborah Ducote Keller 

Shirley Trusty Corey 


Leslie Rosenthal Jacobs 

Hobgood Fontham 

Donna Guinn Klein 

Kay Dee 

M. Christine D’Antonio 

Alice Kennedy 

Joni Friedmann 

Roselyn Koretzky 

Eugenie Jones Encalarde 

Sandra Dartus 

Ti Martin 

Joanne Gallinghouse 

Corvette Kowalski 

Alethia Gauthier 


Judy Perry Martinez 

Brenda Garibaldi Hatfield 

Jennifer Magee 

Clem Goldberger 


Elise McCullough 

Paulette Hurdlick 

Barbara Major 

Patricia Green 

Carol Etter 

Ruth Ann Menutis 

Maureen Larkins 

Laurie Vignaud Marshall 

Judith Halverson 


Siomonia Edwards Milton 

Gay LeBreton 

Suzanne Mestayer 

Barbara Johnson 


Phala Mire 

Saundra Levy 

Nancy Morovich 

Barbara Kaplinsky 


Margaret Montgomery-Richard 

Londa Martin McCullough 

Barbara Motley 

Ruth Kullman 


Karyn Noles 

Linda Mintz 

Roberta Musa 

Sharon Litwin 


Ruth Owens 

Judith Miranti 

Iona Myers 

Ana Lopez 

Mary Landrieu 

Sharon Perlis 

Angela O’Byrne 

Rickie Nutik 

Barbara MacPhee 


Nellie Stokes Perry 

Rajender “Raj” Pannu 

Tina Owen 

Deborah Mavis 

A. Kelton Longwell 

Leaudria Polk 

Kay Priestly 

Sharon Rodi 

Marguerite McDonald 


Kay Priestly 

Kat Rice 

Wanda Sigur 

Cheryl Nickerson 


Jan Ramsey 

P.K. Scheerle 

ChiQuita Simms 

Danette O’Neal 


Marguerite Redwine 

Eileen Skinner 

Katherine Harlan Sippola 

Jimmie Phillips 

Elsie Mendez 

P.K. Scheerle 

Bettye Parker Smith 

Julie Skinner Stokes 

Catherine Pierson 


Flo Schornstein 

Sherry Walters 

Ruby Sumler 

Jane Raiford 

Tonnette “Toni” Rice 

Janet Shea 

Nancy Bissinger Timm 

Rhonda Robichaux 


Kim Sport 

Ollie Tyler 

Julie Rodriguez 


Carroll Suggs 

Pam Wegmann 

Judy Shano 


Barbara Turner Windhorst 

Ann Wills 

Sandy Shilstone 

Kim Ryan 

Susan Spicer 

Grace Sheehan 

Suzanne Thomas 


Deborah Villio 


Kay Wilkins 

Dawn Wesson 

Elizabeth Williams 

Charlee Williamson

From the courtroom to the conference room, 

we’re leaders in today’s complex legal arena. 

Adams and Reese blends the wisdom of over fifty years of comprehensive legal and practical experience with 

the energy and vitality of an ambitious newcomer. Whether in the courtroom or in the conference room, our 

attorneys use proactive leadership strategies to provide the highest quality legal service in the most prompt, 

cost-effective manner possible. 

We're solving problems and getting results. Because when we're out front, 

our clients are too. 

Congratulations to our Partner and 

Executive Committee Member 


2003 Women of the Year Recipient 

Out in front. 

www.adamsandreese.com 

One Shell Square ■ 701 Poydras Street ■ Suite 4500 ■ New Orleans, LA 70139 ■ 504.581.3234 

Baton Rouge ■ Birmingham ■ Houston ■ Jackson ■ Mobile ■ New Orleans ■ Washington D.C. 

No representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of the legal services performed by other lawyers. 

Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization except as noted. Author: Charles P. Adams, Jr. 

FREE BACKGROUND INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

women of the year 

5B 

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Donna K. Alley 

Position: Provost,West Bank Campus, Delgado Community College 

Family: husband, Daniel; son, Jon, 36 

Education: B.A., English/French, Central College, Fayette, Mo.; M.A., reading education, University of Missouri at Kansas City; Ed.D., 

higher education administration, Nova Southeastern University 

Donna Alley thinks community colleges not only offer a quality 

education at an affordable price, they also play an essential 

role in meeting local needs for workforce development. 

“That mission is extremely important,” said Alley, 

provost of Delgado Community College’s West Bank 

campus. “I think that’s one thing this campus had not 

done as much (in the past).” 

Under Alley’s leadership, the expansion of career-oriented 

course offerings at the campus has helped boost 

enrollment from about 1,500 students to 2,800 in just 

three years. Among the newest programs are international 

education, public service and massage therapy — which is 

the only such program offered by a Louisiana community 

college. In addition to its college courses, Delgado is participating 

in a national pilot program to help Jefferson 

Parish high school students with deficient skills prepare 

for college. 

One of the biggest inspirations for Alley’s choice of an 

education career was her mother. 

“My mother was a widowed lady who had a high 

school education and worked for something like $40 a 

week to support two children,” Alley said. 

Her first job out of college was a four-year stint teaching 

journalism and English in a rural high school in 

Independence, Mo. After earning her master’s degree 

she spent 19 years at Maplewood Community College in 

Kansas City, Mo., where she instituted a reading program 

and advanced to chairwoman of the Department of 

Communication. 

In 1999, after moving to Florida, Alley received her 

doctorate from Nova Southeastern University in Fort 

Lauderdale. Looking to land her next job, she sent out 

three applications: two for positions at Florida colleges 

and one for an opening at Delgado. 

“This was the one I really wanted,” said Alley, who had 

attended conferences in New Orleans and loved the city. 

“I was holding my breath hoping they would offer it to me, 

and they did.” 

Alley’s community affiliations include the Algiers 

Economic Development Association, which is partnering 

with the campus to develop a construction training program 

that involves repairing blighted housing. She also is 

a member of the Harvey Industrial Canal Association, the 

House of Ruth and the New Orleans Regional Chamber 

of Commerce, which named her its 2003 Ambassador of 

the Year. 

In her leisure time, she enjoys traveling, walking, water 

aerobics and especially visiting with her grandchildren, 

Zachary, 12, and Elizabeth, 3. 

As Delgado’s West Bank enrollment continues to grow, 

the need for additional buildings to accommodate more students 

and programs grows with it. But competition with 

other Delgado campuses for limited resources makes funding 

one of Alley’s toughest challenges as campus provost. 

“Although we have needs,we have to wait in line,”she said. 

— By Sonya Stinson

6B New Orleans CityBusiness • November 10, 2003 

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Dianne Baham 

Position: Executive Director, St.Tammany Association for Retarded Citizens 

Family: husband, Jim; son, Mark, 26 

Education: B.A. social work, Southeastern Louisiana University, 1970 

For Dianne Baham, running the St. Tammany Association 

for Retarded Citizens is not just a job,it’s a spiritual mission. 

“The Lord sort of prepared me as a very little girl for 

this work,” Baham said. 

Baham grew up in Folsom, where her parents owned a 

nursing home. The family spent so much time at the facility 

that she said, “We lived there, pretty much.” At their 

own home they often took in people to live with them. 

That early experience shaped Baham’s deep compassion 

for people in need. 

While studying social work at Southeastern 

Louisiana University, Baham met her future husband, 

the Rev. Jim Baham. After they married, he was called 

to a position as associate pastor and minister of music 

at First Baptist Church of Slidell. The search committee 

at the church mentioned an opening for someone to 

run a new nonprofit serving retarded citizens. Armed 

with her degree in social work and volunteer experience 

at the Hammond State School for developmentally 

disabled children, Baham took on the assignment. 

When STARC began, it had three children as clients, a 

$2,500 budget and a staff of two. Today it serves more 

than 400 families at any given time, has a $4.5 million budget 

and a staff of more than 200. Providing referrals as well 

as direct services, the association helps clients acquire 

therapy, medical care, home care, work and placement in 

summer camps. 

“We provide a lifetime of services and support to 

infants, children and adults with mental retardation or any 

kind of developmental disability,” Baham said. 

Baham’s goal is to help each client become as independent 

as possible, while providing the best of whatever care 

he or she needs. Sometimes she takes her sense of personal 

responsibility to remarkable lengths: The Bahams 

themselves currently have custody of one of the association’s 

clients, a man who is in his 60s. 

Among Baham’s proudest achievements are: helping to 

pass a local millage to raise funds to assist both retarded 

citizens and seniors in the parish; getting a bill passed that 

provides local authority over services related to mental illness, 

mental retardation and substance abuse; starting a 

recycling project and a commercial linen service that provides 

jobs for clients; and developing a training curriculum 

for direct support professionals at Delgado 

Community College. 

Baham said she makes a point of hiring people who 

share the same passion for the work that she has. 

“I like to try to make any ordinary day an extraordinary 

day,” Baham said. “I like for our staff to get excited about 

making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” 


Progressive Women 

. . .may not be the first phrase that 

comes to mind when you think of an 

accounting and consulting firm that 

has been in Southeast Louisiana for 

nearly 80 years. As three female 

directors who contribute their 

personal time as board members of 

the United Way, Volunteers of 

America, Junior Achievement and 

Touro Infirmary, in addition to 

serving the accounting, tax and 

employee benefit needs of our local 

business community, they are. 

And, as Bourgeois Bennett directors, 

they continue to practice our firms 

belief in the timeless values of 

integrity, objectivity and 

professionalism in everything they 

do. 

From left: Directors Mary J. Koss, 

Ellen S. Yellin, and Beverly R. Nichols 

New Orleans 504.831.4949 

www.bb-cpa.com 

Also offices in Houma and Thibodaux. 

TODAY’S 

GIRLS 

TOMORROW’S 

LEADERS 

Congratulations 

to our Headmistress 

.Eileen Powers. 

Louise S. 

McGehee 

S C H O O L 

FOUNDED 1912 

504-561-1224 

www.mcgehee.k12.la.us 

2343 PRYTANIA STREET NEW ORLEANS 

Louise S. McGehee School is open to all qualified girls regardless of race, religion or ethnic origin.


2 0 0 3 



Position: Account Executive,WHNO-TV Channel 20 

Family: engaged to Frank Robinson Jr.; son, Brandon, 15; daughter Cydne, 5 

Education: B.A., communications, Xavier University 

When Gaynell Bellizan graduated from Xavier 

University in 1984 she struggled with the age-old 

dilemma: How does one secure a job that requires experience 

when no one will provide the opportunity to 

acquire that experience? 

After a period of frustration, Bellizan was offered an 

internship at WDSU-TV Channel 6. It was the year of the 

World’s Fair. She worked as an assistant to the producer of 

a daily morning show. Five months later, she landed an 

entry level position in the traffic department and from 

there her career in television took off. 

All it took, Bellizan said, was that one initial opportunity. 

Now, working as an account executive for WHNO-TV 

Channel 20, and producer of several local television programs, 

Bellizan is committed to providing small businesses, 

non-profit organizations and college graduates that 

same kind of opportunity. 

“It gives me an opportunity to bless others and that 

brings me joy,” she said. 

Bellizan is in charge of selling advertising to local businesses. 

Most small businesses have never previously 

advertised, Bellizan said, so she also provides free marketing 

consultation. 

“I help them get into other mediums and acclimated to 

advertising. I show them how inexpensive it can be and 

how it can make them more competitive in the market.” 

Bellizan’s other true love lies in her work with local 

nonprofits and Christian organizations. One such group, 

the Louisiana Family Council, was featured on Future 

Focus, a COX Channel 8 program created by Bellizan. 

The council, a federally funded program, offers services 

to troubled families. Bellizan said it represents what she set 

out to accomplish with Future Focus. 

“There weren’t any good local community affairs shows 

that addressed the important issues like crime or education 

or broken families. I wanted to create a show that touched 

on these issues while providing New Orleanians a forum 

and opportunity to express their opinions candidly.” 

At one point, a college student interested in a career in 

communications was host of the program. Though she had 

no experience,Bellizan granted her the opportunity to shine. 

“Kids who want an opportunity, I give it to them.” 

Bellizan, who was born and raised in New Orleans, said 

she has a natural feel for the local culture that translates 

into her work. 

“I can tell what shows will work before they air and in 

marketing I can tell where businesses need to place their 

money depending on who they want to reach.” 

She intends to use this innate sense in her new business 

venture, ABC Marketing. The company will help small 

businesses market themselves. As with everything else she 

does, Bellizan’s focus is on providing someone just starting 

out the opportunity to succeed. 

— By Richard A. Webster


9B 

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Ruth Berggren 

Position: Assistant Professor of Infectious Diseases at Tulane University Schools of Medicine and Public Health and Tropical Medicine 

Family: husband,Tyler Curiel; son,Alex, 10; daughter, Megan, 9 

Education: B.A., biology, Oberlin College; M.D., Harvard Medical School 

The historical ties that bind New Orleans and Haiti run 

deep. For Dr. Ruth Berggren, they are personal. 

