Kelly Barbier
Staff Attorney, Louisiana Supreme Court
kellybarbier@gmail.com
Kelly E. Barbier is a 1992 graduate of Loyola Law School in New Orleans. Following graduation, she clerked for Judge Bernette J. Johnson in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. She then began her practice as an associate with the Barbier Law Firm for six years, continued as a solo practitioner for two years, and went on to specialize in research, writing and appeals at the Law Office of Thomas A. Gennusa, II for six years. Ms. Barbier is currently employed as a law clerk to Justice Bernette J. Johnson on the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Ms. Barbier is active is several legal and community organizations. She currently serves on the board of the Association of Women Attorneys as corresponding secretary, after several terms as President of that organization. She is active in the Academy of New Orleans Trial Lawyers, and formerly served as a board member for three years. She is also a member of Louisiana Association for Justice, and served on the Board of Governors of that organization from 1998 to 2001. Ms. Barbier is a member of the A.P. Tureaud Inn of Court; a fellow of Loyola University’s Institute of Politics; a former Board Member of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Louisiana; and has served as a mentor in the H.O.S.T.S. (Help Our Children to Succeed) program. Ms. Barbier is married to Michael McLain and is stepmother to three children: Megan, Christian and Madeleine McLain. She and her family reside in Algiers.
Richard Bouchner
Investment Management Consultant, Equitas Capital
rbouchner@equitas-capital.com
Rich is originally from Fairfield, CT and attended Tulane University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in History. He has been involved in the financial services industry both in New Orleans and New York City for many years in a variety of positions. Upon graduating from Tulane in 1989, he worked for Merrill Lynch as a Financial Consultant in their New Orleans office where he advised high net worth individuals as well as foundations and pension plans on how to structure and invest their portfolios. He left Merrill to pursue his MBA at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN which he received in 1997 with a double concentration in finance and marketing. Upon graduating, Rich moved to New York City to join Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., the nation’s oldest and largest private bank, where he focused on new business development nationally with pension consultants, institutional and ultra-high net worth clients.
In 2000, he joined Sanford Bernstein in New York as a Vice President, Director of Consultant Relations responsible for sales and marketing of asset management services to the institutional and high net worth investment consultant community. Rich took a break from Wall Street in 2003 to work at his family’s real estate business and then co-founded his own firm, Commodore Mortgage Group in New York City in 2004 and subsequently Bouchner & Co. Real Estate in 2008, also in New York. Rich and his wife Marguerite moved back to NOLA in the beginning of 2011 when he began working with Equitas Capital Advisors. They are both very excited to be back in New Orleans and look forward to rediscovering all that the city has to offer.
John H. Denenea Jr.
Attorney at Law
jdenenea@midcitylaw.com
John H. Denenea has been a Partner with Shearman-Denenea, L.L.C. since 2000. His legal expertise includes: litigation, jury and bench trials, appellate arguments, brief writing, hearings, and depositions, drafting pleadings, contracts, and appearing and practicing before administrative hearings. Prior to working with Shearman-Denenea, L.L.C. he was an attorney for Wiedemann & Wiedemann, (formerly Wiedemann & Fransen). John is a graduate of Louisiana State University and the Loyola School of Law. John and his wife, Cheryl Hoffman Denenea have four children: Patrick, Maddie, Elizabeth, and Aimee. They attend St. Matthew the Apostle Parish Church.
Melonie Hall
Customer Service Director, Entergy New Orleans
mhall1@entergy.com
Melonie P. Hall is the Director of Customer Service for Entergy New Orleans. She is responsible for establishing relationships and maintaining service levels to residential, commercial and industrial customers in New Orleans. Melonie is also responsible for the operation of two full service Customer Care Centers and for handling customer service concerns from the New Orleans City Council.
Melonie graduated from the University of Louisiana in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. She also earned and a Masters of Business Administration from Tulane University. Melonie started her career as a Transmission Engineer and has held numerous engineering and management positions in Engineering, Operations and Customer Service during her 24 years with Entergy.
Hall served as the Chairman of the Entergy United Way Program, is the Executive Sponsor of the Entergy New Orleans Low Income Program, Board Member and Development Committee Chair for Boys Town Louisiana, Finance Chair for the 2010 IEEE Transmission and Distribution Convention and development committee member for the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation.
