Resilience and renewal: 20 years of progress since hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Like many of you, I have strong emotions about the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the city we call home — New Orleans. I remain in awe of nature’s raw power on that fateful day and deeply sad about the tragedy brought by the storm to so many. Considering Katrina, and its equally terrifying counterpart Hurricane Rita which struck the Louisiana/Texas border just a few weeks later, I’m also inspired by how our recovery showed the power and resilience of the human spirit and what determined people coming together can achieve.
Then, as now, New Orleans was the home to Entergy’s corporate headquarters.
Thousands of our employees and their families lived in the places hardest hit by Katrina. I’m honored that our employees met the challenge head on, from those working at our generation plants and headquarters to those restoring power at Entergy New Orleans, our local operating company. Many of them helped the region recover even as they suffered their own personal losses.
The lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina made us a stronger, more customerfocused company and to this day, we know that progress requires dedication and power
— for homes, businesses, communities and our lives. The spirit of that day endures in our vision statement “We Power Life” as we channel those lessons into the work that we do every day, even twenty years later from that impactful time.
Today, we’re a leader across our industry and in our hometown. Our utility workers are nationally recognized for storm response. In fact, during a major storm anywhere in the country, there’s a good chance Entergy will be called on for expertise and support.
We are a leader in corporate giving. For the 10th year, Entergy was named to The Civic 50, the Points of Light prestigious annual list that recognizes top companies for employee volunteerism and community investment. In 2024 alone, we contributed $4.3 million to more than 100 New Orleans nonprofits.
And we are a leader in economic development by collaborating to help Louisiana secure major new investments in the data center, LNG, steel, and
petrochemical industries. Earlier this year, we served as founding partner for the Super Bowl 59 Host Committee, contributing millions to host this major event that brought more than $1.25 billion in economic impact to our state, region and city.
We continue our work in close collaboration with our regulators and communities as we build energy infrastructure that makes the grid stronger and more resilient for years to come. An energy grid designed to withstand the harshest conditions. That work balances affordability, reliability and sustainability on behalf of all our customers.
In New Orleans, the City Council recently approved Phase 1 of our proposed resilience plan, which includes strengthening more than 3,000 structures and upgrading more than 60 miles of electric lines.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission also approved the first phase of those efforts, which includes 2,100 incremental Entergy projects across the state. By
reinforcing our grid ahead of severe weather, Louisiana customers will save an estimated $1.2 billion in storm costs.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved an investment of $137 million in projects to strengthen the Southeast Texas power grid, reduce storm-related outages, and save customers millions in restoration costs for decades.
And while we are making these needed investments, we are mindful that 40% of our residential customers live at or below the poverty level. That reality is part of each business decision we make in New Orleans and everywhere we serve. As a result, we continue to maintain some of the lowest electric rates in the country and work hard every day to keep bills as low as possible. Twenty years on, the lessons of Katrina endure, and the resilience of this community continues to inspire. New Orleans remains our home as we work for everyone and honor our commitment to safely serve our city and the region. The people of Entergy are optimistic about the future, ready for anything, and striving to lead the way to a brighter future for all of us.
Read about how Entergy restored more than just power at entergy.com/Katrina20.
Drew Marsh Chair and Chief Executive Officer Entergy Corporation
Local Entrepreneurs Combine Creativity And Commerce Smarts To Launch Big Ideas And Shape New Orleans’ Business Scene
By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
When Hurricane Katrina roared ashore in August 2005, the storm struck at a moment when New Orleans’ entrepreneurial spirit was beginning to bloom. Many small business owners were just getting their footing, while young innovators were sketching ideas for how to grow a more vibrant economy.
Katrina could have ended many of those dreams. Instead, it became a defining catalyst that sharpened people’s focus, deepened their commitment to their work and bound them more tightly to the city they love.
Fledgling startup scene thrived with renewed focus and collaborations
“The seeds of the Idea Village and the local entrepreneurial ecosystem had been planted about five years before Katrina. Because of that foundation, people were able to seize the moment in terms of coming together quickly to identify the greatest areas of need and mobilize quickly in terms of raising resources,” said Emily Madero, now president and CEO of French Quarter Fest. In 2005, Madero was a business school student at Tulane who was also involved in the early years of Idea Village and other organizations to support local startups.
“When I came back after evacuating, it felt like in New Orleans, there was no other option than to be a proactive part of rebuilding the city,” Madero said. “That refocused what I was working on.” Madero and other Tulane students enrolled in a Rebuilding New Orleans course in early 2006. Rather than sitting in a classroom, she and other students connected with local startups and small businesses that needed support to restart, with a particular focus on hospitality and the French Quarter, and a corridor development strategy along areas like Bayou Road, Oak Street and Freret Street that became test cases for targeted revitalization.
“I think about what Freret felt like in the 1990s and early 2000s. Some of the focused strategic efforts involved identifying that as a critical community anchor. It’s a shining example of that work 20 years later when you see how vibrant that corridor is,” Madero said.
Meanwhile, the Idea Village continues to thrive. It has raised millions in funding for startups, leads signature accelerator programs for local founders, produces dozens of community events and maintains a global network of mentors.
“Rebuilding the startup ecosystem and entrepreneurial network was hugely important after Katrina. Seeing it continue to thrive today is very meaningful, not only in terms of individual businesses, but because it shows there is economic opportunity and businesses that are committed to growing in New Orleans,” Madero said. “That success is a testament to the collective will and commitment of the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Alden McDonald Jr. maintained vision to chart the future of America’s largest Black-owned bank
Inside the New Orleans East offices of Liberty Bank – the nation’s largest bank for Black Americans in terms of asset size –an estimated $2.5 million worth of Black art adorns the space. Liberty Bank CEO Alden McDonald Jr. is especially fond of a bronze sculpture of Sisyphus pushing a massive rock uphill. It sits on a conference room table and bears the inscription, “Never give up.”