Berggren spent 10 years of her childhood in Haiti 

where she witnessed firsthand the hardships the people 

endured. Over dinner, she listened to her parents, 

both public health physicians, discuss how to prevent 

babies from contracting infectious diseases from their 

mothers. 

Berggren translated these experiences into a lifelong 

battle combating HIV and the AIDS virus. 

As an assistant professor of infectious diseases at 

Tulane, Berggren conducts research involving HIV vaccines 

and preventative and therapeutic clinical trials. She 

is also an attending physician at Charity Hospital. 

Berggren travels to Haiti five times a year as part of an 

initiative sponsored by the World AIDS Federation, working 

in and around a town called Mirebalaif. She travels into 

the outlying communities where people lack access to a 

hospital. Her work is focused on preventing the transmission 

of HIV/AIDS from mother to child, much as her parents 

did decades earlier. 

“Poor countries like Haiti have not historically had 

access to HIV medicines because they’re so costly. Our 

job is to not only provide the people with drugs, but to 

provide them with the therapy and counseling to ensure 

the intervention is successful.” 

Since starting in June, the program has successfully 

tested 1,500 women. 

Berggren was born in Boston and returned to her 

hometown at the age of 14. She remembers her surprise 

upon seeing all the nice homes and realizing everyone 

went to school. 

“I lived in a rural area in Haiti. And though I did not 

live a rural life, all of my friends did. They lived in humble 

homes, and not everyone went to school. I thought it was 

normal until I came back to the States.” 

Berggren hopes some of the techniques used there, 

such as the outreach programs into the local communities, 

can be transferred to New Orleans. 

“In New Orleans we see people come into the hospitals 

very late into the disease and we know if we could have 

diagnosed them years earlier we could have given them the 

proper treatment,” she said. “By going out and meeting 

people in their environment we can diagnose them earlier 

and get them help.” 

She hopes a facility such as the HIV Outpatient Clinic 

on Roman Street, a full service medical center offering 

both health and social services, can be opened in Haiti. 

“It will not only help AIDS patients, but raise the 

entire standard of health care and living for everybody in 

the community.” 

— Richard A. Webster


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Name: Lolita Burrell 

Position: Managing Auditor, Ochsner Clinic Foundation 

Family: husband, John 

Education: B.S. in management, accounting concentration,A.B. Freeman School of Business,Tulane University; Certified Public Accountant 

On May 20, 2003, in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom 

scandals, 130 auditors, accountants, attorneys and other 

members of New Orleans’ corporate community gathered 

for the New Orleans Does Business Right! Corporate 

Governance and Ethics Conference, aka the CEO Summit. 

Putting it all together — behind the scenes as organizer 

and fundraiser and out front as mistress of ceremonies and 

speaker — was Lolita Burrell. 

Burrell took charge of the event in her role as marketing 

coordinator for the local chapter of the Institute of Internal 

Auditors. 

“We hosted it in honor of the first recognized Internal 

Audit Awareness month, with the goal of focusing public 

attention on the role internal auditors play in good corporate 

governance,” said Burrell, who is managing auditor 

for the Ochsner Clinic Foundation. 

The program included panel discussions with corporate 

directors, executive officers and auditors, as well 

speeches by Timothy Ryan, University of New Orleans 

interim chancellor and business school dean, and local 

corporate attorney Dionne Rousseau, who also helped 

organize the conference. 

Although spearheading the CEO Summit was a novel 

experience for Burrell, it was by no means her first time in 

the spotlight. She is a jazz singer who until recently performed 

under the stage name Lolita Trudeau. In 1999, 

Offbeat magazine selected her as one of eight “New 

Orleans Jazz Divas.”Despite her growing fame,she said the 

difficulty of coordinating music rehearsals with her work 

schedule, along with her marriage in November 2001, 

eventually led her to shelve her entertainment career. 

Recalling that her choice to study accounting “was 

largely influenced by some strong family pressure,” Burrell 

said she probably would have majored in music, art or 

writing had it had been entirely up to her. 

But during a summer internship under the direction of 

a Tulane University accounting professor, she discovered 

the auditing field of accounting was surprisingly interesting 

and creative. It requires innovation, resourcefulness 

and interpersonal skills for putting people at ease during 

the auditing process. 

“Contrary to popular belief, the life of an auditor, especially 

an internal auditor, is not just about sitting behind a 

desk, crunching numbers and analyzing spreadsheets,” 

Burrell said. 

Outside work, Burrell enjoys writing and public speaking 

— which she views as a kind of performance art — and 

she has a strong interest in economic development. She is 

also involved in the Young Leadership Council. 

Born in New Orleans and raised in Queens,N.Y.,Burrell 

can trace her Crescent City roots back to the 1700s. 

“I love New Orleans and I want to see it thrive and succeed,” 

she said. 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Director of the Facility Management Service Line at the Veterans Administration Hospital 

Family: husband,Ted; son,T.J., 11, and daughter, Jasmine, 6 

Education: B.S. electrical engineering, University of New Orleans 

As a teenager, Jeanette Butler once noticed that a fan in her 

mother’s apartment was broken. So she carefully took the 

machine apart, laid the component pieces on the floor, 

found the part that had jammed and put the whole thing 

back together again. 

“My mom caught me with the pieces all over the floor 

and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ But I fixed it.” 

Today, Butler is rebuilding bigger things than house 

fans. As director of the facility management service line 

at New Orleans’ Veterans’ Administration Hospital, she 

is charged with the care and feeding of a 54-year-old, 

full-service health center. Under her direction, the 1949 

hospital has undergone major renovations of patient 

wards and had ancient plumbing systems reconfigured. 

The 38-year-old engineer is in charge of every aspect of 

the hospital’s physical plant, from sanitation and air 

quality to furnishings in waiting rooms. She also oversees 

a full-time staff of 218. 

A graduate of the University of New Orleans’s electrical 

engineering program, Butler worked briefly for a 

utility company in Michoud before joining the VA’s 

graduate training program for engineers in 1990 when 

she was 25. She rose quickly in the hospital’s ranks from 

there, eventually becoming operations manager. She 

assumed her present position in 2002. 

Hardship, said Butler, helped make her an independent 

woman.Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old,and 

her younger brother is autistic. Her mother raised the two of 

them alone in the St. Bernard Housing Development. But 

her mother was a source of quiet strength to Butler, always 

making sure her daughter went to school in clean and crisp 

clothes and that she never ran late. Butler’s mother even 

arranged for her daughter to make her debut in front of the 

Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club when she was 16. Her 

mother’s sisters, meanwhile, always made sure that she had 

the right outfits for special occasions. 

Juggling a high-powered job and her role as a mother 

is the biggest challenge, said Butler. “I’m always beating 

myself up about not finding the time to be at the level I 

want to be in both roles,” said Butler. 

As a student at UNO, Butler was undaunted by 

being the only female in most of her electrical engineering 

classes. In the real world, however, she’s still 

shocked to find contractors who can’t deal with a 

female African-American administrator. “They won’t 

make eye contact, or they make a point of talking to the 

white male engineer in the room,” she said. “The boys 

at UNO were not that way.” 

— By Lili LeGardeur


13B 

2 0 0 3 



Position: Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Chaffe & Associates Inc. 

Family: husband,Walter; daughter, Clairice, 1 

Education: B.S., accounting,Trinity University; M.B.A. with a concentration in finance, University of Texas; licensed Certified Public Accountant, 

accredited in business valuations by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; accredited Senior Appraiser by the American Society of Appraisers. 

Vanessa Claiborne entered a mundane field no one else 

was interested in and made a career out of it. 

She returned to New Orleans after earning a master’s 

degree from the University of Texas in Austin in 

1987, but the opportunities didn’t look promising until 

someone sent her to speak with Black Chaffe, president 

of Chaffe & Associates. 

“I really wanted to go into the financial world but 

opportunities in New Orleans at the time were very 

limited,” Claiborne said. “Then I spoke with Black, 

and it was like a light bulb going off.” 

That conversation began a mentoring process in 

which Claiborne learned the intricacies of business valuation. 

In her current position, Claiborne values businesses 

for tax purposes and employee stock ownership 

plans. 

“When I began, I knew little about what I have now 

been doing for 17 years,” Claiborne said. “I just knew 

that I wanted to be able to serve a lot of clients across 

many industries and to work with small businesses.” 

In her free time, Claiborne and her husband indulge 

in a passion for outdoor sports, including skiing, scuba 

diving and travel, most recently to the former Soviet 

Union. 

“My favorite place was probably Russia,” Claiborne 

said. “My parents and my grandmother had all been 

there years ago, and I was really interested to see what 

it looked like now. The consumerism that has hit the 

country since my parents were there 20 years ago was 

just unbelievable.” 

Claiborne’s community involvement consists mainly 

of serving on the board of the finance committee of 

Covenant House, a shelter for runaway teens. She has 

also worked with the now-defunct Young at Art, an 

organization that provided funds to schools to help 

purchase art supplies. 

Claiborne credits a tight-knit family with keeping 

her in New Orleans. Her parents, along with two brothers, 

all live within a few blocks of each other. Credit for 

her career success, Claiborne says, lies squarely at the 

feet of her mentor, Black Chaffe. 

“I’ve been very fortunate to study under Black,” 

Claiborne said. “My career reinvents itself every day. 

It’s been 17 years of the best education I could ever 

hope to get.” 

— By Richard Slawsky


2 0 0 3 



Position: New Orleans City Councilwoman for District C 

Family: husband,Arthur “Buzz” Clarkson; five grown daughters, 10 grandchildren 

Education: Partial education at Tulane University 

Following Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson through her normal 

routine is enough to exhaust even the most energetic 

observer. 

She wakes up every morning at 5 a.m., after hitting the 

pillow about four hours earlier. In the 20 hours she’s 

awake, you can find her cracking down on mess in the 

French Quarter, speaking up at City Council Meetings or 

devoting time to one of her countless civic organizations. 

“I’ve always enjoyed a full schedule,” Clarkson said. “I 

thrive more on accomplishments than sleep.” 

That pace has enabled Clarkson to become one of New 

Orleans’ best-known City Council members. Her district 

covers what she calls “the heart and soul of the city” and 

includes the French Quarter, Faubourg Marigny, Bywater, 

Faubourg St. John and her native Algiers. 

“We have plenty going on in every inch of it, and I love 

that,” she said. 

Perhaps Clarkson’s biggest claim to fame has been her 

efforts to rid the French Quarter of its park benches and 

tarot card readers — actions that have garnered heaps of 

praise and stinging criticism, not to mention national 

media attention. 

Long before Clarkson made politics a full-time job, her 

responsibilities were those of wife and mother to her husband, 

Arthur “Buzz” Clarkson, and their five daughters. 

On a whim, she pursued a job as a Realtor, which blossomed 

into a 33-year career in which she became president of 

the Louisiana Realtors Association. Clarkson found herself 

representing the Realtors on various political issues at the city, 

state and national levels.And with politics in her blood — her 

father created the New Orleans Recreational Department — 

Clarkson “bitten by the bug.” 

She entered the 1989 City Council race and has been 

in politics ever since, serving a four-year term as councilwoman, 

an eight-year stint in state Legislature, then 

returning to the City Council in spring 2002. 

Right now, her goals include rebuilding Canal Street, 

restoring Armstrong Park and revitalizing the Tréme 

neighborhood. 

Clarkson also serves on numerous civic boards, including 

the New Orleans Museum of Art, Le Petit Theatre du Vieux 

Carre and the American Heart Association. 

Of all her accomplishments, Clarkson said she is most 

proud of her daughters. Her youngest daughter is Emmyaward 

winning actress Patricia Clarkson, while her other 

daughters have careers in psychology, environmental epidemiology, 

finance and real estate. 

And even on four hours of sleep a night, Clarkson 

doesn’t plan to rest anytime soon. She wants to finish her 

college degree and says, “I still have some real big goals in 

terms of city government, and then personally, I can’t wait 

to be a great grandmother. I plan to live a very long time 

and never be quiet.” 

— By Autumn Giusti


15B 

2 0 0 3 



Title: Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Entergy New Orleans 

Family: husband, Bobby, 56; sons, Bobby Jr., (deceased) and Bryan, 30 

Education: B.S., home economics, Northeast Louisiana University, MBA Tulane University 

Elaine Coleman grew up in Rayville in northern Louisiana 

where she attended a segregated high school and worked 

in the cotton fields during the summers. 

“It was the only way to make money,” she said. “My 

parents wanted to instill in me a work ethic and there was 

no way they were going to let me sit around the house and 

do nothing. But it was awful and I hated it.” 

So Coleman set a goal for herself — find a way out of the 

cotton fields. 

In the ninth grade she learned how to sew. By the 10th 

grade she had a thriving custom clothing business patronized 

by students as well as teachers. Coleman never 

worked in the cotton fields again. 

“You don’t get anywhere by sitting back and thinking 

success will just come to you. You need to set goals and 

work hard to achieve them.” 

That attitude allowed Coleman to rise through the ranks 

of Entergy to her current position as vice president of external 

affairs in which she oversees regulatory and governmental 

affairs, economic development and customer service. 