Mary Hwang
Senior Management Consultant, Hagerty Consulting
maryhwang@gmail.com
Mary Hwang has over nine years of experience in local and federal government particularly in public sector/management consulting. Her experience includes improving process flows, IT consulting, data analysis, and strategic planning. Mary was instrumental in establishing a business intelligence framework to expedite tracking and provision of temporary housing for the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the 2004 Florida Hurricanes and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.
Most recently, she led a team of fiscal monitors to ensure City of New Orleans compliance with programmatic and fiscal requirements for $411M in Disaster Community Development Block Grants. Ms. Hwang also spent a year in China as the Director of Project Management for Barnabas Trading, an organization committed to building sustainable businesses in North Korea.
Mary graduated from Duke University with a dual major in Economics and Public Policy. She was awarded a Public Policy and International Affairs fellowship in 2001. Ms. Hwang is currently attending the Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley for a Master in Business Administration.
Anna Labadie
Junior League of New Orleans
annalab@gmail.com
Anna Labadie works in accounting and operations for a local residential interior design firm and a vintage lighting & accessories company. A member of a very small team of staff, she is responsible for accounts, project management, communications, sourcing and marketing. Anna also has experience in implementing database and organizational systems for small businesses and organizations.
Anna was brought to the board of the Partnership for Youth Development after completing the Get on Board! Nonprofit Board Training series offered to community members through the Junior League of New Orleans. In addition to this role, she serves on the planning committee of two organizations for young professionals in the Jewish community, as well as the local Alumnae Association President for her social fraternity. Anna grew up in Portland, Oregon, then moved to New Orleans for college. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and Social Policy & Practice from Newcomb College at Tulane University. In her spare time, she enjoys running & fitness, cooking & sourcing fresh local food, and taking advantage of New Orleans’ unique arts & culture.
Valerie McGinley Marshall
Director of External Relations Stone Center for Latin American Studies
Tulane University
vmcgmar@tulane.edu
Valerie McGinley Marshall has been with the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University since 1995 in various capacities. At present she oversees the planning and supervision of outreach activities and media/public relations including the production of Center publications. In addition, she coordinates all external funding initiatives, including grant applications, and manages various Stone Center programs such as summer study abroad and special projects related to the Stone Center’s US Department of Education Title VI NRC grant. She holds a B.A. in Spanish from Newcomb College and a M.Ed. in Second Language Instruction from Tulane University, and has taught high school Spanish and adult ESL in the metro-New Orleans area. She is the past President of the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs and has served as a board member of a local international charter school.
Scott Norris
New York Life
Mark Della Volpe
Management Consultant, Hagerty Consulting
mark.dellavolpe@gmail.com
Mark Della Volpe is a Management Consultant for Chicago based Hagerty Consulting, which delivers financial, policy and economic analysis for the public sector. He has also advised several local businesses on process re-engineering, data analysis, performance management and strategic planning. Prior to working for Hagerty Mark worked in investment banking in both New York and New Orleans. He received his Bachelor of Science in Economics from Duke University, where he was a school record holder and nationally ranked javelin thrower on the men’s track and field team.
Jason Williams
Attorney at Law
jrw.lawfirm@gmail.com
Jason R. Williams began practicing law at Criminal District Court through the law school’s clinic program, even though still a student. After graduating from Tulane Law School with the prestiges honor of Order of Barristers in 1997, Williams worked with the law firms of Gertler, Gertler, Vincent, and Plotkin, and Spears & Spears. Within two years, he started his own practice. In 2003, Jason was appointed to serve as a State Court Judge at Criminal District Court by the Louisiana Supreme Court, making him one of the youngest appointed district judges in the city’s recent history. After his tenure as Judge, Jason returned to a vigorous practice, handling a variety of high profile cases in state and federal courts. Jason has also served on the Louisiana State Indigent Board’s Director Selection Committee and has also worked as a Professor at Tulane Law School.
Jason is the managing attorney of Jason Rogers Williams & Associates. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Innocence Project of New Orleans, the Board of Directors of the Audubon Nature Institute, the Mayor’s Criminal Justice Council, the Federal Public Defenders Conflict Panel, and the Orleans Parish Public Defenders Conflict Panel. Jason also serves as a legal analyst on ABC26, FOX8, WDSU and WWL. Jason and his wife, Bridget M. Barthelemy, have two children: Zoe and Graham.