“It reminds me of me,” McDonald told Forbes earlier this year. “That’s how it felt when we were rebuilding the bank (post-Katrina).”
That rebuilding process played a key role in helping Liberty Bank become a major entity in the nation’s financial markets. It now has more than $1 billion in assets, serves customers in 11 states and has been profitable for 47 of its 52 years, according to Forbes. That work has been done by Liberty’s focus on lending to underserved communities and generating revenue from fees and interest.
What continues to set Liberty Bank apart and draw accolades from peers and competitors is its ongoing commitment to growth. Alden McDonald Jr.’s son Todd is the bank’s president and CEO-in-waiting. His bold spirit and vision have helped Liberty Bank add millions in assets in recent years, and the McDonalds’ new goal is to grow Liberty’s assets to $10 billion while continuing to build trust in the Black community. Todd McDonald regularly meets with Black leaders in major cities to convince them that Liberty can serve customers from all backgrounds, while his father has survived and thrived through enough over the decades to be undeterred by potential future challenges, including AI and governmental policy changes.
“We’ve got to look for the opportunities,” Alden told Forbes. “O for ‘obstacles.’ O for ‘opportunities.’”
‘I needed to try’: Alexa Pulitzer regrouped with creativity and customer patience
For Alexa Pulitzer, 2005 was on track to be her breakthrough year. The New Orleans-based designer of stationery, paper goods, gifts and office supplies had just completed her first major trade show and secured orders from around the world. But, Katrina’s floods caused Pulitzer to lose her archives, products and ability to print and deliver.
Pregnant with her first child, Pulitzer evacuated to Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, who urged her to consider making the move permanent. But, Pulitzer felt compelled to return back to New Orleans.
“I felt very strongly about returning to the community that nurtures my creativity. I draw so much inspiration from being in this city, whether it’s the lifestyle or the people
or the natural beauty. It’s a huge part of me,” Pulitzer said. “I didn’t want to turn away from that. As frustrated as I was on multiple levels, I felt like I needed to at least try.”
She restarted slowly, working with a Birmingham printer while reaching out personally to customers to explain the delays. Most responded with patience and loyalty. In time, Pulitzer returned her production to New Orleans and vowed never to move it elsewhere. Today, her products proudly carry the city’s name, a constant reminder of the creative energy she refused to abandon.
“I love and am proud of the fact that I manufacture here,” Pulitzer said. “Business today for me is steady. A lot of customers supported me after Katrina, including some large national companies, and that helped me to grow my footprint. I think my business gets better and better each year.”
‘Be a New Orleanian wherever you are’: Dirty Coast found identity with post-Katrina slogan Blake Haney was just getting Dirty Coast off the ground in 2005. He had started sketching out ideas for the company’s shirts less than a year before and was in the early stages of establishing a business and website selling the apparel that celebrated the quirks and culture of New Orleans.
When he was displaced, Haney put together a quick design for a sticker with the slogan “Be A New Orleanian wherever you are.” Once back in the city, he and his team began distributing them at local bars and coffeeshops. They became so popular that Haney estimates more than two million stickers have since been handed out, and diehard devotees have even gotten tattoos of the message.
“There was a pretty powerful response to the sticker’s design and sentiment,” Haney recalled. “I think it proved that it was necessary to get this T-shirt concept launched. It all took on a much bigger mission and meaning.”
“Katrina definitely changed Dirty Coast from being a fun side project to something with a greater mission,” Haney said. “I remember one customer said our T-shirts were like a secret handshake. If you understood New Orleans, you got the concept and felt like you were in on the joke. From the very beginning, we had a mixture of celebrating New Orleans and offering community commentary. The added element of being able to use the T-shirts as a symbol of New Orleans identity became key to the DNA of the brand.”
Dirty Coast made its official permanent launch in 2006, with its shirts doubling as movable billboards for the brand and conversation starters about New Orleans life. Today’s Dirty Coast line has products featuring everything from poboys and Hubig’s pies to the New Orleans Saints, potholes and religious figures.
Four years after Katrina, Fleurty Girl turned New Orleans pride into female fashion By the time Lauren Haydel launched Fleurty Girl in 2009, the rebuilding was well underway in New Orleans, yet she still felt a palpable energy in the city spurred by people who were refocusing their priorities and figuring out what really mattered to them. That energy grew as the New Orleans Saints put together a winning season that culminated in their Super Bowl win in February 2010. “I had always known that New Orleans is unlike any other place in the whole world. It’s so special and quirky and unique,” Haydel said. “Timing was everything when it came to our launch. There was a renewed fierce love for New Orleans that I had never felt before.”
Haydel’s vision for Fleurty Girl leaned feminine from the beginning – V-necks, fun colors and playful designs that captured the sass and spirit of the New Orleans woman. The brand has evolved over time, become less about the city itself and more about the kind of woman who lives there.
“She’s fun. She’s sassy. She’s edgy. She’s flirty,” Haydel said. “We push the envelope a little bit. It all started from our love of New Orleans and thinking about what it means to be a girl who lives here and loves this place. We’re not afraid to create and wear snarky stuff. People here get that because they realize that we’re not judging you. We want you to be who you are.”
Shaped by the storm: How Katrina influenced today’s generation of New Orleans leadership
By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
ALLISON HOTARD
Executive Director, Young Leadership Council
What was going on in your life in August 2005?
I was 21 years old and on the UNO student programming board. We were excited because it felt like it was going to be a big year. It was going to be my last semester and I was taking several HRT (hotel/restaurant/tourism) classes to graduate.