When Entergy hired Coleman in 1974 as a home economist 

energy adviser, there were few women in professional 

positions within the company and few people, men 

or women, being promoted from one area to another. 

Coleman’s goal was to rise through the ranks of the 

company but it looked like an impossible task. 

However, she had an understanding of what it took to 

succeed in the corporate world. After being with the company 

for more than 20 years, Coleman entered the Tulane 

University MBA program. 

“I was promoted when I was working on my MBA. 

There were others in the running but I knew a long time ago 

that to get ahead you need a strong financial background.” 

Coleman now finds herself at a point in life where that 

next promotion does not mean as much as helping people. 

The loss of her eldest son, Bobby Jr., three years ago 

to AIDS altered the course of her life. 

“When my son passed away it was a fork in the road. I 

had to figure out where I was going,” she said. 

“An event like that totally changes you. I’m still understanding 

how it affected me. All I know is that some of 

the pushing you did just to get ahead may have been 

worth it, but you get to a point where other things 

become more important.” 

She now serves as a board member with the NO/AIDS 

Task Force and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. 

“I’m at the point in life where I’m looking at spending 

more time in the community.As opposed to pushing through 

that next glass ceiling, I’m looking for a quieter life. I want to 

help the young people in the company to move forward and 

teach them some of the same things my parents taught me.” 

— By Richard Webster


2 0 0 3 



Position: Member, McGlinchey Stafford PLLC 

Family: husband, Robert Angelico; daughter, Jean, 19; son, George, 14; twin sons, Greg and Seth, 11 

Education: B.A broadcast journalism, Louisiana State University; J.D.Tulane University; law clerk to Justice Walter Marcus, Louisiana Supreme Court 

Katherine Conklin grew up in Milford, N.J., near New 

York. So when her family moved to Houma while she was 

in high school, she was surprised the streets in Louisiana 

were actually paved. 

“I’d read a story when I was a child about the swamps, 

and I honestly thought that there weren’t going to be cars 

here,” Conklin said. 

She quickly adapted to the culture shock, however. She 

settled in New Orleans and even helped found a Mardi 

Gras krewe, Muses. 

Conklin earned a degree in broadcast journalism but 

quickly decided broadcasting wasn’t for her and went to 

Tulane Law School. 

“Once I realized that most people were just looking for 

someone who was very pretty, I lost interest in the field,” 

Conklin said. 

Her journalistic training proved invaluable in law 

school, however, having learned how to write quickly and 

take good notes, she said. Conklin graduated magna cum 

laude from law school. 

Conklin’s area of expertise is in employee benefits and 

employment and labor law, a field she chose mainly 

because no one else wanted to do it, she said. Conklin has 

become a member of the New Orleans Association of 

Employee Benefit Planners and the New Orleans Estate 

Planning Council, along with the Employee Plans Gulf 

Coast Council — IRS Practitioner Council. 

“I’m one of those people who got shoved on a path and 

just kept on going,” Conklin said. “I’ve made a career out 

of it, mainly because there aren’t many other people who 

know this type of law.” 

Conklin has served on the board of directors of 

Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana Inc. the 

past four years. She serves on the board of My House, a 

community center offering health screening, vocational 

training, employment services, literacy programs, tutoring 

and other services to low-income students and families 

who live Uptown. She is also active with the 

American Red Cross and served on the planning committee 

of the 2003 annual Humanitarian Award 

Recognition Ball. 

As one of the founding members of the Krewe of 

Muses, Conklin serves on its board of directors. She is 

the driving force behind many of the community and 

arts activities undertaken by the krewe including contests 

among high schools for the artwork on plastic 

throw cups. 

“I didn’t have the prescience to choose my path in 

life; it was given to me,” Conklin said. “It’s very intellectually 

challenging and ever-changing. It’s worked 

out very well.” 

— Richard Slawsky


17B 

2 0 0 3 


Lisa Crinel 

Position: Owner, Chief Operating Officer, Innovations Health Care Services; Innovations Hospice Services;Abide Home Care Services 

Family: daughter,Wilneisha, 16 

Education: B.S., accounting, Georgia State University 

The most difficult moments in life come with sickness and 

death. Lisa Crinel makes a living helping families work 

through these difficult times. 

“My job is to provide a shoulder for people to lean on,” 

Crinel said. “We give caregivers an opportunity to take a 

much-needed break while helping move patients toward 

independence. We also try to make the terminally ill as 

comfortable as possible until that final moment when they 

cross over.” 

Crinel is the owner and chief executive officer of three 

New Orleans-area companies devoted to assisting the sick 

and those in recovery — Innovations Health Care 

Services, Abide Home Care Services and Innovation 

Hospice Services. 

When Crinel opened her first business, Extraordinaire 

Home Health in 1994, she had two customers, a member 

of her church and her father. Her office was her mother’s 

kitchen table. 

Today, at any one time, almost 600 people are under 

Crinel’s care. Her companies employ 150 people and are 

worth a combined $12 million. 

“Before I opened my first business I worked for a small 

mom-and-pop home health-care agency but I couldn’t 

take the unprofessionalism,” Crinel said. “I have high 

expectations of how a business should be run.” 

For Crinel, however, providing care for those in need is 

much more than a business. 

Crinel grew up in the 9th Ward and like most people 

native to New Orleans, she holds the city and its people 

close to her heart. About 80% of her patients are on either 

Medicaid or Medicare. Many rely on Social Security for 

an income. 

If necessary, Crinel goes out of her way and into her 

own pockets to provide her patients with medicine, 

insulin, wheelchairs, heaters, air conditioners and refrigerators. 

Upon a patient’s death, she sends bereavement 

counselors to the family’s home. 

“We want the family to know that we will be there for 

them even after the service.” 

Crinel serves as vice chairwoman for the Eyes Have It 

Inc., a public health organization that provides free eye 

screenings at public schools. At work, she offers year-round 

work-study programs for high school and college students. 

“It helps these young adults gain real-world, handson 

work experience that will benefit them in the future,” 

she said. 

As for her own future, Crinel said she has no immediate 

plans for expansion. She believes it is more important 

that her patients receive the highest quality of care. 

“Sometimes when you grow so big you lose focus on 

the purpose of mission.” 

— Richard A. Webster


2 0 0 3 



Position: Executive Director, Orleans Parish Medical Society & Medical Services Bureau 

Family: husband, Edward; daughter, Christina, 10, son; Evan, 14 

Education: B.S., health services administration,Auburn University; certificate program in management excellence; 

graduate work toward master’s degree in business administration and marketing 

When the Orleans Parish Medical Society celebrated its 

125th birthday, Susan G. D’Antoni was at the helm of the 

organization, steering the parties, workshops and lectures 

that accompanied the event. It epitomized the 

“glamorous” side of the job. 

But D’Antoni, only the organization’s third executive 

director in its century-plus history, said the job is rewarding 

in other ways — serving its 1,200 active members 

with timely information on the evolution of medicine 

and medical care. 

The role of medical organizations is different now than 

it was 20 years ago, and it will continue to evolve over the 

years. D’Antoni said one of her responsibilities is to tailor 

the OPMS into a more useful tool for its members. 

“How can we personalize the association to them so 

that they can see it as a vehicle through which they can 

accomplish their own goals?” she asks. “I’m not a physician 

and this is their association. They need to be 

empowered to make it into what they need it to be.” 

As executive director, D’Antoni tackles policy development, 

membership recruitment, sales and service, and 

event planning and public affairs. Over the years, she tailored 

the job to the unique needs of New Orleans doctors 

— such as providing information on hurricane preparedness, 

a high-interest topic here that would stir little 

excitement in the northern part of the state. 

But what’s vitally important to D’Antoni is attracting 

new members. “For the long-term success and survival 

of this organization, more and younger physicians are 

going to have to be recruited,” D’Antoni said. 

And while her love of health care led her to consider 

enrolling in medical school more than once, 

D’Antoni said she feels that leading the OPMS is a 

career well suited to her passion and abilities. It’s often 

demanding, given that she works around the doctors’ 

schedules, meaning early mornings, late nights and 

travel away from her family. But she emphasizes that 

her family willingly supports her career, enabling her 

to devote more time to the health-care issues that benefit 

our community. 

— By Faith Dawson


19B 

2 0 0 3 


M. Christine D’Antonio 

Position: Owner, Louisiana Eye Care 

Family: husband, Nicholas; daughter, Rebecca, 3; sons, Nicholas, 9, and Benjamin, 7 

Education: B.S., physical therapy, Louisiana State University School of Allied Health Professions; M.D., 

University of Alabama School of Medicine; Internship at Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation; Residency in ophthalmology, LSU School of Medicine. 

Christine D’Antonio started her medical career as a 

physical therapist, but eventually saw the light in ophthalmology. 

A native of Ville Platte, she now owns and operates 

Louisiana Eye Care in Metairie. As a doctor in private 

practice, she sees a range of ocular maladies like 

cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration and even 

less-threatening conditions such as dry eyes. Her community 

involvement indicates she is a doctor who cares 

about giving her patients personal attention and educating 

them on eye health. 

As a physical therapist, D’Antonio practiced for four 

years at Ochsner Medical Foundation, working on the 

stroke and burn teams and in the diabetic foot care program, 

which she developed. 

In 1992, she decided to attend Louisiana State 

University School of Medicine and later graduated from 

the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 

Birmingham, Ala., having transferred to follow her husband, 

who is a radiologist. The family returned to New 

Orleans, and D’Antonio completed a residency program 

in ophthalmology at LSU. 

Now in private practice for two years, D’Antonio said 

she enjoys running a small business. “I like a little bit of 

everything,” she said, adding that the rewards that come 

from helping people are greater than having the control 

of a private practice. “I do it because I enjoy it,” she said. 

In the community, she has given lectures to senior citizens 

on eye health, and encourages people, regardless of 

age, to seek regular exams. Some eye diseases have no 

symptoms, she said, and can only be detected by regular 

annual exams. 

D’Antonio also served as the team ophthalmologist 

for the New Orleans Brass hockey team, a job that fortunately 

brought few injuries during her tenure. She is 

a member of the American Medical Association, the 

American Academy of Ophthalmology, the New 

Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology and the Society 

of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and is certified in 

LASIK surgery. 

Outside the office, the wife and mother of three 

focuses on raising her family and volunteering at St. 

Andrew the Apostle Church but also hopes to grow 

her practice, which she recently expanded to include 

an optical shop. 

— By Faith Dawson


2 0 0 3 


Sandra Dartus 

Position: Executive Director, French Quarter Festivals Inc. (until October 2003) 

Age: 51 

Family: fiancé Alan Horowitz; daughter,Tracy, 30 

Education: Some college education at St. Bernard (now Nunez) Community College and University of New Orleans 

Anyone who’s ever been fussed at for partying too much 

can look to Sandra Dartus as a role model. 

Dartus was the founding executive director of French 

Quarter Festivals Inc. In the nearly two decades since its 

founding, the organization’s namesake event has become a 

much-anticipated part of the city’s festival season, drawing 

hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists. 

“You never think you’re going to grow up and do festivals 

for a career,” she said. 

As a girl growing up in Chalmette in the late 1960s,Dartus 

hadn’t thought about attending college or making grand 

career plans. But after marrying and divorcing at a young age 

and having a little girl, her career goals started to shift. 

Dartus started out as administrative assistant to the superintendent 

of St.Bernard Parish schools only to be hired a few 

years later as executive assistant to real-estate developer 

Darryl Berger. The city was gearing up for the 1984 World’s 

Fair, and Berger was getting ready to unveil his new property, 

Jax Brewery. Mayor Dutch Morial was working to put 

together a French Quarter Festival to revive that part of the 

city. Morial approached Berger about running the event and 

Berger appointed Dartus co-coordinator. 

“Since I was the local girl, I became the person who 

would go talk to Rotaries and Lions Clubs. The rest just 

sort of evolved,” she said. 

Dartus helped grow the festival into a major spring 

event for the city with more music, food and crowds. This 

past festival had an estimated economic impact of about 

$60 million and drew nearly 400,000 people. 

Under Dartus’ leadership, the festival branched out 

into sister events, including the New Orleans Wine and 

Food Experience, Christmas New Orleans Style and, 

most recently, the Satchmo Summer Fest. 

Dartus has also served on the boards of directors for the 

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors 

Bureau, the French Quarter Business Association and the 

Press Club of New Orleans. 

The 2003 French Quarter Festival marked the event’s 

20th anniversary, and Dartus’ last year running the show. 

She recently moved to Jackson Hole, Wyo., in October to 

enjoy retirement with her fiancé, Alan Horowitz. 

Letting go won’t be easy, she said. 

“I guess it’s like when you have a baby and they’re 6 

months old. Then all of a sudden they’re walking and 

going to senior prom,” she said. 

Dartus plans to do some travel writing, and maybe learn 

a new language or two. “I don’t speak anything besides 

y’at,” she said. 

Would she do another festival? 

“I’m hoping I’ve carried my last bag of ice, but who 

knows?” 

