James Carville is a Democratic strategist who serves as a political contributor for CNN, appearing frequently on CNN's The Situation Room as well as other programs on all CNN networks. Carville remains active in Democratic politics and is a party fundraiser.
Leslie Iwerks is an Academy Award® and Emmy®-nominated director and producer. She has been a leader in creating award-winning films that celebrate the genius, risks, and rewards of creative and innovative visionaries.
Amy Gajda, Tulane Law School’s Class of 1937 Professor of Law, is a journalist turned lawyer
recognized internationally for her expertise in privacy and media law.
Viking published Gajda’s Seek and Hide: The Tangled History of the Right to Privacy in 2022 to
significant critical acclaim. The New York Times called it “wry and fascinating” and named it a top non-fiction book of the season; the courts of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit chose it as the Circuit’s inaugural “One Court. One Book.” summer reading.
Kevin Belton, a self-trained chef began cooking under the watchful eye of his mother and grandmother in the uptown New Orleans home. In addition to the almost 7,000 lessons he has led, Belton has also offered classes and cooking demonstrations throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has been a featured chef and guest on numerous food programs including Emeril Live; Ready Set Cook; Life, Love and Lunch; Food Fighters; and Taste of America. In 1999, he was co-host and chef on the BBC series Big Kevin, Little Kevin, which also featured British celebrity chef Kevin Woodford.
Gayle holds a Master’s + 30 from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (currently ULL) and has worked in elementary education for 25 years, primarily designing and implementing enrichment curricula for gifted children. Her debut picture book, When I Was an Alligator, was illustrated by Drew Beech and published by UL Press in 2020. In 2022 When I Was an Alligator represented Louisiana at the Library of Congress National Book Festival. Her second book in a series, When I Was a Pelican, was released by UL Press in August of 2023.
Originally from Florida, Shannon Kelley Atwater moved to Louisiana in 2005 to attend Loyola University where she graduated with a degree in Visual Arts. She fell in love with the city and her husband; they planted their roots and haven’t left. When not writing, drawing, or painting, Atwater is raising her three kids and playing dress up as a larger than life flower with Krewe des Fleurs.
Karisma Price is an assistant professor of English at Tulane University. A poet, screenwriter, and media artist, she is the author of I'm Always So Serious (Sarabande Books, 2023). Her work has appeared in publications including Poetry, Indiana Review, Oxford American, Four Way Review, Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day Series, and elsewhere. She is a Cave Canem Fellow, was a finalist for the 2019 Manchester Poetry Prize, was awarded the 2020 J. Howard and Barbara M. J.
Eddie Glaude is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University. He is the author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestseller, Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own. He was born and raised in Moss Point, MS and is a graduate of Morehouse College.