What do you remember the most about the immediate aftermath of Katrina?
I had evacuated to Vacherie. We were listening to the radio and it seemed like we did okay. Then, we were watching news coverage on a black and white TV that my friend’s dad had connected to antennas. We saw when the levees broke and the city was suddenly flooded. My heart just sunk. I didn’t know what I was going to do or what my life was going to look like.
CEO,
BROOKE
LAIZER
Meteorologist, WWL-TV
What was going on in your life in August 2005?
I was 10 years old and in the fifth grade. I was studying weather for the first time in school. I have a distinct memory of our class learning about cloud formation patterns and knowing my hopeful future career path. Ultimately, Katrina was my inspiration to truly follow that interest and serve New Orleans.
What do you remember the most about the immediate aftermath of Katrina?
What made you want to come back to New Orleans?
I can’t imagine my life anywhere else. New Orleans has a soul that many other cities do not have. There is a vibration and a culture here that I’ve never found anywhere else. We have Wednesdays at the Square, and you see people of all ages and nationalities having a good time together. That is New Orleans to me. I also believe that one individual can make a real impact here. People can come here, connect with others and make a difference.
How did Katrina influence your future life and career decisions? My major was hospitality. There was obviously a dip in that sector in New Orleans after Katrina. I started to notice how volatile that career could be. That’s when I realized that I wanted to be in a career that felt more stable. It’s interesting to think about the fact that my path at UNO was training me to do what I do today. My job now is planning programming for young professionals in New Orleans, and I was doing that at UNO 20 years ago. I was on this path but didn’t know it at the time.
What do you hope the next 20 years looks like for New Orleans?
I think the biggest opportunities are around investing in our schools and teachers. I’d also like to see use encourage more growth. There is a place where citizens can live and businesses can thrive. I’d like to see more support for that and less fighting against opportunities for the city’s future.
What was going on in your life in August 2005?
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, thousands of teens and young adults saw their homes, schools and neighborhoods swept away. The storm’s devastation forced them to navigate displacement, loss and uncertainty at a time when life is already full of change.
Yet, in the two decades since, those young people have emerged as the new generation of New Orleans leaders. They carry with them the strength that was forged in the chaotic months after Katrina, a devotion to the city they love and a determination to ensure the next generation is better prepared for future storms. Today, their voices are helping guide New Orleans through challenges both familiar and new.
EMAD JABBAR
Assistant Vice President, Gulf Coast Bank
What was going on in your life in August 2005?
I had just started my junior year at UNO. I was really enjoying my time there. I was in a fraternity and we were active on campus. Every year, we helped the freshmen move into the dorms. I hit it off with one freshman who had just moved here from New York. He’s still a good friend of mine, 20 years later. It was a time where I was building a lot of good relationships.
What do you remember the most about the immediate aftermath of Katrina?
My family had evacuated to Dallas with a lot of friends and family. When we found out that the levees broke and most of UNO’s campus was underwater, it was a moment of ‘what do we do now?’. Several of us from universities all over New Orleans ended up enrolling at the
I had graduated from Tulane in 2004 and had just completed a postbaccalaureate fellowship in city hall that had given me opportunities to do work in the chief administration office and city planning commission. I was trying to plan for what came next. I was preparing to possibly work in city hall, but knew I wanted to do urban planning and that I was going to have to go to graduate school to pursue that.
What do you remember the most about the immediate aftermath of Katrina?
There was a lot of bouncing around for several months. When they reopened parts of the city in October, we stayed with my nowwife’s aunt and uncle in Metairie, drove through a National Guard checkpoint every day to deal with my mom’s flooded house, then drove back to spend the night in Metairie. Once more places opened throughout the city and Uptown, I did a lot of couch surfing. My apartment was finally habitable in February or March of 2006.
What made you want to come back to New Orleans?
I already knew I wanted to work in urban planning, but I felt strongly that there was no other place I wanted to do that work in. I very much
What made you want to come back to New Orleans?
I’ve been fortunate to work in places that have sort of adopted me, like Augusta, Georgia and Jackson, Mississippi. But, I always knew I could not wait to get back to New Orleans. This city lives in your soul, and I feel like I understand that more now that I’ve lived in other places. There is no culture, no timelessness, no European feel, no authenticity like you find here.
How did Katrina influence your future life and career decisions?
I’ve really attempted to have a calm presence in extreme situations. I think a lot about how people in New Orleans have been so impacted by weather, how much they have lost and how much they fear the worst case scenario. I try to empathize with that and share a lot of information on the front end. I’ve worked hard to fully grasp the logistics that go into evacuations and why people sometimes stay, and really put myself in their shoes.
What do you hope the next 20 years looks like for New Orleans?
My grandmother lived in Lakeview and lost her entire home. I can still smell that flood when I think about it. I can still smell a Katrina fridge when I think about it. It stays etched in your mind. I remember watching my dad break her front door with an axe because her armoire had floated in front of it. There was a neutral ground area in her neighborhood that was filled with debris from all of the homes. A lot of those memories came back to me very strongly during Hurricane Ida.
I hope we continue to learn from Katrina and the storms that have come since then. I hope we continue to examine the best ways to do contraflow and the impact that has on so many people. I think a lot about what a mandatory evacuation means for people and how we can help them cope with the aftermath of that. In terms of communication, I’m honored to be at WWL. I’m looking forward to how we continue to embrace streaming and social media platforms as much as we can. The overall approach is to have information easily accessible at a moment’s notice, especially when people are not or cannot watch traditional air broadcasts.
University of Texas at Arlington. A bunch of us stayed at one hotel for four or five months. It almost felt like being back in my fraternity. I think we were just trying to make the most of it.