— By Autumn Giusti


21B 

2 0 0 3 



Title: Vice President of Administration, FARA 

Family: husband, Don, 40; son, Mitchell, 6; daughter, Meredith, 2 

Education: B.A., journalism, Louisiana State University 

When Camilla Davis was an intern during her senior year 

at Louisiana State University, her boss gave her a piece of 

advice. 

“ ‘When someone gives you something difficult to do,’ 

he said, ‘even if it means stretching yourself, say ‘no problem’ 

and find a way to get it done.” 

The advice served her well. 

After graduating in 1990, Davis went in for her first job 

interview. Todd Richard, then-vice president of administration 

with FARA, an insurance and risk management 

firm based in Mandeville, wanted to hire someone he 

could groom to take over his responsibilities while he continued 

to advance his career. He decided to give Davis a 

chance and hired her as an administrative assistant. 

In 2003, 13 years after that first interview, Davis was 

promoted to vice president of administration, fulfilling the 

promise Richard, now president and CEO, saw in the 

ambitious young graduate. 

“It’s a wonderful success story and I am very lucky and 

appreciative of all the opportunities they gave me to grow 

with the company,” Davis said. “It all goes back to that one 

piece of advice which I’ve applied over and over again 

throughout my career.” 

As vice president of administration, Davis oversees 

FARA’s risk management program, litigation issues, major 

asset purchasing, licensing and compliance, and telecommunications. 

She manages more than 400 employees in 

20 nationwide locations and more than $6 million in commercial 

properties owned by affiliated partnerships. 

Davis is also dedicated to helping the growth of the 

local economy. Under her direction, all FARA asset purchases 

over $500 are made through local vendors or local 

representatives of national vendors. 

FARA, having tripled in size since Davis entered the 

fold, is in the unique position of having a large chunk of 

business to spread around. 

“I’ve established a network of people locally and those 

local businesses are serving our business nationally,” she said. 

“If someone is working hard and doing good job I believe in 

rewarding them and giving them that opportunity.” 

She supports fund-raising activities by the Delta 

Gamma Sorority to provide aid to the visually impaired. 

She also participates in the American Heart Walk. 

Davis is the first female vice president of administration 

in the history of FARA. The accomplishment is significant 

but for her the ceiling is non-existent. 

“This was my first interview and my first job and I’m 

still here. I’ve really enjoyed the challenges and meeting 

those objectives and I feel a great sense of accomplishment. 

But I’m only 35 and I still have a lot of things I want 

to do and achieve.” 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Deputy Director, Port Development, Port of New Orleans 

Family: husband, Durward; sons Durward Jr., 25, Bryan, 22, and George, 20; daughter, Steele, 23 

Education: B.S., industrial engineering, Mississippi State University; graduate studies in civil engineering and industrial engineering management, University of New Orleans 

Catherine Dunn’s family moved from Buffalo, N.Y. to 

New Orleans when she was in high school and her father 

took a job transfer. 

When he passed away less than a year later, she realized 

the importance of a woman being able to take care 

of herself. 

“The passing of my father changed the course of 

my life,” Dunn said. “My mother was here, in a new 

place, alone with two children. It made me appreciate 

the need for a woman to be able to stand on her own 

two feet.” 

Her father’s influence remained, however, and Dunn 

followed in his footsteps, studying industrial engineering 

at Mississippi State University. 

After graduation, Dunn got a job doing quality, process 

and technological improvements and organizational management 

at Haspel Brothers, Kaiser Aluminum and 

Durward Dunn Inc. 

Since joining the Port of New Orleans in 1989, 

Dunn has served in a variety of management positions, 

including leading the Port’s operations team, 

being responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 

Port and reviewing, analyzing and recommending 

improvements for all business processes within the 

Port. 

Dunn serves as deputy director for Port development, 

responsible for environmental management, utilities management, 

special projects and the tracking of cash flow 

relating to capital projects at the Port. 

In the community, Dunn’s activities include serving 

as an adviser to the capital improvements committee of 

the New Orleans Public School Board, acting as chairwoman 

of the University of New Orleans Minority 

Outreach Committee and serving as a young adult 

adviser for the Presbyterian Church. 

She has also acted as chairwoman for the WYES Public 

Television Auction Committee, serves on the Engineering 

Advisory Board for UNO and frequently speaks at Career 

Day programs at area schools. 

“My mother really instilled in me a strong sense of volunteering,” 

Dunn said. 

Additionally, Dunn and her husband work with the 

Boy Scouts of America, maintaining ties with the organization 

built when two of her sons were Eagle Scouts. 

Dunn’s current project is working with her husband to 

build a four-story home in the Warehouse District. 

“My husband and I love that area,” Dunn said. “We collect 

art, we’re big lovers of that industry, and it just fits that 

we’d be in town close to everything.” 

— Richard Slawsky


23B 

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Carol Etter 

Position: Founder and President, Helion Consulting 

Family: husband John; son, Darryl, 18; and daughter,Vanessa, 15 

Education: B.S., engineering, Swarthmore College; MBA, finance, University of Colorado 

Sometimes small business owners need the advice of professional 

consultants but can’t afford the fees. That’s 

where Carol Etter comes in. 

Etter’s business, Helion Consulting, caters to small 

and mid-size businesses that want to grow more efficient 

and successful, to “get to the next level” even if 

they don’t know what their management strengths and 

weaknesses are. 

“A lot of times, (with) small companies that are 

started by an individual, there’s sort of a transition 

period where you have to grow from being an entrepreneurial-type 

business to a real business where 

you’ve got policies and procedures and you may have 

to start delegating,” Etter explained. “A lot of times 

business owners have a problem in doing that. I can 

work with them. I work with businesses that are struggling 

with management problems, where they’re realizing 

their management skills or procedures or the way 

they’re organized just aren’t letting their business go to 

the next level.” 

Two-year-old Helion Consulting is the result of Etter’s 

far-ranging career, which includes work in the energy 

industry. She worked in the public utilities division of the 

Citizen Utilities Co. and was a manager with Hagler Bailly 

Consulting in Colorado. Prior to starting Helion, she was 

director of economic development for the New Orleans 

Downtown Development District. 

At the DDD, Etter was charged with maintaining and 

growing the business base in New Orleans — a formidable 

task. 

“I was part of developing a strategic plan for economic 

development for the downtown area, working to identify 

what sorts of businesses would fit into the downtown area, 

trying to identify what some of the barriers were that we 

needed to address.” 

The job was made tougher by working with limited 

resources. But Etter was — and remains — committed to 

helping New Orleans businesses flourish. 

She is also a founding member of Commercial Real 

Estate Women. Her membership in CREW includes the 

organization’s charitable outreach committee and also led 

to a spot on the city’s comprehensive zoning ordinance 

review task force. 

Helion accepts clients anywhere in the southeastern 

United States, Etter said. But the company’s primary mission 

is still to uncover the potential of small local, sometimes 

family-owned businesses that make up the fabric of 

the community. 

Etter is a volunteer with Lionman Foundation, a martial-arts 

youth program, and St. Matthew United Church 

of Christ. She is also a dedicated runner and flautist. 

— By Faith Dawson


2 0 0 3 



Position: Captain, U.S. Navy; Commanding Officer, Space and Naval Warfare Information Technology Center 

Family: husband,Andrew Brower; daughter,Admiral Mary (Addie), 7; son, Commodore Riley (Cory), 3 

Education: B.S., oceanography, U.S. Naval Academy; M.S., acoustical engineering, Naval Postgraduate School 

There have been a lot of firsts in Capt.Peggy Feldmann’s life. 

In 1980, she was a member of the first class to graduate 

women from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. 

A swimmer since high school, she became the first woman 

to earn a letter in athletics at the academy. 

And when she assumed the post of commanding officer 

at the Space and Naval Warfare Information 

Technology Center at the University of New Orleans in 

August, Feldmann became the first military officer to 

lead the center. 

The center employs about 1,000 service people and civilian 

contractors.It develops and maintains personnel and payroll 

systems for the Navy and was previously led by a civilian 

director. Feldmann said the change to military leadership 

brought a degree of structure to the organization. 

“Many people here have worked for the military,” she 

said. At the same time, Feldmann hopes to incorporate 

practices from the business world into the center’s day-today 

operations. 

The streamlining efforts come at a time when the Navy, 

like other branches of the military, is working with the 

civilian sector to make the country more secure. “It’s a 

huge job and an important job,” she said. 

Feldmann, the daughter of a U.S. Air Force officer, 

spent much of her youth in San Antonio. After graduating 

from the academy, she was assigned to the Naval 

Oceanographic Research and Development Activity in 

Bay St. Louis, Miss., where she helped develop an 

acoustic monitoring and tracking system. She earned a 

master’s degree in acoustical engineering in 1986 and 

completed training in dive school in Florida. 

Throughout her naval career — from a mission as test 

director for Project Ariadne, a fiber optic surveillance system, 

to her current post — Feldmann has been involved 

with the high-tech aspects of military service. 

“Computers were still basically new” when Feldmann 

joined the service, she said. “I’ve progressed with the 

Navy as the world has changed.” 

While Feldmann describes her years at the Naval 

Academy as “a very good experience,” there was never any 

doubt that the 55 women in her class were shaking things 

up at the historically all-male institution. 

“We were breaking ground, there’s no question of 

that,” she said. Today, Feldmann talks about that experience 

and the opportunities now available to women when 

she visits area schools to promote the Navy. 

“When I came to the Navy in 1980, there were a lot of 

positions that were not available to women,” she said. “But 

that’s not the case anymore.” 

— By Russell McCulley


25B 

2 0 0 3 



Position: Pediatrician, Center for Child Development, Ochsner Clinic Foundation 

Family: husband,Arnold; sons, Justin, 16, Mike, 14, and Steven, 11 

Education: B.A. political science and pre-med, Northwestern University; M.D. University of Florida College of Medicine 

Dr. Susan Fielkow is a part-time pediatrician. Full-time, 

she’s the devoted mother of three boys. 

She is also the wife of New Orleans Saints vice president 

Arnold Fielkow — the equivalent of another fulltime 

job, which makes her a busy woman. 

“It’s unusual that you caught me at home,” Fielkow 

said on a recent evening. “We’re only home because the 

Cubs are in the playoffs.” 

In college, Fielkow was more inclined toward theater 

and drama than sports. But she was also drawn to 

Arnold Fielkow, a fellow student at Northwestern 

University. The two maintained their relationship even 

though she went to University of Florida Medical School 

and he went to law school at the University of 

Wisconsin. Fielkow recalls their trips back and forth as 

the “Madison-Gainesville shuffle.” 

Because her husband’s career has taken him from 

place to place, Fielkow has chosen to work with large 

medical groups so she could transfer easily. 

Born in Chicago and raised in South Florida, Fielkow 

was the third of four children. Her parents divorced 

when she was 13, but her mother, who taught math, 

would have scrubbed floors to make higher education 

possible for her daughter. Instead, Fielkow won a scholarship 

to Northwestern. 

At Ochsner, Fielkow works with Dr. Andrea Starrett 

evaluating children for developmental and attention 

problems. She is also on the International Medicine 

Committee for Ochsner Clinic and a member of the 

medical contingent of the New Orleans Economic Trade 

Mission. Her biggest honor since moving to Ochsner 

three years ago, however, has been to serve as a member 

of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of 

Pediatrics. Being alongside “heavy hitters” in the world 

of children’s medicine has been a wonderful experience, 

she said. 

Fielkow enjoys working with children because it’s 

always hopeful. She carries that sense of hope into her 

work with Each One, Save One, a one-on-one tutoring 

service she and her husband joined last year. Fielkow is 

also active with the United Way Women’s Leadership 

Initiative and is a co-chairwoman for the TEAMS program 

of the National Council of Jewish Women. 

“I fill up every moment doing stuff. I really have a 

strong philosophy that you fill up every minute because 

you only have one chance to live this life. What you do 

for others is really your legacy.” 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Member, McGlinchey Stafford PLLC 

Family: husband, Corky 

Education: B.S., political science, University of Southwestern Louisiana; J.D. Loyola University New Orleans 

Deborah Harkins calls herself a “tenacious little Cajun 

girl.” The native of Eunice knew by the fourth grade that 

she would either be a lawyer or a stewardess. 

She combined the best of both worlds by putting herself 

through law school through creating a business called 

Lift Tickets Unlimited. 

“I told the dean that the only way I could afford to continue 

(school) was to work, and I have to continue bringing 

these doctors and lawyers skiing. It was wonderful.” 

She traveled around the world for three years between 

college and law school doing freelance work for a bigger 

tour operator. By the time she got to law school she was 

more settled than most and had made a pledge: she would 

never again travel with a group of more than two. 

After a long career in law, Harkins still works at 

McGlinchey Stafford, but said she quit doing law a long 

time ago. Her passion is lobbying. 

“What I like about it is the issues are constantly 

changing and the people are constantly changing. It’s 

predominately a people business and it’s all about relationships,” 

she said. “I’m not inhibited with any written 

rules. If I don’t like them, I change them. We don’t have 

to think in a box.” 

