Dooky Chase’s Restaurant opened its doors for business in 1941 in New Orleans. What was initially a sandwich shop and lottery ticket outlet in 1939 blossomed into a thriving bar and later a respected family restaurant in the Treme neighborhood. Founded by Emily and Dooky Chase, Sr., the restaurant soon became the meeting place for music and entertainment, civil rights, and culture in New Orleans. In 1946, Edgar Dooky Chase, Jr. married Leah Lange Chase.
Chef Megan “Meg” Bickford has called the Commander’s Palace kitchen her culinary home since June 2008 and took on the role of Executive Chef at the New Orleanians’ destination for leading edge Haute Creole cuisine in October 2020. With over 12 years of experience with the Commander’s Family of Restaurants, Chef Meg previously served as the Executive Chef of Cafe Adelaide, the Commander’s family’s playful, modern Creole restaurant.
Carmen Smith
SVP & Executive Creative Development Product/Content & Inclusive Strategies
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
Charita Carter
Executive Creative Producer Walt Disney Imagineering
As Executive Creative Producer, Charita Carter is responsible for creating, collaborating on, and developing Disney Parks experiences, from blue-sky ideation through delivery. She has functional leadership of all producers at Walt Disney Imagineering. Charita is currently serving as executive creative producer of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at both Disneyland Park in California and Magic Kingdom Park in Florida, inspired by the fan-favorite Walt Disney Animation Studios film, “The Princess and the Frog.”
Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, is the most decorated sports journalist in Mississippi history. A 1975 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s in journalism, Rick has worked for the Hattiesburg American, Monroe (La.) News Star/Morning World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger and Mississippi Today as a reporter, editor and columnist.
Her novel, DAUGHTERS OF THE NEW YEAR, debuted in October 2022 from Hanover Square Press/HarperCollins. Her stories, essays, and reviews can be found in such places as the Georgia Review, Literary Hub, Joyland Magazine, Prairie Schooner, Harvard Review Online, and more.