What made you want to come back to New Orleans?
Dallas was amazing and I did think about staying there. But, you can’t find the love like you feel in New Orleans anywhere else. In New Orleans, you can run into someone you’ve never seen before and feel like family. There’s a camaraderie, a love for the city and a passion to see it thrive.
How did Katrina influence your future life and career decisions? It made me want to do work that truly touches the community and helps people. I helped my family manage their businesses and worked as an entrepreneur before someone recommended I get into banking. One of the reasons I joined Gulf Coast Bank was the chance to move up the ranks and develop as both a person and a leader. I’m consistently inspired by the way Gulf Coast supports its staff and its communities, and I think a lot of that comes from seeing how they and other businesses responded after Katrina.
What do you hope the next 20 years looks like for New Orleans?
I’d like to see us be able to complete more projects. It does get frustrating to see unfinished work because we as a city take on so many projects, then it becomes a start-and-stop cycle. I’d like to see us tackle one project at a time and see it to completion and get people to work together toward a common goal instead of letting politics get in the way.
felt a strong sense of responsibility to give back to the place that had given so much to me.
How did Katrina influence your future life and career decisions?
I think it gave me a very specific direction. The nature of city planning and the need for it in New Orleans changed overnight. I knew I wanted to start my career working in recovery. I purposefully selected a graduate school where I could do projects in the city, not study the recovery from afar. I knew I wanted to contribute directly to the rebuilding work in the city. Continuing to do hands-on work has been important to me ever since.
What do you hope the next 20 years looks like for New Orleans?
I think downtown has a lot of momentum. The redevelopment of Charity Hospital and Plaza Tower are high-profile projects that are impressive in terms of the opportunities they have to transform the skyline of New Orleans. I think you’ll continue to see evolution across downtown as the residential and hospitality bases develop and as we right-size our office space market for the modern economy.
COURTNEY THOMAS-BARNES
Vice President
Of Communications
And
Public Affairs, Greater New Orleans Foundation
What was going on in your life in August 2005?
II was 17 years old and about a week into my senior year of high school. I had been in school with my friends since seventh grade. My class ring was going to be delivered on the Monday the storm hit, and I was so excited to get that. There were so many things I was looking forward to –senior pictures, prom, graduation. What do you remember the most about the immediate aftermath of Katrina?
I remember really admiring General Russell Honore. I felt like he brought a lot of leadership and order. That felt like a pivotal moment. I remember the first time we got lights back in New Orleans East. We had been without power for so long that I had
forgotten how important it was. When we saw lights back on, that’s when we knew things were really starting to come back.
What made you want to come back to New Orleans?
I went to college in Florida, but I was drawn to being back home every chance I had. I felt called to keeping up with my family and the city’s recovery. I wanted to give back to my city. I didn’t want to be a part of the brain drain. I wanted to be a part of seeing New Orleans thrive again.
How did Katrina influence your future life and career decisions?
It made me realize I wanted to have a job that makes a positive impact on the city. Working at the Foundation, I see all the touchpoints we have throughout New Orleans. I drive down the street and I see everything from green infrastructure to daycares that we’ve helped to create. Katrina made me want to do the kind of work that is far-reaching and rewarding, and I’m grateful to be able to do that today. What do you hope the next 20 years looks like for New Orleans?
I hope to see us do a better job recognizing that we cannot run away from Mother Nature. My mom had Hurricane Betsy in her childhood. I had Katrina. A hurricane will happen here again. We need to think about preparing for that now from a big picture standpoint. Maybe that means all houses have to be raised. Maybe it means natural water retention and more trees throughout the city. Water is a part of our DNA and we are surrounded by it. We need to learn to live better with it and not let it become the end of our city.
SETH KNUDSEN President and
Downtown Development District
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“There was only one thing for me to do” Culinary institutions stand as symbols of survival
By Amanda McElfresh | amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
The rrestaurant industry was among the hardest hit sectors in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Kitchens that had survived the Great Depression, civil rights struggles and economic downturns suddenly sat dark, filled with floodwater, silence and doubt. Yet, within weeks, iconic dining institutions, including Dooky Chase’s and Dickie Brennan & Co. were writing their comeback stories that would define a generation.
Steve Pettus, longtime manager partner of Dickie Brennan & Co., still vividly remembers discussing potential repairs with a general contractor amid the wreckage in the week immediately after the storm. There was no paperwork and no certainty of materials or staff. Instead, the men relied on handshakes and verbal
“It was actually really refreshing. He made a commitment right there and he did live up to it,” Pettus said.
Across town in the historic Treme neighborhood, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, the legendary meeting ground of civil rights leaders and the home of Leah Chase’s celebrated Creole cooking, sat under more than five feet of water. Many asked the then-82-year-old Chase if she was going to give up or forge ahead. Her answer was a simple one.
“People said, ‘Well, what are you going to do at your age?.’ There was only one thing for me to do,” Chase told CBS News in 2015.
Living in a FEMA trailer and leaning on family, friends, young chefs and community supporters, Chase began raising the halfmillion dollars needed to rebuild.
“No matter what you do on this earth,
employees hauled in five-gallon jugs of water to boil. Diners ate on paper plates with plastic utensils. Employees were kept on the payroll. Slowly, Pettus saw things starting to come together.
“It wasn’t about me or Dickie. Everyone had the same mindset that we could do it,” Pettus said.
“A lot of the time, you don’t realize you’re learning a lesson while you’re learning it. When I look back on it now, I can see that there was a confidence that developed in our teams after Katrina that made us feel unstoppable. We felt like there was nothing we couldn’t do when we stand together and do the right thing.”
