Betsy Fischer Martin is an Emmy-winning journalist and TV news executive. Currently she is Executive Director of AU School of Public Affairs' Women & Politics Institute and an SPA Executive in Residence. She is also a former co-host of Bloomberg Politics' Masters in Politics Podcast. She also founded her own consulting business, Fischer Martin Media, where she specializes in providing media training to corporate executives.

Freddi Williams Evans is an author, independent scholar and founder of www.congosquareconnection.org, an online collection that promotes the study of historic Congo Square. Her book Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans, the first comprehensive study of the historic location, received the Louisiana Humanities Book of the Year Award and is published in French.

Nicole Ellis is a journalist and digital anchor for PBS NewsHour. Nicole previously worked at The Washington Post, covering social issues and hosting and directing documentaries and breaking news videos for The Post’s website and social media channels, for which she received an Emmy nomination in 2017. Her documentary series Should I Freeze My Eggs? won the 2019 Digiday Publishers Award.

Elizabeth Ellis is an assistant professor of history at Princeton University where she teaches early American and Native American history. She is a Tulane alumna, and a longtime lover of New Orleans. Her forthcoming book with the University of Pennsylvania Press, The Great Power of Small Nations: Indigenous Diplomacy in the Gulf South (October 2022) examines the formation of Native nations in the early southeast and the ways that Indigenous migration and immigration practices shaped and limited the extent of European colonization.

Valerie Thompkins, author of Girls Like Me, is an Atlanta based speaker, consultant, and mentor who is passionate about diversity and representation in children’s books. She believes in highlighting stories which showcase families of all backgrounds in positive, main character roles. Valerie is on a mission to empower children and families to explore STEM careers and build an interest in learning from an early age.

For more literacy resources, join her uplifting communities on Instagram and TikTok @authorvaleriethompkins.

Big Chief Juan Pardo and the Golden Comanche Mardi Gras Indians is an electrifying display of a culture that dates back over two hundred years in New Orleans. Chief Juans soulful voice brings any audience to feel like they are in the jazz filled streets of New Orleans. This percussion-heavy tribal music infused by the funk styles of the Meters, Willie T, and the Neville Brothers can only be performed by those who are chosen. The Chief and his Golden Comanches have studied the traditions of those before them and now are the keepers of the flame.

Julie Buehrle Luyster is an educator who enjoys using sensory teaching to help children explore and experience our beautiful world. Originally from Akron, Ohio, Julie attended Hillsdale College and has a Masters Degree in Science Teaching from Loyola University, New Orleans. She and her husband Mark, raised their four children in New Orleans and Houston where they now reside.

Peter M. Wolf is an award winning author. His recent memoir, My New Orleans Gone Away, reached the New York Times e-book Best Seller list. Previous books such as Land in America, Hot Towns and The Future of the City have been honored by The National Endowment for the Arts, The Ford Foundation and The Graham Foundation.