Mona Lisa Saloy, Ph.D.,

Mona Lisa Saloy, Ph.D., Louisiana Poet Laureate (2021-2023), is an author, folklorist, Louisiana Folklife Commissioner, educator, and scholar of Creole culture in articles, documentaries, and poems about Black New Orleans before and after Katrina; currently Conrad N. Hilton Endowed Professor of English at Dillard University; poetry books: Red Beans & Ricely Yours, won the T.S. Eliot Prize and the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award. Second Line Home, celebrates New Orleans Black Creole culture. Recent pubs: The Chicago Quarterly Review, Vol 33; Black FIRE!!! This Time Anthology; and in Tribes journal NYC, 2022; Persimmon journal, 2023. Her new collection Black Creole Chronicles: Poems (University of New Orleans Press 2023), choice for ONE BOOK ONE NEW ORLEANS 2024. Mona Lisa Saloy writes for those who don’t or can’t tell Black Creole cultural stories. www.monalisasaloy.com Tweet to @redbeansista.  

Lolita Villavasso Cherrie

Lolita Villavasso Cherrie is a retired educator and the founder and member of the board of directors of CreoleGen. CreoleGen believes it is vitally important for people who have been denied access to historical information about their family makeup, origins, and place in history to discover and share this information.  

Reggie Ford

Reggie Ford, artist, grew up hopping the street cars, running the streets of the French Quarters, and finding the hidden treasures of his magical city. Reggie started drawing in the third grade, but the instant he picked up a paintbrush at age 14 he discovered what would become his lifelong passion for painting. By adulthood, Reggie had become a new-age Renaissance man as he simultaneously created his signature works of art and actively pursued a semi-pro football career while working full-time at Pat O'Brien's bar and restaurant.

August 29, 2005 marked a pivotal moment in Reggie's life as Hurricane Katrina ravaged his city. As did many other 9th Ward natives, he evacuated to Houston following the storm. Displaced in Houston, Ford tirelessly sharpened his skills in painting while waiting for Katrina's flood waters to be drained. In March 2006, Ford happily returned to New Orleans where he pursued his career as a full-time artist at Dutch Alley Artist’s Co-op. In the first year of his professional career, Reggie’s popularity grew as he was featured in newspapers, magazine articles, and made numerous TV appearances.  

Since the pandemic in 2020, Reggie has become a philanthropist and community activist, volunteering daily at Lincoln Beach by picking up litter and helping to restore seven acres of city-owned beachfront property. He has advocated for funds to reopen Lincoln Beach, closed since 1965 when segregation ended. The spirit of New Orleans is alive in Reggie Ford as it flows from his brush to his paintings into the hearts of those who see his works. Experience the magic for yourself by visiting Jackson Square at the corner of St. Ann and Dumaine Street every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or book him to paint live at your next event.  

Sage Michael Pellet

Sage Michael Pellet, is the New Orleans Climate Justice Organizer at Healthy Gulf. Pellet is a local and established community activist and organizer working to better the quality of life in his hometown of New Orleans. Unfortunately, it is a city that faces constant disasters of flooding and loss of homes caused by climate change, an outdated stormwater system, and local citizens living with disaster trauma. His work is centered on community building with those underrepresented and most impacted and building coalitions to ensure community decision-making and a just transition in the process moving forward. His commitment and leadership are shown through his advocacy to restore and reopen historic Lincoln Beach. 

Oliver Thomas

Oliver Thomas is a New Orleans City Council member and host of The Good Morning Show on WBOK1230. Thomas represents District E where Lincoln Beach is located.