At Dooky Chase’s, the rebuilding effort took longer. The restaurant celebrated its reopening in 2007. Longtime customers filed in to reclaim their seats at familiar tables, while celebrities and presidents traveled to New Orleans to pay homage not just to the food, but to the woman who had become a symbol of survival.
“You learn what’s important,” Chase told PBS News in 2015. “You learn how to live –how to live with one another. You learn how to do things when you have to do them.”
The years that have followed Katrina have served as a testament to the commitment and adaptability that emerged following the storm. Dickie Brennan & Co. has steadily grown its portfolio, which today includes Palace Café, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, Bourbon House, Tableau, Acorn Café, The Commissary, Pascal’s Manale and Audubon Clubhouse.
Since the rebuild, Dooky Chase’s has cemented its legacy as both a New
landmark. Although Chase passed away in 2019, her influence continues to radiate. The restaurant received the 2025 James Beard America’s Classics award for being a cornerstone of Creole cuisine and Black American culture for eight decades. The prestigious award recognizes restaurants that are deeply rooted in their communities and have stood the test of time.
“To have this award means a lot for my entire family because we have been in business 84 years, and it was about my grandparents, parents, and now we’re the third, fourth generation,” Stella Chase said at the James Beard award reception in June 2025. “We had a strong foundation and we just feel so blessed.”
In the wake of Katrina, festivals and celebrations restored the New Orleans spirit. 20 years later, they anchor its identity
By Amanda McElfresh, amcelfresh@theadvocate.com and Stevie Cavalier Licciardi, stevie.licciardi@theadvocate.com
When the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina receded, New Orleans was left gutted – its homes ruined, its neighborhoods scattered, its people shaken. What remained, as fragile as it was fierce, was culture. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, it was the parades, the music, the food and the festivals – the very heartbeat of the city – that led the way back.
Barry Kern remembers the calls coming in one after another. His father, Blaine, then 78 years old and still the towering figure behind Kern Studios and Mardi Gras World, would pick up the phone. On the other end was a krewe captain, wondering if Mardi Gras was still going to happen in New Orleans in 2006.
“He would always reassure them that all the other krewes were running so that no one got scared. He knew we needed to keep the momentum going,” Kern said. “As a kid, my dad had seen how people in the Great Depression celebrated Mardi Gras even though it was an incredibly difficult time. But, it brought people together, and people really needed that. My dad felt that New Orleans needed Mardi Gras in a similar way after Katrina.”
Located in Algiers, Kern Studios itself had escaped the worst of Katrina’s wrath. Employees returned to work quickly, sculpting and painting floats while holding on to the belief that the city’s most essential annual ritual could survive. They were bolstered by help from Universal Studios, a longtime partner that paid Kern Studios in advance for a year’s work on parade floats in their parks. That helped operations going while New Orleans krewes were still reorganizing and securing finances. When the 2006 Carnival season finally arrived, it wasn’t the same Mardi Gras –it was a celebration with much deeper meaning.
“It really was one of the most special Mardi Gras years I’ve ever been involved with because it was mostly locals. Everybody came together and it was very emotional,” Kern recalled. “People had lost their homes and so many horrible things had happened. For some, it was their first time coming home. It was cathartic for the people of the city to come together. It was very important for us to celebrate together and for the world to know that the city was open again.”
That same impulse – an insistence that culture must carry the city – echoed across New Orleans’ festivals. Each faced its own reckoning in the months after Katrina, and each chose, in its own way, to keep going. At French Quarter Festival, a showcase for 100 percent local music and food, the challenge wasn’t physical devastation so much as the weight of symbolism.
“It is such an important cultural anchor, and it played a huge role in us coming back together as a community and returning to our cultural traditions and that sense of normalcy,” said Emily Madero, the festival’s president and CEO. “We mark the changing of the seasons with our festival calendar.
It was an important moment to experience joy. There was relief in the stability of the tradition.”
Madero noted that gig workers had seen their lives upended not only by the storm, but by the temporary collapse of the local economy around them. The French Quarter Fest gave them work again and was also a sign that their careers could still have a future.
“There was a lot of fear at the time about how we would rebuild New Orleans, particularly in the creative industries and amongst our musicians and cultural ambassadors, so to do (French Quarter Fest) in a way that maintained the authenticity of those cultural traditions and to do it in a way that was really for New Orleanians, by New Orleanians, was symbolically important,” Madero said. “Rather than pivot and reshaping our mission, it was a moment in time where we doubled down on our purpose.”
No festival loomed larger, however, than the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. For its producer and director Quint Davis, the decision to move forward felt nearly impossible. The Fairgrounds had been destroyed. The crew was displaced, with some sleeping in barns while trying to rebuild stages. Davis wasn’t sure the 2006 edition of Jazz Fest could happen at all, until then-Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu bluntly told him that not having the festival wasn’t an option.
Shell came forward to underwrite the festival, and world-famous artists like Dave Matthews and Jimmy Buffett soon followed with agreements to perform. When the gates opened on the first day, Davis’s fears melted away.
“We got a call from the police that we were having a traffic problem. They said people were lined up and down Esplanade,” Davis said. “A lot of people who had not been back to New Orleans since Katrina came back for Jazz Fest. When the gates opened and all these people poured in, Jazz Fest came back to life. It became a living entity. It showed what a festival can do. It bonds people together and gives them a greater sense of meaning. It renews their spirit. That’s what happened that year.”
The leaders of other traditions faced different choices. The Essence Festival of Culture, rooted in New Orleans since the 1990s, was forced to relocate to Houston in 2006. But, by the following summer, festival organizers insisted on returning home.