As the leader for McGlinchey’s government relations 

and gaming team, she lobbied for Evangeline Downs and 

Delta Downs. Her team was also instrumental in the legislation 

allowing dockside casinos. 

She works on a number of other issues as well dealing 

with insurance, the environment, banking and 

health care. She hopes to take her team’s expertise to a 

more national level, although the team is already representing 

many clients nationally, tracking issues in 

many states. 

Harkins said one of her biggest challenges in her career 

is dealing with the good-old-boy network. 

“I’m not a women’s libber, but it doesn’t matter if I’m a 

young man or a woman. The good-old-boy network is still 

alive and thriving, although it’s not nearly as present as it 

used to be.” 

She is proud of surviving those obstacles, however, and 

happy at McGlinchey Stafford. As a resident of the French 

Quarter, she is involved with the Vieux Carre Alliance and 

the French Market Board. She is also involved with the 

Committee of 21, a political action committee whose goal 

is to get more women into elected office. 

Harkins has not lost all of the travel bug. She recently 

returned from a conference in Portugal of the International 

Association of Gaming Attorneys. Her philosophy is a 

simple one. 

“I never want to say ‘I wish I had.’ I always want to say 

‘I’m glad I did.’ ” 

— By Megan Kamerick


27B 

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Position: Chief Executive Officer, Kenner Regional Medical Center 

Family: husband, Patrick; daughters Kelly, 21, Corie, 19 and Kimberly, 17 

Education: B.A., journalism, University of Missouri; M.S., public health,Tulane University. 

If not for a chance meeting, Deborah Keel might have 

been writing this biography instead of running one of 

the largest hospitals in the state. 

After graduating from the University of Missouri 

with a degree in journalism, Keel took a job with a business 

magazine in Kansas City. Once she married and 

had children, however, the New Orleans native decided 

it was time to come home. 

“When you’re 18, you leave home and you think that 

you’re never coming back to the city,” Keel said. “Once 

you’re away long enough, though, you realize that this 

is the only place in the world to live.” 

She took a job as director of marketing and public 

relations with Humana Women’s Hospital. There, one 

of the hospital executives decided she had the potential 

to be a hospital administrator, prodding her to take an 

assistant executive director position with Humana in 

1987. Keel returned to school for a master’s degree in 

public health from Tulane University in 1993. 

“That CEO almost forced me into taking an administrative 

position,” Keel said. “Certainly, that was one of 

the turning points of my life.” 

The career change was right on target for Keel. From 

Humana, she rose through several positions in different 

hospitals to become CEO of Kenner Regional Medical 

Center and chairwoman of the Metropolitan Hospital 

Council from 2003 to 2004. Keel has received Tenet 

HealthCare’s “Circle of Excellence” award four times. 

Keel also serves on the boards of directors for the 

Summerville Assisted Living Center and Mount 

Carmel Academy. In 1994, she was the co-chairwoman 

of Mary Landrieu’s campaign for governor. 

Keel said much of her success is due to her co-workers. 

At Kenner Regional, she is responsible for a staff of 

more than 400. 

“I’m no business genius and I’m no health care 

genius, but I do know how to hire and keep good people,” 

Keel said. “I love what I do and the people here 

know that.” 

The main part of Keel’s job, she said, is keeping 

everyone focused and moving in the same direction. To 

accomplish that, she gets out of the office and into the 

hospital. 

“The best part of my day is when I go up on the 

units and visit with patients and talk to employees,” 

Keel said. “To me, that is far better than sitting at a desk 

signing contracts.” 

— Richard Slawsky


2 0 0 3 



Position: Partner, King, LeBlanc, & Bland, PLLC 

Family: husband, David; son, Charlie Green, 36; daughter, Brandy Beck, 33 

Education: B.A., history, East Texas State University; M.A., history,Tulane University; Ph.D., European history,Tulane University; J.D.Tulane University 

For Patricia Krebs, who jogs along the St. Charles streetcar 

track every day at 6 a.m., energy is everything. 

That energy sustained her career for the past 20 years 

as a defense attorney practicing admiralty and maritime 

casualty law. 

“I love litigation,” she said. “I like the strategies 

involved and love being in the courtroom. You have to be 

able to think fast, adapt and change directions when necessary.” 

Her energy allowed Krebs, a teenage mother and former 

high school dropout, to help run a dairy farm while 

driving 90 miles each way to college. Krebs graduated first 

in her class at East Texas State University. 

Following the suggestion of one of her professors, she 

came to New Orleans in 1973 to pursue a master’s degree 

in history at Tulane. 

“I didn’t come from a sophisticated background. I didn’t 

even know what grad school was,” said Krebs. 

She fell in love with the city, however, and in 1980 

with Ph.D. in hand, refused the offer of a tenure-track 

job in New Jersey to stay at Tulane and attend law 

school. 

“I had developed an interest in law,” she said, but 

there was a practical element too. “I was a divorcée 

with two kids to support. All I had to do was attend 

three more years of school. I was used to intellectual 

challenges.” 

Krebs’ energy drives her to numerous civic activities. 

She is active in the Louisiana Association for Defense 

Counsel, the New Orleans Bar Association, the New 

Orleans chapter of Women’s International Shipping and 

Trade Association and is the coordinator of Tulane Law 

School’s maritime liaison group. 

A Fulbright scholar in Madrid from 1978 to 1979, 

Krebs today gives back to the cultural exchange program 

by serving as president of the Louisiana Fulbright 

Association. 

She also sits on the board of directors of the Lighthouse 

for the Blind, an organization that provides job training for 

the 20,000 sight-impaired persons in southeastern 

Louisiana. 

But it is a pro bono project that captures her spirit in 

a special way. Krebs monitors children through the 

juvenile courts when parents are unable to provide 

care. “It’s easy for kids to get lost in the system,” she 

said. 

Reflecting upon teachers who urged her to keep going 

in school, Krebs added, “people can make such a big difference 

by little acts of kindness.” 

— By Jan Fluitt-Dupuy


29B 

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Mary Landrieu 

Position: Senator 

Family: husband, Frank Snellings; son, Connor Snellings; daughter, Mary Shannon Snellings 

Education: B.A., sociology, Louisiana State University 

Mary Landrieu had not planned on a career as a politician. 

“I thought I’d marry someone who went into politics 

and have nine kids,” she said. “Thankfully only half that 

came true.” 

Landrieu graduated in 1977 and was volunteering on a 

political campaign when friends suggested she run for the 

Legislature. She surprised herself and everybody else 

when she won, making her the youngest woman ever 

elected to the Legislature. 

“There were only three women when I showed up and 

none in the Senate,” Landrieu recalled. “I figured I better 

stay around and get some things done. I figured a group 

like that could use a little female influence.” 

She focused on issues affecting children and families 

and eight years later ran for Louisiana State Treasurer, 

where she served two terms. 

After a failed bid for govenor in 1995, she ran for the 

Senate in 1996. She became the first woman from 

Louisiana elected to a full term in the Senate and was reelected 

in 2002. In 1999 she became the first 

Democratic woman to serve on the Senate Armed 

Services Committee and has made military issues one of 

her focal points. 

She focused on improving Louisiana’s educational 

system and co-sponsored the No Child Left Behind legislation. 

She has seen huge changes in politics and policy since 

her first foray into the Legislature. She noted that education, 

health care, balancing work and family and environmental 

health are now front and center. 

“It’s not a coincidence that those issues are issues 

women care a lot about and, because we are in positions of 

power, those issues naturally come to the forefront.” 

She has had many baptisms by fire in her political 

career, but one stands out as particularly challenging. 

When she was in the Legislature there was an attempt to 

redistrict her, putting her in direct competition with the 

only African-American woman in the House. The two 

women used the political relationships they had developed 

with both parties to defeat the attempt. 

It taught Landrieu an important lesson. 

“Because I’d developed good friendships and trust 

with senators in both parties, we were able to work that 

situation out.” 

It is a lesson she has carried to Washington, where she 

is often a bridge between the extremes in each party. 

Landrieu hopes she has been a model for other women. 

“I wanted young women to know you can have a family 

and serve in public life,” she said. “If you put the 

right support system together you can do it and I wanted 

young women to know they could contribute, not 

only in their early careers and late careers, but in their 

middle years as well.” 



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Position: Associate Professor of Clinical Dentistry and Oral Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry 

Family: single 

Education: B.D.S., Guy’s Hospital Dental School (London, UK); D.M.D., fellowship of oral medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine; 

Hospital Externship, University of Louvain (Belgium) 

Dr. Janet E. Leigh followed in her father’s career footsteps 

when she decided to become a dentist. 

She had seen enough of the field to know it appealed to 

her and that it was a flexible career. But, she said, she ultimately 

gained a wealth of experience and opportunities 

that all related to dentistry. Today she is founder and director 

of the HIV Outpatient Program Dental Clinic at Ted 

Wisniewski Center of Excellence, which treats patients 

with immunodeficiency diseases. 

“That’s what’s been so exciting about being here in 

New Orleans; the opportunities have been phenomenal,” 

she said. “And I’ve had good support from the school and 

from the medical center. It’s allowed me to develop in a 

way that I had never anticipated.” 

Almost 10 years ago, New Orleans had no dental clinic 

for treating patients with infectious disease, although 

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School 

was already interested in establishing one. Leigh had 

already worked with infectious diseases and oral medicine, 

so her experience matched LSUHSC’s needs. Since 

all antiviral medications are given with food, oral health is 

important for patients because oral pain can discourage 

eating and interfere with strict medication regiments. 

In 1994, Leigh founded LSU’s HIV dental clinic. 

“It was a perfect fit; HIV was something that I was 

already interested in. I’d done quite a bit of work with that 

in my residency,” she said. “I was lucky; the dean offered 

me the right job at the right time.” 

But luck only carried Leigh so far; co-operation with 

researchers at the Wisniewski Center, community outreach 

and procurement of major grants have marked 

LSUHSC as a significant force in HIV/AIDS research. 

The center was recognized as one of the country’s top 

three AIDS research centers at an international AIDS 

workshop in South Africa. 

“It was acknowledged that LSU is considered a serious 

player,” she says. “It was one of those satisfying moments 

when you think, wow, what we’re doing is good, it’s right.” 

Leigh’s clinic also serves as a model for other HIV dental 

clinics: Last year the Federal Health Resources and 

Services Administration awarded her a $1 million grant to 

establish a similar clinic in Alexandria, a rotation for LSU 

dentistry students. 

A native of Yorkshire, England, Leigh arrived in New 

Orleans in 1994 after practicing general dentistry, serving 

fellowships and working as a “flying dentist” in Labrador 

on the northeastern Atlantic coast of Canada. There, she 

and other dentists provided dental care for underserved 

populations of Inuit people and others. 

From 1999 to 2000, Leigh served as chairwoman for the 

Louisiana Governor’s Commission on HIV and AIDS. 

— By Faith Dawson


31B 

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A. Kelton Longwell 

Position: Member, McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC 

Family: single 

Education: B.S., management,Tulane University; J.D., Louisiana State University; LL.M., taxation, New York University Law School 

As an attorney, Kelly Longwell is living out her childhood 

dream. 

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” she said. 

But unlike some little girl lawyers-to-be who imagine 

themselves boldly confronting a witness or delivering a 

dynamic closing argument, Longwell never really pictured 

herself spending a lot time in a courtroom. Instead, 

with her law degree book-ended by an undergraduate 

degree in business and a master of law degree in taxation, 

she built a career on negotiating business deals. 

“I’ve always been more slanted toward business and 

thought that I would enjoy the art of putting the deal 

together, of working together with someone to reach an 

agreement, rather than fighting it out in court,” 

Longwell said. 

At McGlinchey Stafford PLLC, Longwell, whose 

grandfather was a lawyer and real-estate developer, 

specializes in tax matters. These include tax credits for 

low-income housing, historic rehabilitation, new markets 

and the new Louisiana film tax credit. She created 

McGlinchey’s tax credit practice group after joining 

the firm in 1999 following a three-year practice at 

Elkin, PLC. 

Longwell said one of the most gratifying aspects of her 

job is helping people become first-time homebuyers. The 

transition from renting to owning can be challenging, 

Longwell said, so the goal is to help the buyer find “a 

good home in a good area.” 

“You don’t want to get a money pit — something that’s 

destined to fail from the beginning,” she said. 

One of Longwell’s proudest moments was the Aug. 

18, opening of the Renaissance Arts Hotel, a historic 

conversion of the old Mintz warehouse at 700 

Tchoupitoulas St. 

“It’s spectacular,” said Longwell, who was involved in 

the project from the beginning. She put together the tax 

credit package that made the development possible. 

Longwell also stays busy in a variety of community 

organizations, including the Neighborhood Development 

Foundation, the New Orleans Neighborhood 

Development Collaborative, Associated Neighborhood 

Development, the Chi Omega Fraternity Leadership 

Institute and the Junior League of New Orleans. She is a 

board member of the New Orleans Center for the Creative 

Arts and the French Quarter Business Alliance. 

