Board of Directors

Board Chair

Melissa Schutz Lilly, JD,  is a Financial Advisor for Heller & Stieffel Wealth Management Group of UBS Financial Services, Inc. Prior to her role with UBS she was the Senior Vice President and Senior Wealth Advisor for IBERIA Wealth Advisors and OMNIBANK. As a senior wealth advisor, she advised clients on estate, gift, and retirement planning. Her role with IWA was client-centric and its goals were relationship-building and maintenance through a comprehensive approach to financial planning. As a trust officer with OMNIABANK, Melissa oversaw the day to day operations of a $500,000,000 trust department centered on fiduciary, custodial and retirement services. Prior to joining OMNI, Melissa practiced estate planning law in California with a major regional law firm. Her main focus has been on estate planning and trust administration. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Davis School of Law. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Colorado, Boulder where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Melissa is a member of the California State Bar and the Estate Planning Council of New Orleans. She is the current board chair of Community Works, an avid runner and the mother of one.

Vice Board Chair

Sarah Hargrove Howard is the Acquisitions Director for the Conservation Fund’s Central Gulf Coast office, where she executes real estate acquisition projects that protect land and water with high conservation value across the Gulf. In addition to her efforts to protect the Gulf’s environmental health, Sarah is dedicated to connecting our city’s Youth with quality education, culture and arts services. She is an active volunteer with the Junior League of New Orleans, the Louisiana Landmarks Society, and the Friends of the Cabildo. Sarah received her Masters of Science in Sustainable Real Estate Development from Tulane University in 2013. She holds a Bachelors degree in Mass Communications from Texas Tech University. In her time outside the office, Sarah enjoys kayak fishing, college football, cooking, floral design and exploring New Orleans with her husband and two kids, Bonnie and Bill.

Treasurer

Emma Herr is a Director of Development with Tulane University. She moved to New Orleans in 2006 to attend Tulane and worked previously as the Director of Development for the hurricane preparedness non-profit, Evacuteer. Prior to joining the board, she was a volunteer with Community Works and Young Audiences. She has also served as co-chair of the board of Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jordan Frankel is orginially from Oregon. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law. After practicing law in Chicago for a few years, Jordan moved to New Orleans with the hope of finding a more meaningful career path and even spent some time as an instructor for Community Works. Jordan eventually went back to school and obtained his Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Jordan currently works with injured and disabled individuals in litigation to help identify future medical treatment plans and assist in returning to the workforce.

 

Eric Alexander is an insurance advisor at Marsh & McLennan Companies, specializing in governmental agencies. Although growing up in Texas, he attended Louisiana State University, where he received his bachelor’s of interdisciplinary studies and a master’s in business administration. Before residing in New Orleans, Eric spent 10 years in Boston, MA while he played in the NFL, spending 6 years as a member of the New England Patriots. He currently serves as Secretary for the NFLPA Former Players New Orleans Chapter, as well as, coaches football at Country Day Metairie Park School. Eric enjoys traveling and working out. He considers one of his greatest accomplishments is training and running the Boston Marathon. He and his wife Brandi, have two daughters.

 

 

 

 

Myron Miller is a New Orleans native and is currently the Lead Organizer at Ubuntu Village Nola, where he oversees a campaign to connect and build power among families whose voices are too often ignored. He played a key role in the campaigning and reopening of Sarah T. Reed High School in New Orleans East where he was a student. He also received a highlander seeds of fire graduate award for non-violent direct action communication. Myron is also a fellow at the New Orleans Youth Alliance, where young people are prepared for leadership roles. He has been an active and engaged organizer for over eight years and is very passionate about education and youth empowerment. Additionally, he served as the 2nd vice president & board member for the Village de l’est Neighborhood Association. Myron believes all people should be aware and ready to serve and assist our schools and communities. He is an avid supporter of the New Orleans Pelicans basketball team.

 

 

 

Ben Arceneaux grew up in Baton Rouge and graduated from Catholic High School. He spent his freshman year at Roanoke College in Salem, VA before transferring back home to LSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and an MBA. After completing his MBA, Ben moved to New Orleans to work for the Claims Administrator on the BP Oil Spill Settlement. While there, he helped to stand-up a new internal audit department and led the Claims Administrator’s team for the Seafood Compensation Program. He currently works for Entergy in their Accounting Projects group, which specializes in process improvement. Through his various roles, Ben has gained experience in several areas including project management, process improvement, internal audit, reporting, and vendor management. In his free time, Ben enjoys cheering on the Tigers and the Saints or catching some live music wherever he can!

