As a member of the United Houma Nation and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRS) at Southern Miss, Dr. Greer has worked with Southeastern Native tribal members on numerous projects including the formation of CAIRS and the building of a 1000 square foot Medicine Wheel garden located on campus for whom she is the caretaker.
Michael A. Fitts has served as the 15th president of Tulane University since 2014. Fitts is recognized as one of the country’s foremost legal scholars on administrative and constitutional law, particularly matters relating to separation of powers.
Carolyn Barber-Pierre is the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Multicultural Affairs. Carolyn has more than 40 years of professional experience in the field of higher education, diversity and inclusion and has served in her current position since 2000. Carolyn with her husband Curtis Pierre, co-founded the group, Casa Samba, a local traditional Brazilian Drum & Dance troupe that has been teaching and performing in the greater New Orleans for more than 30 years.
Dr. Joy Banner is Co-Founder and Co-Director of The Descendants Project, a nonprofit foundation committed to the liberation of the Black descendant community through the dismantling of inequitable and discriminatory economic, environmental, and social systems inherent in the violent legacies of slavery. After earning a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, she taught business communications, marketing, and entrepreneurship at the university level where she advanced to Chair of the Management program.
Jo’s love for Louisiana was partly instilled by her grandparents, who passed down 10 generations of Louisiana folktales and history highlighting her Afro-Creole Heritage. The West African fables of Compere Lapin and Bouki, her grandparents' favorites, helped Jo develop a deep connection to tradition and a recognition of liberation through nature. Sparked by this connection, Jo utilizes both a Bachelor’s and Master's degree in Communications to protect Louisiana’s people and its environment fiercely.
Lora Ann Chaisson is the Principal Chief of the United Houma Nation (UHN) and is a resident of Pointe aux Chenes, LA. She is the daughter of Theo Chaisson and the late Betty Sanders Chaisson. Ms. Chaisson serves as the Delegate for the UHN to the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). She was elected as the Southeast Regional Area Alternate Vice President for NCAI.
Kate is a Senior Research Fellow with the Cowen Institute, a core fellow with the Newcomb Institute, and a Cohort 9 Fellow with Harvard University's Strategic Data Project. Her areas of interest include qualitative and mixed-methods research, data visualization, research ethics, and making educational systems more equitable for excluded populations. Prior to joining the Cowen Institute, Kate earned her MSc in Applied Social Research and her PhD in Social Policy in 2014 from Trinity College, Dublin.
Sienna Abdulahad serves as the Director of Finance and Operations for the Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking. She brings more than a decade of experience in online, experiential, social media and print marketing to Tulane. Abdulahad earned a B.S. in Marketing and Management from Siena College and an M.A.Ed. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Virginia Tech. In 2018, she began serving as the Associate Director for Multicultural Affairs at Tulane University.
