NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation – the nonprofit that owns Jazz Fest – recently announced the election of two new Board of Directors members and five new Advisory Council members, in addition to re-electing its current Board officers to a second one-year terms.
The Foundation is governed by a 30-member Board of Directors and a 15-member Advisory Council, with a focus to use proceeds from Jazz Fest to fund and support year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural enrichment. In the coming weeks, the Foundation will be announcing numerous new initiatives and programs, including a school-based acapella competition, African drumming and Mardi Gras Indian beadwork workshops for kids, songwriting and sound recording workshops for kids, and the first-annual Jazz & Heritage Film Festival.
The two newly elected Board of Director members are:
• Judge Sidney H. Cates IV – Sidney Cates has been a Civil District Court Judge for Orleans Parish (Division C, Section 10) since 2004, and has been a member of the Louisiana Bar Association since 1976. He has served as a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Minority Involvement Committee and the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors and President’s Council. He served as President of the Board of Directors of the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corp., and was Chairman of the New Orleans Civil Service Commission.
• Richard F. Cortizas – Richard Cortizas is an attorney and a partner at the law firm Jones Walker. He served as City Attorney for the City of New Orleans, and as Executive Counsel to the Mayor of New Orleans. Previously, he was U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu’s Regional Director, acting as the liaison with state and local officials. He has been active on the boards of many organizations, including Greater New Orleans, Inc., the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Lusher Charter School and WYES Public Broadcasting, among others.
The five newly elected Advisory Council members are:
• David A. Kerstein – David Kerstein is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Helis Interests in New Orleans, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Helis Oil & Gas Co. He is also the President of the Helis Foundation, which supports Louisiana’s cultural communities. In addition to other business and civic activities, he is Vice Chairman of the New Orleans Business Council and Vice Chairman of the New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation, and he is a member of the President’s Council of Tulane University, the Arts Council of New Orleans and the Bureau of Governmental Research.
• Ellen M. Lee – Ellen Lee is Director of Housing Policy and Community Development for the City of New Orleans. She also has served as senior executive of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, in addition to numerous positions in health, housing and neighborhood development for the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana. She serves as Chair of the Center for Community Progress; Chair of the Sustainable Housing Committee of the Louisiana Housing Corp., and Vice President of the University of New Orleans Foundation.
• Ronald P. McClain – Ronald McClain is a licensed clinical social worker who currently is Executive Director of the Institute of Mental Hygiene. Previously, he was President and CEO of Family Services of Greater New Orleans and President and CEO of Children’s Bureau of New Orleans. He is a member of the New Orleans Civil Service Commission, Vice-President of the National Association of Social Workers – Louisiana Chapter, a Board member of the New Orleans Council on Aging and a Board member of Peace Center.
• Howard L. Rodgers III – Howard Rodgers has been Executive Director of the New Orleans Council on Aging since 1999. He previously served, among other roles, as Executive Director of Carrollton-Hollygrove Multi-Purpose Senior Center and as an adjunct faculty member at the Southern University of New Orleans School of Social Work. He has been a board member of many civic and business organizations, including: Entergy New Orleans, the Ethics Board of the City of New Orleans, the National Association of Social Workers, the Regional Transit Authority Elderly and Handicapped Advisory Board and the National Council on Aging.
• Kathy C. Saloy – Kathy Saloy is a longtime business development executive who currently serves as a Program Officer for Community and Economic Development with Hope Enterprise Corp./Hope Credit Union. She previously served in various roles with Capital One Bank and Hibernia National Bank. Among her many professional and civic affiliations and board memberships are: New Beginnings Charter School; Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Xavier University Preparatory High School and Jack and Jill of America.