In her spare time, she is renovating a second home 

Uptown — in addition to one in the French Quarter — 

and enjoys antiquing. But with her calendar, Longwell 

said, “free time is not real abundant.” 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Associate Professor, General Dentistry, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry 

Family: husband,Tom Mabry 

Education: associate’s degree, dental hygiene, LSUHSC; B.S., dentistry, LSUHSC; M.S., dental public health, Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry, Boston University 

Charlotte Connick Mabry was looking for jobs outside 

New Orleans in 1982 when her mentor, Merv Trail, former 

chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center, asked 

her to reconsider. 

“He said ‘I’m tired of educating students and seeing 

them move away,’ ” Mabry said. He had a way of figuratively 

“grabbing you by the neck and pulling you down the 

hall and you were liking it.” 

The way he grabbed her was to tell her there was a need 

in Louisiana: getting dental care to the state’s developmentally 

disabled population. 

At first she shied away, but she decided to “face her 

fears” and give it a try. Her specialty in oral health was public 

policy, so it was up her alley. 

It’s safe to say it captured her. 

For the past 20 years, Mabry has coordinated the clinical 

and preventative dental program for the nine-state developmental 

centers in Louisiana. She established an oral health 

policy for about 2,000 patients who reside in these centers 

as well as many others who live in the community. 

She has written a number of articles on delivering 

care to people with special needs, and was inducted 

into the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with 

Disabilities in 2001. She speaks often to national audiences 

and was honored in 2002 by United Cerebral 

Palsy of Greater New Orleans with its corporate partnership 

award. Last year she was named to the Proctor 

& Gamble National Advisory Board of the Crest 

Healthy Smiles 2010 Program. 

LSU now sends students to developmental centers to 

provide care and learn how to treat these populations. The 

efforts got a boost from the Surgeon General’s office, 

which released a report on oral health in 2000 emphasizing 

its central role in overall health. 

Mabry is not one to rest on her laurels. 

She is developing an interdisciplinary educational 

model between the LSU School of Dentistry and the 

Orleans Parish Public School System. School nurses will 

assist students from LSU in community programming for 

inner city schools and in collecting and analyzing data on 

the status of children in those schools. 

As a member of a well-known political family, Mabry 

learned a few things about taking on big issues. 

“One thing I got from them is the fight for justice for the 

people,” she said. 

Mabry has another cause to celebrate this year. She 

recently married Tom Mabry, a dentist, to the delight of 

friends and family. 

“I’m telling everybody I married on time,” she said. 

“I worked hard to find a mate with the same passion and 

commitment.” 



33B 

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Position: Executive Director, Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 

Family: husband, Dan Maloney 

Education: B.S., secondary education-science,West Virginia University; M.B.A., organizational behavior and management, 

A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University 

Growing up as an only child in rural Maryland, Laura 

Maloney devoted a lot of energy and attention to animals. 

“I was a 4-H kid, basically,” said Maloney. “I showed 

horses, dogs, cows.” 

Her favorite was an Appaloosa horse. “She was my 

life,” Maloney recalled. “Boys had to come second.” 

That passion guided Maloney’s career from management 

positions with the Philadelphia and the Central Park 

Zoos to executive director for the Louisiana Society for 

the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 

Since taking over in 2001, Maloney chalked up a number 

of accomplishments, including a socialization program 

for the Japonica Street shelter’s residents. The program 

ensures that the animals are walked, talked to, and 

stroked, literally and figuratively. 

“If they’re here for even one day, I want them to feel 

emotionally stimulated.” 

Maloney has also worked to make the SPCA more 

responsive when people call to report strays or animal 

abuse. She has brought a new sense of fiscal responsibility 

to the organization, cutting costs while boosting 

the SPCA’s fundraising by 51% last year. 

“I don’t feel that I could do this job without my MBA,” 

she said. “The finances are so challenging.” 

Maloney decided to pursue her degree in business 

when she was assistant director at Central Park Zoo in 

New York. She enrolled at the A.B. Freeman School of 

Business when she and her husband, Dan, vice president 

and general curator at Audubon Zoo, moved to 

New Orleans. 

“In the meantime,” Maloney said, “we adopted a dog 

from (the SPCA), and I thought, ‘This is what I want to 

devote my time to.’ ” 

Three more dogs and a cat later, Maloney, who began 

her career as an educator, is helping teach others about the 

importance of animal welfare. Foremost among her goals 

is a “state-of-the-art adoption center for companion animals,” 

she said. While the SPCA’s current location would 

continue to serve as an animal control center, the new facility 

would promote animal adoption by presenting them in 

a more homelike setting. 

Maloney’s experience with zoos and with the SPCA 

differ in at least one respect. 

“In zoo work, the long-term goal is wildlife conservation, 

and you are taking minute steps to get there,” she 

said. “With animal welfare, it’s more immediate, because 

animals die every day. 

“This is my passion,” she added. “It has been the most 

rewarding job I’ve ever had.” 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Member, McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC 

Family: two dogs,Wingolf and Wilhelm 

Education: B.A., political science, Louisiana State University; J.D. Louisiana State University 

When Eve Barrie Masinter, a self-described “homegrown 

lawyer,” looks back over the influences of her 20-year 

career as a litigator the list is lengthy. 

Her parents are at the top. 

“My father was an attorney, and I always wanted to be 

one.” Her mother, an artist, helped develop Masinter’s 

love for the arts, and took her to operas before she was in 

high school. 

School continued their good work. 

“My teachers encouraged me in the importance of 

studying and reading and taught me self-discipline,” 

Masinter said. She participated in speech and debate in 

high school and discovered a love for writing and 

research. The influences of her parents coalesced in a 

paper she wrote on Leonardo da Vinci. She graduated in 

the top 10% of her class at LSU Law School. 

The city, too, is an influence. “Like all good New 

Orleanians, I came back home. I just love the city.” 

The colleagues at her firm are “always supportive and 

encouraging,” and have taught her best. From “all the different 

types of attorneys with different practice styles” she 

has gleaned techniques to form her own person as a professional. 

“The culture of the firm and the opportunities offered 

to me have been a wide gambit of things. The atmosphere 

here has nurtured me,” she says. 

Masinter revels in the diversity of her career, enjoying 

writing briefs and arguing motions in the courtroom. 

She feels strongly that her work in the health care 

sector, defending hospitals against suits brought in 

hepatitis C cases, has brought about good changes in 

the law. 

“Limiting the time period of when people can bring 

actions protects hospitals and the whole system. It impacts 

the costs of health care and insurance.” 

Masinter’s favorite charity is Odyssey House. She 

has been involved with its mission of substance abuse 

rehabilitation in a community setting since the late 

1980s. 

“It has that tug on my heart,” she says. She has served 

on its board of directors, twice as president, offers the 

organization legal advice, and is helping plan its 30th 

anniversary celebration. 

Masinter is involved in numerous professional activities. 

She is the New Orleans liaison for the Pro Bono 

Project. She is also involved with the Louisiana State Bar 

Association, the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal 

Circuit, the American Bar Association, the Louisiana 

Society of Hospital Attorneys, the New Orleans Bar 

Association, as well as the International Association of 

Defense Counsel. 

— ByJan Fluitt-Dupuy


35B 

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Elsie Mendez 

Position: Chief Operating Officer/Publisher/Editor-in-Chief,Vocero News 

Family: daughter, Catalina, 26 

Education: B.A., communications Hilda Strauss School of Broadcasting and Communication, Bogota, Colombia 

Elsie Mendez has a simple desire. She wants her newspaper, 

Vocero News, to be the largest bilingual newspaper in 

the country. 

She’s well on the way to realizing that dream. Vocero 

News, a biweekly geared toward the Hispanic community, 

has a monthly circulation of 50,000 and she plans to begin 

distributing the paper in Tennessee in November. 

“My driving force has been my passion,” Mendez said. 

“I love what I do. This is a fascinating time to be Hispanic 

in this country, where dreams come true if you work hard 

and pursue them.” 

Mendez was born in Colombia and came to New 

Orleans when she was 12 to attend Mercy Academy. She 

went back to Colombia after graduation and earned a 

communications degree, eventually settling in Puerto Rico 

and starting a television career. 

Mendez has had a successful career in radio and television 

broadcasting. She’s starred in a Latin-American sitcom, 

worked as a television and radio producer and has 

run Spanish-language radio stations in Colombia, Dallas 

and New Orleans. In 1998, Mendez was named programmer 

of the year for the U.S. Hispanic market by Radio Y 

Musica magazine. 

Mendez returned to New Orleans in the late 1990s, 

working as manager of international sales for the 

Doubletree Hotel. She maintained an involvement in the 

media, eventually serving as the publisher of La Prensa 

and accepting the position of vice president of Hispanic 

media with publisher MCMedia. 

In 2002, Mendez founded the Mendez Group, a communications, 

marketing, media and logistics firm serving 

the Hispanic community. 

Mendez serves on the boards of directors of the New 

Orleans International Ballet, the Louisiana Hispanic 

Chamber of Commerce and the New Orleans 

Multicultural Tourism network. She’s a member of the 

Tulane Medical Center Breast Cancer Awareness 

Committee and serves on the board of the Council on 

Alcohol and Drug Abuse of Greater New Orleans. 

Mendez was dealt a blow earlier this year when her 

mother was diagnosed with cancer. The experience taught 

her the meaning of strength. 

“It’s been just so inspiring to see how she’s handled it 

with such class,” Mendez said. “The doctors gave her 

until June, and she’s passed that mark and may be in 

remission. I’m amazed by her will just to get up and get 

going in the morning.” 

Her father, Mendez said, taught her to go out and take life 

by the horns, and to fly above the clouds. Although he is no 

longer living, Mendez has always remembered that, she said. 

“There’s a saying in Spanish that life is like a dance,” 

Mendez said. “Either you dance life or it will dance you. I 

prefer to dance life.” 

— By Richard Slawsky


2 0 0 3 



Position: Headmistress, Louise S. McGehee School 

Family: husband, Richard Gid Powers; daughters, Sarah, 32, and Evelyn, 29 

Education: B.S., chemistry, Marymount Manhattan College; M.A.T., teaching chemistry, University of Massachusetts 

Eileen Powers learned early on that science was not blind 

to gender differences. While a student at Marymount 

Manhattan College, she attended her first meeting of the 

student chapter of the American Chemical Society and 

was immediately asked to be secretary. She was the only 

woman in the room. 

“I couldn’t even type,” Powers said. 

In the past five years as headmistress of Louise S. 

McGehee School she sought to close that gap. 

She transformed the school into a supportive environment 

for girls to study math and science. She has overseen 

a $4 million renovation of the school’s physical plant, 

including the historic Bradish Johnson mansion, which 

now serves as a library. 

She helped increased enrollment from 320 to more that 

450 students and the private academy now enrolls a large 

percentage of minority students. She raised the school’s visibility 

by promoting community service programs, winning 

awards from both the National Association of Independent 

Schools and the National Service Learning Center. 

Powers’ vision is a single-sex educational experience 

that strengthens young women’s gifts, including their 

interest in science and math, and a belief that tradition is a 

good foundation for moving forward. 

Powers was a math teacher before moving into school 

administration. Girls learn in a different manner, she 

said. They’re more collaborative and cooperative and 

they need more encouragement. They also need to be 

encouraged to take risks. 

The Bradish Johnson house now has a media lab 

where students can plug in laptops. Seven grades are fully 

integrated into the school’s wireless laptop program. 

Powers has also expanded the athletics program, increasing 

its staff and adding a new weight room. She is also 

directing renovation of the school’s Alumnae House. 

Taking the position at McGehee meant some major 

adjusting, including her marriage to historian Richard Gid 

Powers, which has turned into a commuter relationship. 

Powers teaches at City College of New York. Eileen flies to 

New York roughly twice a month to visit, while he comes 

to New Orleans on school breaks and holidays. 

“It keeps life interesting,” said Powers. 

Powers is busy traveling these days to complete the 

school’s capital campaign for the renovations. But she’s 

already looking toward phase two of a planned three-phase 

facilities upgrade that will ultimately include a fully renovated 

auditorium. In all her endeavors, Powers said, she is 

blessed with a supportive and active board of directors. 

“I always knew I wanted to teach high school chemistry,” 

said Powers, whose duties now keep her out of the classroom. 

“As an administrator, you become a teacher of teachers 

and that’s important. You’re still educating, you’re just 

educating adults.” 



37B 

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Tonnette ‘Toni’ Rice 

Title: President, New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network 

Family: husband,Terrence; sons, Steven, 15, Nicholas, 13 

Education: B.A., business administration, Louisiana State University 

New Orleans is famous for its rich mix of cultures. Diversity, 

however, is not something that happens by chance. It 

depends on everyone getting an opportunity to share a 

piece of the pie. 

As president of the New Orleans Multicultural 

Tourism Network, a nonprofit organization, Toni Rice 

makes sure people of color get that opportunity. 