“We don’t take our place as a festival in New Orleans lightly. Part of what makes the Essence Festival of Culture as special as it is,
is the people and the city of New Orleans,” said Barkue Tubman-Zawolo, the festival’s chief community officer. “We are about continuing to partner with the city and to take part in the joy of the city. Our cultural affirmation is, ‘We love us.’ New Orleans is the poster child of ‘We love us’ because New Orleans came together and rebuilt New Orleans.”
The 2007 Essence Fest welcomed an estimated 200,000 attendees and generated roughly $150 million for the local economy. A portion of concert ticket proceeds supported the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools of New Orleans, funding reading, art and music enrichment for local youth.
In addition, the 2007 Essence Fest hosted standout performances from superstars like Mary J. Blige, Kelly Rowland, Ludacris, Beyoncé and more, while cultural leaders like Tyler Perry, Hill Harper, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Lionel Richie participated in free daytime programming. And, just five months after announcing his presidential campaign, then-Senator Barack Obama addressed the Essence audience, connecting directly with a community that would play a pivotal role in his election.
“Our festival’s celebration is rooted in how we are serving our community,” Tubman-Zawolo said. “Our community is already empowered. We just need to work in partnership with them and create opportunities, and that’s what we do. One of the things that the world knows is that when we gather to celebrate each other’s culture, whether it’s your own or celebrating someone else’s, it creates more unity and joy.”
Even new festivals were born out of the shadows of Katrina. The New Orleans Book Festival, founded in 2010 by Cheryl Landrieu alongside civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, began as a small children’s event at a local library. In many ways, it was a
response to the deep disruption in the city’s schools after the storm.
“You could draw a line from the events of Katrina to the creation of the New Orleans Book Festival,” Landrieu said. “We wanted to help reestablish the educational system. There was a kind of renaissance happening during the rebuilding of the schools and the school system and the ways in which we learn, and we played a small role in that. It was based on the principles of wanting to support New Orleans children and their families.”
Fifteen years later, the New Orleans Book Festival has grown into a three-day event, drawing national authors and attendees from around the world. Landrieu attributes that long-term success to the festival’s combination of fun times and the pursuit of knowledge.
“New Orleans festivals are such a draw, and both the authors and the attendees want to be here,” she said. “They feel something powerful and special in New Orleans, and they want to be a part of it.” Today, the city’s cultural calendar is bigger than ever. Mardi Gras has exploded in scale, with longtime krewes like Endymion and Tucks swelling in membership while more parades have joined the annual rotation. French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest draw international visitors with top-tier talent. Essence Fest is a summer tradition, while this year’s Book Festival saw record participation that prompted the need for expanded space on the Tulane campus. Sprinkled throughout the year are dozens of other festivals, large and small, that honor history, heritage and the human spirit.
“We can sometimes take for granted what we have and what we do,” Kern said. “New Orleans is different than any other place in the world, and the personality of the city is rooted in these things that we do. It’s the way that we say hello to each other.”
Beyonce performs at the 2007 Essence Festival, the first one in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Lionel Richie performs at the 2007 Essence Festival, the first one in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Then-Senator Barack Obama speaks to the crowd at the 2007 Essence Festival. He would go on to be elected U.S. President in 2008 and 2012. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
When words failed, music and art gave New Orleanians an escape and a vision for a better future
By Stevie Cavalier Licciardi, stevie.licciardi@theadvocate.com and Amanda McElfresh, amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
Around the world, New Orleans is known as a city that reveres the arts. Music pulses through the streets, and artwork is found on walls in nearly every neighborhood. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, that creative fabric became a source of comfort for many. And, in the two decades since, healing conversations and connections have been ushered in through the community’s efforts to uphold, expand and empower New Orleans’ artistic voices.
“I just wanted to come back home,” said Robin Barnes, a New Orleans jazz vocalist. “The loss of home was such a magnitude of pain that every day, just to cope, I would listen to ‘What a Wonderful World’ because it felt like the closest thing to home.”
Barnes comes from a family of musicians who have called Louisiana home for eight generations. Now on her way to releasing her first full-length album, her musical journey began at six years old, learning the Louis Armstrong classic, “What a Wonderful World.” For Barnes, the song encapsulates her childhood home in the Lower Ninth Ward, surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of her Mémère cooking gumbo, her family making music together and her community filled with joy.
In the days and weeks after Katrina leveled the Lower Ninth, Barnes clung to that familiar tune as a way to keep her spirits up. When she was finally able to sing at her church after the storm, there was no doubt that she would perform
“Everyone was crying and holding each other. We all just needed a release from the pain and to feel hope. It was the first time I ever realized how powerful music is and how it can change so much in an instant. It was a song that brought people to hug each other and hold onto one another.”
Michel Varisco, now the Chair of Visual Arts at New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), found her own sense of solace and artistic comfort during her retreats into City Park as the Katrina cleanup was underway. She would wander with her dog and her camera through fallen oaks and foggy overgrown fields, reflecting on the paradox of damage and growth that was evident throughout the city. Her collection of images, Fragile Land, emerged from her City Park meanderings.
“I proposed a public arts piece to the city using the Fragile Lands imagery. I landed the commission, and I put in it the circular rotunda at Popp’s Fountain in City Park,” Varisco said. “Just like the park helped me heal, I wanted to share that process and to compel people to walk through the park and to give themselves space.
“I think the conversations that came about in the community were fascinating,” Varisco continued. “It helped us to grieve and to trust in nature’s process -- regeneration, rest, restoration.”
The process of telling one’s own story is often healing, and many residents found strength in sharing their experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Throughout the city, conversations were kindled as the recovery process continued.
The New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC), a non-profit that was established in 1972 and provides resources to local filmmakers, was facing business difficulties leading up to Hurricane Katrina. NOVAC’s building had been sold right before the storm and archival footage had been moved to the fourth story of the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans.