 

 

Dr. Donte Flanagan – Independence, diverse equity and financial freedom drive Dr. Donte A. Flanagan. Born and raised in Chattanooga, TN, those drivers are what carried him to a successful career as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Today, he is dedicated to using his experiences with time management, resilience and courage to motivate diverse students to consider what has traditionally been a homogenous profession. An advanced practice registered nurse in Louisiana, New York, Georgia, U. S. Virgin Islands, Alabama and Tennessee, Dr. D. A. Flanagan has worked in five hospitals and medical centers over the past 14 years. As a CRNA, he provides anesthesia to patients in the areas of obstetrics, pediatrics, regional, neurological, thoracic, ear, nose & throat (ENT), orthopedics, gynecology and trauma. Dr. D. A. Flanagan has served as a Board Member of the Diversity Nurse Anesthesia Mentoring Program (DNAMP), as well as an active member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), a founding member of National Black Nurses Association of Greater New York City (GNYCBNA), and former member of the Oxford College of Emory Alumni Board, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Alumni Board, and Emory School of Nursing Graduate Committee. He earned his Doctorate of Nursing Practice at Columbia University, Masters of Science in Nursing Anesthesia at Samford University, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Emory University. Through his professional work, community involvement and public speaking, Dr. D. A. Flanagan aims to serve as a prominent voice and advocate for diversity throughout the field of nurse anesthesia. Today he leads this initiative through his Dream Big Mentorship Program. The program has created a community that not only mentors aspiring nurse anesthesia applicants, but supports students during their academic calendar as they battle the ups and downs of rigorous programs, and also helps guide new graduates as they navigate the job placement process, contract and benefit packages in an effort to increase fiscally responsible and financially independent practitioners who will further be the voice and the pillars of hope for the voiceless.

Jessie Terrebonne Thompson, is the Corporate Liaison and Manager of transformation in the Premier Performance and Transformation office at Entergy New Orleans. Prior to her role with Entergy, she was the Director of Quality Assurance and
Corporate Compliance for Blessey Marine Services. As a transformation manager she drives continuous improvement and business value in the company’s corporate functions and is accountable for achieving impactful value in affordability, organizational health and operation performance improvements. With over 15-years’ experience in quality assurance, compliance and continuous improvement, she is energized by the ingenuity by which we can change and transform the way we work. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Generational Employee Resource Group at Entergy and is a member of the DEIB Council Innovation Subcommittee. She earned an MBA in International Business from LSU (Shreveport) and a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University New Orleans. She and her husband are dedicated to keeping the entrepreneurial mindset alive in the city having co-owned and operated previous businesses, Fetch! Mid-city and Risings Shiners Productions.

She is a singer/actor/artist in the New Orleans community and a lucky mom of two expressive and kind boys and 2 big fluffy dogs.

 

Mayukh Raychaudhuri is passionate about empowering individuals and communities through access to innovative educational opportunities. He began his professional career as an attorney for multiple Philadelphia law firms working on large-scale class action litigations. After moving to New Orleans in 2013, he spent five years teaching English and Math for KIPP, Firstline, and Jefferson Parish Schools.

Mayukh holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Rutgers University. Outside of work, he enjoys spicy food, travel, and the films of Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, and Pedro Almodovar.

 

Past Board Chair

Albert Vallotton is co-founder and president of Ardent Services, an industrial electrical contractor serving the process automation needs of oil & gas, petrochemical, refining, pharmaceutical and food processing companies nationwide.  Ardent employs over 1,000 skilled craft personnel.  Mr. Vallotton has extensive strategic planning, senior management, operational leadership and safety training experience.  His service to the community includes teaching coursework in Economics, Personal Finance an Ethics as a high school classroom volunteer for Junior Achievement.  He graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Louisiana State University, and during the ensuing twenty-five years has lived and worked in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Corpus Christi, Houston and New Orleans.  He currently resides in Metairie, Louisiana with his wife and three children.  Mr. Vallotton brings critical enterprise development, financial analysis and performance measurement capabilities to our board and organization.