“A lot of these small and emerging businesses can provide 

services but don’t know how to market themselves,” 

Rice said. “Our job is to make sure they get a piece of the 

tourism dollars when they come to the city.” 

Its roots are in the Greater New Orleans Black Tourism 

Network, established in 1990 to identify and promote the 

cultural diversity of New Orleans and to increase leadership, 

career and business opportunities for people of color 

at all levels of the hospitality industry. 

Rice began her career with the network in 1997 as an 

executive assistant. Six years later, she was promoted to 

president. She had worked for two-and-a-half years as a 

sales manager at the Doubletree Lakeside hotel. 

“It allowed me to see the other side of the tourism 

industry so that when I returned to the network I felt like 

I could successfully fill the position of president.” 

One of the more difficult decisions for Rice occurred in 

1999 when the Greater New Orleans Black Tourism 

Network officially changed its name to the New Orleans 

Multicultural Tourism Network. There was significant 

resistance initially, Rice said, but the time had come to bring 

Asians and Hispanics into the tourism industry. 

“We made so many strides in the African-American community 

we felt it was time to open the door for others.” 

The network is responsible for marketing New Orleans 

to multicultural travelers and promoting the services of 

multicultural businesses to tourists and event planners. 

“Once these small businesses learn the ropes and handle 

groups on a small scale they can grow and work on a 

larger scale,” Rice said. 

Rice points to L&R Security Services as one of her 

greatest success stories. L&R, a security firm, began as a 

part-time endeavor. But as it worked through the network, 

it grew, acquiring work with small conventions. 

Today the firm provides security for the U.S. Open on 

the PGA Tour. 

For Rice, a native of St. Charles Parish, her work with 

the network means more than promoting small businesses 

or drawing tourists to New Orleans. It is about creating 

opportunities for those who want to succeed. And it is 

about creating an environment in which future generations, 

including her two boys and unborn child, can realize 

their full potential. 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Partner Adams and Reese LLP 

Family: husband, Rip; daughter,Ashley, 17; sons, Bradley, 14, and Miles, 9 

Education: B.A., music therapy, Loyola University; J.D., Loyola University School of Law 

Deborah Rouen is a prominent litigation attorney and 

partner at New Orleans’ largest law firm, but she has a 

confession. 

“My real passion in life has always been music.” 

It may seem odd that she could find fulfillment in work 

such as toxic torts and product liability, but Rouen 

believes there is an art to the practice of law. 

“All lawyers solve problems,” Rouen said. “Sometimes 

the bigger the problems, the more creative their solutions 

have to be.” 

Rouen had a brief career in music therapy before 

deciding she needed a change. “It was emotionally 

rewarding but I didn’t find it particularly intellectually 

challenging,” she said. 

Law school turned out to be a better fit. She graduated 

magna cum laude from the Loyola University School of 

Law in 1983 and immediately began working at Adams 

and Reese, where she has practiced ever since. 

Initially, Rouen specialized in maritime and admiralty 

law, then gravitated toward class action and complex litigation 

cases. In 1988, she became part of the defense team 

in the Shell Norco explosion case. 

In addition to being team leader of the class 

action/complex litigation practice at Adams and Reese, 

Rouen is a member of the pharmaceuticals/product liability 

team. She recently became one of the first women 

named to the firm’s executive committee. 

She helped increase participation in the firm’s pro 

bono program, Caring Adams and Reese Employees, 

and its Hope, Understanding, Giving and Support program, 

which helps more than 50 charities in the New 

Orleans area. One of her own favorite projects is Dress 

for Success, which assists low-income women in preparing 

for new jobs. 

Rouen has been married 28 years and has three children. 

She said the support of her husband, Rip, has been 

solid throughout her career. 

“I was very fortunate that I fell in love with a man who 

encouraged me to follow my dreams, and then he went a 

step further and helped me to realize some of those 

dreams,” Rouen said. 

Rouen often advises young lawyers to assess their 

priorities honestly and strive to maintain a balance in 

their lives. But, hearkening back to her musical roots, 

she said balance is not so much giving equal time and 

weight to different roles, “but more a matter of harmony: 

How do you combine those different parts into a 

pleasing whole?” 

An accomplished pianist, she added: “Harmony in 

music is not trying to have the same sound out of both 

hands.” 



39B 

2 0 0 3 



Position: Partner, Jones,Walker,Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègré 

Family: husband, John A. Pojman; son, John Pojman Jr., 2 

Education: B.A., history, Georgetown University; J.D. University of Chicago 

Dionne Rousseau thought practicing law would be a little 

less hectic than investment banking. 

After graduating from college, she worked with Paine 

Webber Capital Markets in New York City. After several 

years she opted for a law degree rather than an MBA. In 

addition to seeking a less crazy lifestyle, she found her 

curiosity peaked by the legal aspects of her deals. 

Although she is from New Orleans, ending up here was 

more serendipity than planning. Her husband, who holds 

a doctorate in chemistry, took a job at Southern 

Mississippi University in Hattiesburg. New Orleans was 

the closest place for her to practice in her field. 

“I’m married to a professor and the career path for a 

professor is pretty much: Go to one place. Establish a 

research program. Get tenure, and live happily ever after. I 

like the idea of going somewhere and staying there and 

building a reputation.” 

At Jones Walker she works with corporate clients, both 

private and public, doing mergers and acquisitions, venture 

capital work and securities work. Recently she helped 

Conrad Industries in Morgan City raise $4 million from 

the sale of industrial revenue bonds to open a new shipyard. 

“To me that’s very exciting. They’re going out and 

expanding and raising money,” she said. 

Her biggest challenge has been moving from a good 

associate to being a business generator. 

“I don’t think people understand that practicing law, 

even in a big law firm, is quite entrepreneurial because as 

a partner at a big law firm you are your own profit center 

and you’re expected to generate business,” Rousseau said. 

As for that less hectic lifestyle, balancing it all with a 

family is a challenge, she said. “I think it’s a work in 

progress.” 

Having the support of colleagues and clients is critical 

in maintaining that balance, she added. “I’ve been fortunate 

to have that.” 

She has taught corporate law at Loyola University and 

would like to return to that some day. 

“Teaching would allow me to give something back. 

Also I was proud of being a woman and coming in to teach 

that class,” she said. “A lot of women approached me afterward 

who said they thought it was cool.” 

She is on the board of directors and the executive committee 

for the Bureau of Governmental Research and was 

one of three main organizers for the annual Burkenroad 

SEC Conference. She has also been a big sister as part of 

Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

“I have a theory that when you’re young, any attention 

from an adult makes you feel special and gives you self-confidence. 

I had that and I wanted to do that for someone.” 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Superintendent, Jefferson Parish Public School System 

Family: husband, Lawrence McDonald Jr.; daughters, Stephanie McDonald, 20, and Celeste McDonald, 16 

Education: B.A., English education, University of New Orleans; M.A., curriculum and instruction, UNO; 

M.A. Plus 30, curriculum and instruction, UNO; Ph.D., educational administration, UNO 

When Jefferson Parish officials interviewed Diane Roussel 

for the position of school superintendent, she was blunt. 

“I see myself as a change agent. I said when I was interviewed 

‘If you want status quo don’t choose me.’ ” 

True to her word, Roussel led the push for a new property 

tax increase, narrowly approved in October by voters. 

It was the system’s first tax increase in 12 years and will 

bring in about $17 million for increased teacher pay in the 

first year. 

Since taking over in July, Roussel has begun implementing 

a number of other changes as well, including 

making budget cuts and reorganizing the school system’s 

central offices and putting staff there on a performance 

review system. 

“Jefferson Parish is at a real decision point in what its 

school system will look like,” she said. “I’m not an alarmist 

but I will tell you if we don’t turn things around we are on 

the brink.” 

Roussel is only the second female superintendent in 

Jefferson Parish, but she doesn’t see that as obstacle. 

“You can do the work or you can’t,” she said. 

She started college when she was 17 and finished in 

three and a half years. She found herself back in her old 

school, Riverdale High School, teaching alongside people 

who had recently taught her. And she wasn’t much older 

than the students. 

“As a young teacher I had to be very strict,” she said. 

Her youth made working her way up the ladder more 

difficult, she said, but she persevered. Roussel has now 

held every position in Jefferson Parish Schools, from 

teacher to principal to director of instruction. 

She eventually moved into administration because she 

kept going back to school for more certifications. A professor 

at UNO finally told her she would have to decide if 

she wanted to get a doctoral degree. 

“At that point, after watching administrators, I felt I 

could do it,” she said. She is also an adjunct professor at 

UNO and Tulane University. 

Roussel was named Louisiana High School Principal 

of the Year in 1997 and received the outstanding teacher 

award from the University of Chicago in 1985. She served 

as one of five members of the U.S. Policy Studies Task 

Force, a three-year project to look at what was and was not 

working in federal programs, and is involved in many 

national education organizations. 

Her biggest learning curve came during the campaign 

to pass the new tax. “I knew the school system was being 

judged through me,” she said. 

Roussel has a long list of objectives for improving all 

aspects of the school system. “With an 18-month contract 

it almost gives you no fear,” she said. 



41B 

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Kim Ryan 

Position: Chief Nursing Officer,Tulane University Hospital and Clinic 

Family: husband, Rich Ryan; daughter, Cheryl, 22; twin sons, Matthew and Christopher, 15 

Education: B.S., nursing, University of New York at Albany; M.S., University of Rochester; M.B.A., George College and State University 

In New Orleans, good jobs can be in short supply. But one 

major exception is nursing as the classified section of the 

Sunday newspaper will attest. 

“In New Orleans, we have 1,000 open nursing positions,” 

said Kim Ryan. She should know: As chief nursing 

officer at Tulane University Hospital and Clinic, 

Ryan’s responsibilities include making the hospital a 

place where nurses want to work and where they are 

inclined to build a career. 

Ryan herself joined the hospital in 1998, after years of 

working in academic medical centers. With graduate 

degrees in science and business, Ryan has developed a 

model for nursing administration that combines the traditional, 

nurturing role nurses bring to patient care with an 

effective business approach. In practice, the model pairs 

people skilled in nursing with those familiar with the 

workings of business. 

“Each side teaches the other,” Ryan said. “And what 

we’ve found is that patient satisfaction improves and staff 

satisfaction improves.” 

Ryan has also been a strong advocate of nursing 

research — applying the same guidelines to nursing that 

underlie the practice of medicine. “I think we raised the 

bar in nursing practice” at Tulane, she said. “The nurses 

not only know what they do, but why they do it.” 

But perhaps Ryan’s greatest contribution is her help 

in developing the Accelerated Nursing Program, a partnership 

with Our Lady of the Lake College in Baton 

Rouge. The program, operated through a satellite campus 

in New Orleans, allows men and women, with 

undergraduate degrees in science, to earn a degree in 

nursing in just nine months. 

By next year, the program’s initial class of 33 could be 

working the hospital floor and alleviating the acute shortage 

of nurses. 

“Tulane has a very complex patient population so we 

need nurses who have this hardcore science background,” 

Ryan said. But waiting two years — the duration of most 

nursing programs — is a long time, she added. 

Ryan’s leadership and business acumen extend 

beyond her work at Tulane. As an active member of the 

United Way’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, she helps 

women develop the skills they need to further their 

careers. 

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Ryan said the transition 

from Upstate to Deep South has been smooth. 

“We love it here. We’re outdoor people, golfers, and I 

love to garden,” she said. “This is an eclectic city and I feel 

very much accepted.” 


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in education, research and patient care 


2 0 0 3


43B 

2 0 0 3 


Grace Sheehan 

Title: Captain and Commanding Officer, Enlisted Placement Management Center 

Family: husband, James Lee Jr., Lt. Commander U.S. Navy 

Education: B.A., psychology, University of Southern California, M.A., strategic studies and national defense, Naval War College 

Capt. Grace Sheehan was recently reminded how far 

women had come in the modern military. She stepped out 

of a car at the National D-Day Museum in full uniform just 

as some older veterans were arriving. 

“These guys said ‘Oh my God! It’s a female captain! 

Are you the only one?’ I said ‘No, there’s a bunch of us.’ ” 

The daughter of a Navy aviator, Sheehan originally 

set her sights on a career as a pilot when she was commissioned 

in 1978. But she wasn’t one of the 15 

women chosen for pilot training that year. So she went 

into intelligence and made a career in training and manpower. 

Sheehan, a native of Southern California, came to New 

Orleans two years ago and is responsible for the placement 

of all enlisted personnel throughout the Navy — about 

350,000 sailors. She commands 200 military and civilian 

personnel. 

She doesn’t regret that her career took a different path 

from landing planes on aircraft carriers — something 

woman weren’t allowed to do anyway until 1992 when the 

combat exclusion law was lifted. 

“If I had stayed in aviation the opportunities weren’t as 

good,” she said. “The opportunities are better now.” 

She found more chances for advancement in intelligence, 

having been a commanding officer twice. When 

Sheehan entered the Navy, there were three women out 

of a battalion of 340. She was glad to have her father as 

a reality check. 