Upon returning from the storm, Tim Ryan, former NOVAC Executive Director, recounts how NOVAC nearly had to shut down permanently. However, funding from community partners and foundations led to the production of The Drive, a NOVAC-produced documentary that featured some of New Orleans’ most devastated neighborhoods and interviews with residents who were navigating the wreckage.
“That funding gave us the time to produce the film, as well as to write a number of grants,” said Ryan.
“The documentary ended up getting over a million views on YouTube, which was very new
at the time. We wound up getting global publicity and press. Part of the healing for those of us who lived in New Orleans and had lived through this, was to be able to tell our story.”
Non-profit, arts-focused organizations across various disciplines played a pivotal role in advancing the city’s healing and underscoring the resilience of the New Orlean’s culture. Youth music programs throughout the city took up the torch of passing down generations of musical knowledge to displaced students. Many schools in New Orleans experienced extensive damage or even permanent closure after Hurricane Katrina, creating a void in arts education.
“People stepped up to do the work do work that the schools were able to do before the storm,” said Derek Douget, Director of Music Education at the Heritage School of Music. “It’s not just us; it’s the whole music community, at large, that is doing it. I would just like to celebrate all our colleagues who are doing this work; it is getting done.”
In the years after Katrina, local musician and Grammy winner Derrick Tabb saw that the need for arts education was urgent. In his Treme neighborhood, Tabb saw that kids who used to walk to the bus stop were hustling on the streets after the storm.
“I knew these kids didn’t really have anything else to do,” Tabb told New Orleans & Co. in 2020. “But I also knew if you were to give them a talent, they can use that same talent to make money.”
In 2007, he founded The Roots of Music, starting with a modest six-week drum camp at Tipitina’s. What began with 19 kids and $20,000 quickly swelled. Forty-two children showed up on the first day, and more than 100 were eager to join within weeks.
Today, The Roots of Music runs three core programs: Sprouts of Music for kids ages 3 to 8; the Marching Crusaders Band for ages 9 to 14, and the Roots Studio Academy for high school students. Beyond instruction, the organization provides meals, transportation, instruments and academic support, removing barriers that often keep low-income children from participating in the arts.
“Discipline is the most important thing we teach our kids,” Tabb told New Orleans & Co. “After about a month, these kids are picking up things that take most people years to learn. And, it all rounds back to having a foundation of discipline… The program we’ve put together has really worked.”
When Hurricane Katrina left its mark on the city, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art had only been open at its current location for a little over a year. William Andrews, the museum’s executive director, recounts how evident it was that individuals were seeking the consolation and inspiration that only art can provide. By the efforts of individuals and organizations alike, the city of New Orleans has continued onward in its creative resilience.
“Hurricane Katrina produced a catalytic moment when people started to recognize the way New Orleans has been able to embrace the variety of influences that have been woven into the culture here,” Andrews said. “As a museum, we don’t make grand statements. We try to be the place where the artist can respond to the world in which they live.” New Orleans’ cultural foundation has been tested in unimaginable ways these past 20 years, but the songs of this captivating city continues to resound throughout the world.
Adaptation, innovation, collaboration: Katrina’s lasting impact on nonprofits in New Orleans
By Amanda McElfresh, amcelfresh@theadvocate.com
When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005, its destruction did more than level neighborhoods and scatter families – it also reshaped the nonprofit landscape in New Orleans. Organizations that had been operating for years suddenly adapted and reimagined their missions to respond to immediate community needs, while new efforts were born from the storm’s aftermath.
Two decades later, the city’s nonprofit community stands as one of Katrina’s most enduring legacies, marked by growth, innovation and collaboration.
Shifting Missions: Youth Empowerment Project (YEP)
YEP opened in 2004 with a five-person staff, two grants and a desire to help New Orleans youth realize their own potential. When scattered employees started returning to the city after Katrina, they were surprised to discover that the YEP offices had been spared from damage. Melissa Sawyer, YEP founder and CEO, said that felt like a sign that the organization’s work was needed more than ever.
“It felt like we had a responsibility to keep going and be a part of the recovery because there was so much damage elsewhere throughout the city,” Sawyer said. “It gave us a sense of purpose.”
YEP initially worked to reunite children and families displaced by the storm and help others access resources, even in cities like Houston and Baton Rouge. But, in New Orleans, Sawyer said it quickly became apparent that many kids were facing an education crisis. Several who wanted to re-enroll in school faced barriers such as lost records, a prolonged absence from classes or a history of academic struggles or involvement with the justice system.
That need inspired YEP to start its first GED program, thanks to grant funding and three part-time employees who agreed to teach in the evenings.
“Within the first few weeks, we had about 40 young people come to us, wanting to get their GED and connect with something meaningful. That was our first expansion into education work,” Sawyer said.
Today, YEP is Louisiana’s largest stateapproved high school equivalency provider, with 142 HISET graduates this year.
Other YEP programs have grown over the past 20 years as well, including afterschool programs, summer camps, and a bike shop and thrift store where kids learn customer service and critical thinking skills. Last year, YEP served more than 1,000 youth, and now has a staff of 50.
“I think being a pre-Katrina organization allowed us to hit the ground running and adapt quickly, while always staying missionfocused on supporting young people and
families,” Sawyer said. “Our values have always been rooted in doing the best you can, being honest, having integrity and following through on your word. We aim to be kind, resourceful, accountable and committed to progress. We’re doing the work for the right reasons.”
