On Our Watch

Riley Essert is the Youth & Environmental Programs Manager at Groundwork New Orleans, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the City of New Orleans. Groundwork New Orleans works to achieve the mission we share with Groundwork USA, which is to work to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower peopl...

Chett Chiasson is the Executive Director of the Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC), a political subdivision of the state of Louisiana that facilitates the economic growth of the communities in which it operates by maximizing the flow of trade and commerce. GLPC encompasses both Port Fourchon and the South Lafourche Airport. 

Greater Lafourche Port Commission - https://portfourchon.com 

To watch our feature length document...

Todd Reynolds is the Executive Director of Groundwork New Orleans. Groundwork New Orleans works to achieve the mission we share with Groundwork USA, which is to work to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement and management of the physical environment by developing community-based partnerships that empower people, businesses and organizations to promote environmental, economic and social well-being. 

Groundwork New Or...

Sandy Ha Nguyen is the founder and Executive Director of Coastal Communities Consulting, Inc., also known as CCC. CCC is a non-profit organization that provides technical assistance, economic development, social support services, and continued disaster assistance to rural entrepreneurs and their families. Established in September 2010, CCC builds off of 20 years of dedicated service to the community by Sandy Nguyen. Since 1996, Mrs...

Ryan Mattingly is the Executive Director at Louisiana Green Corps, an organization dedicated to providing career building opportunities for people aspiring to improve their lives and community. 

LA Green Corps offers pathways to upward mobility and civic participation through job training and education services, advocacy and environmentally restorative projects. 

Over the last sixteen years, Ryan's academic and professional eff...

Dani DiIullo is the Director of Education and Engagement at Louisiana Sea Grant, an extension of the National Sea Grant College Program, located at LSU. In this position, Dani helps to provide urgently important science education, especially as it pertains to the stewardship of coastal environments and natural resources. Dan became LSG’s Education and Engagement director in 2021 and has since continued programs like Ocean Commotion...

Tina Freeman is a New Orleans-based photographer. For the past forty-five years, Tina Freeman’s photography has focused on revealing interior subjects through the exploration of physical environments and natural light. In addition to architecture and interiors in her native New Orleans and around the United States and Europe, Freeman’s subjects include urban warehouses and Louisiana’s natural landscape and backcountry swamps. Her p...

Sage Michael Pellet is the New Orleans Climate Justice Organizer at Healthy Gulf, an organization focused on supporting a thriving ecosystem on the Gulf Coast. Sage Michael is a local and established community activist and organizer working to better the quality of life in his hometown of New Orleans. His work is centered on community building with those underrepresented and most impacted and building coalitions to ensure community...

Heidi Irwin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the Victims’ Assistance Department of the Lafourche Parish District Attorney’s Office. This department is designed to aid victims and their family members as they move through the criminal justice system. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Heidi provides emotional support services to aid in the healing and rehabilitation process for victims.

Lafourche Parish District Attorney...

Julie Lively is the Executive Director of Louisiana Sea Grant, an extension of the National Sea Grant College Program, located at LSU, that works to promote stewardship of the state’s coastal resources through a combination of research, education, and outreach. Julie’s research background centers around commercial fisheries, marine chemical cue ecology, crab biology, and marine invasive species. She is Louisiana Sea Grant’s fourth ...

Captain Karla Beck is the Director of Programming and Reentry at the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, as well as the Director of Project COPE, a comprehensive effort to battle opioid addictions in Lafourche Parish. Captain Beck also has a strong background in mental health and crisis care.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office: https://www.lpso.net/

To watch our feature length documentary, On Our Watch, visit: https://youtu.be/hT...

Andy Sternad is the Principal & Business Unit Leader at Waggonner & Ball, an internationally active architecture and environment practice based in New Orleans. Andy is a leader of Waggonner & Ball’s resilience practice at the intersection of architecture, landscape, and urban design. He focuses on urban- and building-scale solutions that reveal the character of place and integrate issues of climate, nature, economy, and...

Nicole Bourgeois is a Development Specialist at the Lafourche Parish Brief Therapy Center, a free counseling service launched by the Lafourche Parish Government. This initiative offers eight sessions of behavioral health counseling and therapy services at no cost to all residents of Lafourche Parish. Nicole is also a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. 

Lafourche Parish Government: www.lafourchegov.org

Lafourche Parish Brie...

Jaime Ramiro Diaz (Rami) is the Urban Design Director at Waggonner & Ball, an internationally active architecture and environment practice based in New Orleans. He is also the leader of Waggonner & Ball’s resilience and Living With Water® practice. Rami is a client liaison, senior project designer, and collaboration leader for climate adaptation projects across the country, including the Dutch Dialogues®, Greater New Orlean...

Dana Honn is the the Executive Chef and Owner of Carmo, a New Orleans-based tropical café with an emphasis on fresh, local ingredients and sustainability. The menu is built upon the rich, multi-cultural culinary influences found throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, West Africa, Southeast Asia, the Gulf South, and beyond. Dana has also been a longtime advocate for ocean and coastal conservation and restoration, and f...

David Waggonner is the founding principal of Waggonner & Ball, an internationally active architecture and environment practice based in New Orleans. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, David saw an opportunity for New Orleans to reinvent itself as a sustainable city that embraces its lifeblood: water. He championed a process that examines history, soils, biodiversity, infrastructure networks, urban space and habitation, alon...

Jacqueline Richard is the Director of Coastal Studies & GIS Technologies at Nunez Community College, where she has led the program since 2022. She has decades of experience in the field and the classroom studying Louisiana’s disappearing coast. Jacqueline was also recently named among the winners of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana’s (CRCL) 2024 Coastal Stewardship Awards.

Nunez Community College Coastal Studies Pro...

Jessica Dandridge-Smith is the Executive Director for The Water Collaborative, an organization dedicated to urban water management in the Greater New Orleans region. As Executive Director, Jessica focuses on community led adaptation and mitigation as the core to water justice and climate resiliency strategies. Today The Water Collaborative focuses on water management, hazard mitigation, water justice through access, affordability, ...

Peter Waggonner is the Public Policy Director for Greater New Orleans, Inc., Southeast Louisiana’s regional economic development organization. His portfolio encompasses infrastructure, insurance, and the environment at local, state, and federal levels. He also manages the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance (CSFI) and GNO, Inc.’s resilience work. 

Greater New Orleans, Inc. - https://gnoinc.org/

Coalition for Sustainable F...