“When I said I wanted to fly they said women’s lungs 

explode when they experience G (forces),” she said. 

They also told her women didn’t have the upper body 

strength to fly jets. Her father set her straight. “He would 

say ‘That’s a bunch of crap, Grace,’ ” she recalled. 

Her career has taken her all over the country, from 

Hawaii to Virginia. She spent two years as the officer in 

charge of the Personnel Support Activity Detachment at 

Pearl Harbor. She also served as executive officer of the 

Aegis Training and Readiness Center in Virginia and did 

a command tour at the Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois. 

She has found it rewarding to help individual sailors 

throughout her career. 

“Here you have a 19 year old that’s going to go to a ship 

that of course have this huge responsibility that other 19 

year olds can’t even fathom,” she said. “They do these fabulous 

things that always amaze me.” 

Outside of work, she is involved with Christ Church 

Cathedral and Habitat for Humanity. She will retire in 

June and, despite her insistence she will be “eating bon 

bons and watching Oprah,” Sheehan is exploring other 

opportunities. These include volunteer work and possibly 

writing. 



2 0 0 3 



Position: Director of Sales & Marketing, Hotel Monteleone 

Family: daughter, Kristine Dunkin, 33 

Education: attended University of Mississippi; certified meeting professional 

Andrea Thornton has done what she calls the “full 

Monte.” She left a position at The Hotel Monteleone to 

open her own travel company, worked at other hotels and 

elsewhere in the hospitality industry, then returned to the 

Monteleone, where she oversees the sales, catering and 

reservations departments. 

Thornton has worked to reposition the Monteleone, 

which is undergoing a $65 million renovation and has 

received many awards,including AAA’s four-diamond designation, 

and status as a literary landmark. Since more travelers 

are taking advantage of Internet specials that offer 

cheap rates, Thornton developed new ways of marketing 

the property to potential guests. 

“It’s a challenge, but we have all the appropriate pieces 

in place. The fact that we’re both a historic and literary 

landmark makes us unique. We’re one of only two hotels 

in the French Quarter that have the four-diamond designation 

now. Yes, it is tough, because we’re trying to sell 

value and not just a rate.” 

Since Thornton began her career, technology has 

changed everything. At first, she said, some employees 

were reluctant to embrace the changes. It took persuasiveness 

to show them the benefits of technology. 

“You can still keep that wonderful warmth (for 

guests) but at the same time bring the hotel into the 21st 

century through technology and working smarter,” 

Thornton said. 

But Thornton said she was most impressed by the loyalty 

of the returning clients at the Monteleone — and especially 

the loyalty of the employees. 

“The nice thing about the hotel is the employees and 

their longevity,” she said. “A lot of the people I worked 

with in the mid ’70s are still there today and they have 

never left.” Their attitude made training and preparing for 

the AAA inspection even easier, she said. 

When she owned Tours by Andrea, a company that 

included a travel agency and conference-planning and 

destination-management components, the company grew 

from two to 32 employees and annually pulled in $6 million 

in revenue. Thornton also founded Mid-South 

Women in Travel and is president of Hospitality 

Education Networking Association and SKAL, a small 

group of hotel general managers and directors involved 

with marketing in the tourism field. 

She has been a member and an officer in many organizations, 

including the Hospitality Education Networking 

Association, the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention 

and Visitors Bureau and Meeting Planners International. 

She is chairwoman of the WOW Committee with the 

Convention and Visitors Bureau, working with VIPs who 

visit New Orleans. 

— By Faith Dawson


45B 

2 0 0 3 



Position: Owner,The Vision Company 

Family: husband,Troy 

Education: B.S., biology and chemistry, Xavier University; Doctor of optometry, University of Houston College of Optometry 

Keeley Verrett’s philosophy is treat all of her patients the 

same, whether they are millionaires or Medicaid recipients. 

“The neighborhood clinics I worked in were not aesthetically 

nice. To me it said that certain people didn’t 

deserve to have a nice place to go.” 

When she opened her own optometry practice at 1200 

Franklin Ave., she made sure it was attractive, her staff was 

courteous to everyone and patients didn’t wait all day. 

It was a natural way of doing business for Verrett, who 

grew up in a Gulfport, Miss., grocery store owned by her 

family. Her grandparents started a water company and a 

credit union. The neighborhood even had its own fire 

department. The grocery store was where Verrett ate, did 

her homework, and got her first job experience. 

She wanted to replicate some of what she had experienced 

in childhood to serve low- and middle-income people 

with quality care. 

“That’s very important to me because most of those 

people are black folks and there are a lot of places that mistreat 

us,” she said. 

She looked into several different medical professions 

before settling on optometry. “I guess the one thing that 

attracted me the most was I felt I would be able to have a family 

and I wouldn’t have to sacrifice my family life for my job.” 

She opened a second location at 3840 St. Bernard 

Ave., and will open a third in November at 411 Carondelet 

St. in the Central Business District. Her business is inextricably 

tied to her community. She does free vision 

screenings in her office for children without health insurance. 

Often these children wind up in special education 

classes because they can’t see, she said. 

She recently became a community partner with the nonprofit 

The Eyes Have It, which provides eye exams and 

glasses in schools. She also offers services to senior citizens 

in conjunction with a Medicare-based organization. 

Verrett also brings in several students from Xavier 

University each semester who want to learn about optometry. 

She pairs them with junior high or high school students,who 

are often patients and might be having trouble in school. 

They do some work around the office and get exposed to 

mentors who are college students. Verrett convinced one 

young woman to return to school and even got her a uniform. 

“Whatever we can do,” she said. “We let them know 

whatever they need we’ll try to handle it.” 

She will wait to see how her newest location does 

before making more expansion plans. 

“I’m just trying to fill my life with all the aspects of 

optometry I love. I love dealing with kids. I love dealing 

with older people who normally get ignored. I like dealing 

with corporate folks, too,” she said. “But I definitely don’t 

want to do too much.” 



2 0 0 3 


Dawn Wesson 

Position: Associate Professor,Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine 

Family: partner, Mary-Jo Webster 

Education: B.A. biology and Spanish, North Central College; M.S., ecology, University of Illinois at Chicago; Ph.D. medical entomology, Notre Dame University 

Known as “mosquito-hunter extraordinaire” by close 

friends, Dawn Wesson has been a key player in managing 

the West Nile outbreak in southeastern Louisiana. 

Wesson became interested in mosquitoes in graduate 

school. Having grown up on a farm, however, she 

has always had a keen awareness of how insects can 

cause problems. 

As a medical entomologist and associate professor of 

tropical medicine at Tulane for the past 10 years, she 

now divides her time between teaching and research. 

Her Spanish comes in handy for her fieldwork in 

Central and South America. 

“Field work is what I enjoy the most,” said Wesson. 

“Part of (fieldwork) has to do with seeing what’s going 

on in real world. It gives me the chance to enjoy the 

environment of New Orleans.” 

Much of her work over the past few years has been 

developing surveillance systems for mosquito control. 

Wesson has helped implement an Internet-based 

reporting system to gather information from all over the 

state and to issue updates to the public. Knowing where 

and when mosquitoes occur helps Wesson better predict 

potential outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases. 

The West Nile virus made it apparent that individuals 

trained to do fieldwork like Wesson have virtually 

disappeared. The Centers for Disease Control has 

funded the training of some 20 graduate students, 

under Wesson’s direction, to meet this need. She also 

recently served as president of the Louisiana Mosquito 

Control Association, which helps train mosquito control 

personnel. 

Wesson has won grant money from the Coypu 

Foundation, funded in part by the McIlhenny family, to 

investigate some types of mosquitoes as invasive 

species. She has received grants from the Department 

of Defense, J. Bennett Johnston Foundation, and the 

Association of Schools of Public Health and hopes to 

garner funds soon from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service and the National Park Service. 

Her most recent award, $2.1 million from the 

National Institutes of Health to study the breeding 

habits of mosquitoes in containers, could lead to the 

development of a device to lure and trap mosquitoes as 

they look for a place to lay eggs. She hopes to have a 

prototype ready to test in four years. 

— By Jan Fluitt-Dupuy

COUNCILMAN 

OLIVER M.THOMAS,JR. 

Congratulates 

LOLITA 

BURRELL 

and her 39 colleagues for 

their selection as 

WOMEN 

OF THE 

YEAR 

You are an inspiration to all 

young women. As role models, 

you do our city proud. 

The Board of Directors 

and 

Advisory Council salute 

Laura 

Maloney 

a 2003 CityBusiness 

Woman of the Year 

Catherine Dunn 

one of CityBusiness’ 

Women of the Year 

Outstanding Wife & Mother 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 

We Love You 

Durward III, Durward IV 

Catherine “Steele”, Bryan and George 

“Congratulating all the Honorees 

for Women of the Year!” 

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2 0 0 3 


Charlee Williamson 

Position: Executive Vice President, Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group 

Family: husband, Richard 

Education: B.A., advertising, University of Texas 

For someone who’s a bigwig with one of New Orleans’ 

most famous restaurant groups, Charlee Williamson is 

one picky eater. 

For starters, she won’t eat anything green or white. 

Foods with names — duck, lamb, deer, rabbit — are all off 

limits. And cheese? That would be a no. 

“People seem to think something’s just wrong with me 

being in this business,” she said. 

Obviously, her boss disagrees. Williamson has 

worked for the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group for 10 

years, and through her marketing savvy and a mission to 

“make people happy,” she’s advanced from marketing 

manager to executive vice president. 

Her position encompasses five restaurants including 

Mr. B’s Bistro, BACCO and Red Fish Grill. 

During Williamson’s senior year as an advertising 

major at the University of Texas, she met the man who 

would steer her career. Her mother’s friend, a member of 

the Royal Street Guild, offered to line up some informational 

interviews for Williamson at some of the hotels and 

restaurants in that area. Among the interviews was a meeting 

with Ralph Brennan. 

At the time, the fact he was looking for someone to fill a 

position that hadn’t yet been created or defined didn’t really 

excite Williamson. 

“I remember going home and telling my mother I was 

never going to do that,” she said. “It wasn’t as glamorous 

as I thought it was going to be.” 

Six months later, the picky eater ate her words. 

Since then, Williamson has helped Brennan expand 

his restaurant empire, developing Ralph Brennan’s Jazz 

Kitchen at Walt Disney Land in Anaheim, Calif. Now 

she’s orchestrating the completion of a yet unnamed 

restaurant at 900 City Park Ave., the former site of 

Tavern on the Park. 

In addition to her job, Williamson is co-chairwoman 

of the National Restaurant Association’s Marketing 

Executives Study Group and the state’s coordinator for 

the International Association of Culinary 

Professionals. Outside work, she holds leadership positions 

in the Junior League of New Orleans and has 

served on the board of directors of the Young 

Leadership Council, the Royal Street Guild and the 

Advertising Club of New Orleans. 

Williamson doesn’t see herself going anywhere else. 

And as far as Williamson’s finicky food choices go, 

Brennan hasn’t given up on her. 

“He’s gotten me to eat a veal cheek, which I still hate. 

And I ate a strawberry,” she said. “But I had to ask for a 

breath mint afterward.” 

—Autumn C. Giusti

…They always 

went beyond 

the call of duty. 

That’s why we do at the 

VA Medical Center, 

New Orleans, LA. 

A proud part of the city’s vibrant health care scene, the VA Medical 

Center, New Orleans, LA, is a leader in state-of-the-art outpatient and 

inpatient services with a diverse staff of over 1,700 employees. 

The VA Medical Center provides quality health care services to nearly 

38,000 veterans from southeast Louisiana to the Mississippi Gulf Coast 

and Florida panhandle. 

A 354-bed acute care facility, the VA Medical Center supports over 

406,500 outpatient visits each year providing tertiary and specialized 

care in medical, surgical and psychiatric fields. A number of clinical 

services including cardiac surgery, neurology and neuro surgery and 

geriatric and extended care are offered. 

Cutting edge technology and dedicated staff make the VA Medical Center 

a leader in quality, compassionate health care. 

The VA Medical Center, New Orleans, LA 

congratulates this year’s 

Women of the Year 

Jeanette Butler 

We are currently seeking candidates for the following positions: 

Registered Nurses, IT Specialists, Registered Respiratory Therapists 

and other administrative positions 

Shawanda Poree, RN 

Human Resources Management 

1601 Perdido Street • New Orleans, LA 70112-1262 

Telephone (504) 589-5255 or (504) 585-2942 

Shawanda.Poree@med.va.gov • Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)

Leadership 

POWER 

Elaine Coleman, Vice President, External Affairs, Entergy New Orleans 

At Entergy, we take great pride in the power of people. 

Elaine Coleman exemplifies the winning spirit of all our employees. She makes significant contributions 

to the New Orleans community and has proven herself to be a leader for today and tomorrow. 

Entergy salutes Elaine Coleman whose drive, passion and commitment serve as an inspiration to us all. 

1-800-ENTERGY (368-3749) • ©2003 Entergy Corporation www.entergy.com

Sponsoredby: - New Orleans City Business

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