A New Vision: Son of a Saint For Bivian “Sonny” Lee III, Hurricane Katrina sparked a fire in him to give back to his hometown of New Orleans. He was called to mentorship, but his early efforts in 2006 didn’t pan out the way he had hoped. In his 20s, Lee spent years traveling the world as he worked in sports and music. But, he knew he wanted to be back in New Orleans. In 2011, he founded Son of a Saint, a nonprofit that mentors boys who have lost their fathers to death or incarceration.
“I started forming the idea for Son of a Saint in 2010, five years after Katrina. There was an overwhelming urge to share what I had learned and experienced,” Lee said. “I think that was a time when people were trying to figure out the city’s identity. Kids and families had been displaced, and many of them had spent months separated from one another. The school system was changing. People were stressed about jobs and safety. It felt like everybody was trying to find their place in the new New Orleans.”
Son of a Saint helped many boys in that search for identity, giving them outlets to share their frustrations, guidance from mentors who had survived their own life challenges and opportunities to see what a positive future could look like. Lee said that wouldn’t have been possible without partnerships that continue to this day.
“We started Son of a Saint with 100 bucks. What is beautiful about New Orleans is that people were willing to give to us, whether it was donating pizzas for the boys or letting us use a space for an event,” Lee said. “That sense of community was born out of Katrina. There was almost a need for people to wrap their arms
around each other. You still see that today. You see people want to help people.”
While Son of a Saint is a resounding success, reaching hundreds of boys each year with mentoring, mental health services and enrichment opportunities, Lee still sees opportunities for growth, especially since 40 percent of its boys are from New Orleans East, an area whose Katrina recovery has lagged behind other parts of the city.
“Part of our strategic plan is to develop something in New Orleans East not only to support our boys, but to support the general community there,” Lee said. “My uncle lives there and I drive through often. The area has somehow not developed post-Katrina as we all would have hoped. I definitely want to be part of turning that around.”
Creative Healing: YAYA Arts Center
Founded in 1988, YAYA Arts Center was well-established in 2005 as an organization that was empowering New Orleans youth through creativity, education and entrepreneurship. Yet, in many ways, Katrina served as a catalyst for YAYA to have an even broader reach throughout the city.
Shortly after the storm, two YAYA alumni began teaching art classes in different schools – something that still takes place today. That led to the creation of YAYA’s Urban Heroes program, which now sees more than 800 kids each year.
“It truly gives kids the opportunity to explore arts. That is definitely one of the more powerful programs that came about because of Katrina and continues to have a huge impact,” said Jourdan Barnes, YAYA Board President. “That program also set the course for a lot of other YAYA programming. It has become a pipeline to the other work that we do. The cool thing about YAYA is that even though we teach entrepreneurial, artistic and technical skills, it’s still a safe space for kids to be who they are.”
YAYA works with New Orleans youth and young adults from age 13 to 25, focusing on fostering their creativity with ceramics, glass and mixed media. Participants sell their creations and receive 60 percent of the profits, with the remaining 40 percent helping to fund YAYA programs, all of which are completely free.
Barnes said YAYA staff continue to lean on lessons learned during Katrina’s aftermath to address more recent challenges. For example, when Covid forced YAYA to halt in-person programming, they immediately pulled together art kits, take-home supplies and videos of art lessons. And, as they have seen youth continue to grapple with modernday struggles, YAYA staff have leaned more deeply into a partnership with art therapists who come to the center to help kids
“I think we have been able to cultivate partnerships really well and be very intentional about the people we have on our staff, on our board and as partners. That intentionality has sustained us,” said YAYA Programs Manager Averi Matthews. “Our core
values include artistic integrity, generational impact, equity and accessibility. We want to continue to be innovative and adaptable because things are constantly changing. We want to do that while keeping our values at the center of our work. Being mission-aligned is so important.”
Restoring nature, restoring hope: Sankofa brings life back to the Lower Ninth Ward
Note: This article was adapted from a story that appeared in Audubon Magazine in 2024 and was originally authored by Paige Curtis.
Growing up in the Lower Ninth Ward, Rashida Ferdinand and other neighborhood children spent their days exploring the terrain of Sankofa Wetland Park. But, the land eventually fell into disrepair due to years of neglect that worsened in Katrina’s aftermath. Ferdinand founded the Sankofa Community Development Corporation (CDC) in 2008. Today, the organization is collaborating with local residents to restore the area to its previous natural glory. Their work is paying off, with ambling paths and thriving cypress trees winding around a central pond. “Seeing butterflies, birds and other pollinators in the park is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. All we had to do was create the right conditions,” Ferdinand told Audubon Magazine.
In 2017, Sankofa CDC entered into a partnership with the City of New Orleans to develop the 40-acre vacant plot along the Lower Ninth’s northern edge with a vision to restore the wetland ecosystem as a buffer against flooding while also spurring economic development.
The input of the Lower Ninth Ward community and neighbors has been vital to this work. Their feedback informed the park’s master plan and amenities, including a walking/biking trail that residents requested.
Local volunteers uprooted more than 1,000 invasive tallow trees and planted new, native flora such as bald cypress and water tupelo trees that are known to withstand heavy winds, as well as 1,000 herbaceous plants. Meanwhile, ponds throughout the park are designed to retain rainwater during storms and provide a cool habitat in a hot landscape.
These initial improvements have attracted wildlife not seen in the area since the 1960s. The park is now home to reptiles, amphibians, beavers and otters, and more than 100 bird species have been spotted on the grounds.
Amenities have also been added, including picnic areas, interpretive signage, outdoor recreation facilities, a fishing dock and a wheelchair-accessible trail that connects the Lower Ninth to adjoining neighborhoods. An outdoor amphitheater and more trails are scheduled to be completed later this year.
“There is a unique beauty in restoring what was already there,” Ferdinand said. “It’s how we honor the stewards before us who respected this land and saw its value from the very beginning.”
