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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FINANCE AUTHORITY OF NEW ORLEANS
DAMON BURNS GREW UP IN NEW ORLEANS EAST and played sports at St. Augustine High School, but when it came time for undergraduate work, he moved on to Atlanta and Houston. He felt the pull of New Orleans, though, and moved back one year before Hurricane Katrina. “I didn’t have big plans at the time,” he says. “The city wasn’t doing that well at the time, and a lot of young people were getting concerned.” He spent 10 years working in investment and corporate banking, but as the new executive director of the Finance Authority of New Orleans (FANO), Burns’ job now is to help people get low-interest loans to buy homes in Orleans Parish. “Our mission is important to me — seeing low- to moderate-income families get on their feet and get into a stable home life situation.” Burns says his life away from finance is filled with reading, family and friends. — KEVIN ALLMAN
Janna Hart Black, 27
FAVORITE LOCAL BANDS: FREE AGENTS BRASS BAND, THE BRIDGE TRIO FAVORITE RESTAURANT: THE MUNCH FACTORY
FOUNDER AND CEO, AXOSIM TECHNOLOGIES
www.axosim.com THE TECHNOLOGY LOWRY CURLEY WORKED ON AS A GRAD STUDENT and helped launch as an entrepreneur holds the
www.bonfolk.com; www.facebook.com/ bonfolkcollective; @bonfolk (Instagram)
potential to revolutionize the bio-tech industry while also healing patients and saving untold lives. While earning his doctorate in biomedical engineering from Tulane University, Curley worked under professor Michael J. Moore, with whom he co-founded AxoSim Technologies. Curley describes as Moore’s “brainchild” a technology “that is basically a miniaturized version of the human nervous system.” Curley first began applying for federal grants to fund the venture in 2014 and started business-development operations at the end of 2015 to put the patent Tulane holds for this licensed technology into the marketplace. “The sky is the limit for the application of this technology,” Curley says. “We’ve seen proof of that in our growth over the last year. This has potential applications in neurological disorders — multiple sclerosis, ALS — that affect so many people.” — FRANK ETHERIDGE
“I would want to cry driving through Skid Row to get to the garment district,” says Black, a New Orleans native who attended The FAVORITE NEW ALBUM: Fashion InstiI LIKE OLD tute of Design & STUFF, LIKE Merchandising. THE ROLLING “I came up with STONES. the idea to do a sock line that FAVORITE gives back and is RESTAURANT: inspired by things HERBSAINT everyone loves in [New OrleWHAT IS ans]: alligators, YOUR HIDDEN crawfish, the New TALENT? Orleans Saints.” SEWING Bonfolk Collective launched in January, and now the socks can be purchased in 36 Louisiana stores. Black says she hopes to take her concept to cities across the nation. For every pair of socks purchased, Bonfolk donates a pair to the homeless, since socks are among items that are donated least often. She has given 10,000 pairs of socks to homeless New Orleanians. “The response is beautiful,” she says. “When I go to shelters, people come up and hug me and say, ‘Thank you. This makes my day.’” — MISSY WILKINSON
BOOK CURRENTLY READING: THE END OF ALCHEMY: BANKING, THE GLOBAL ECONOMY AND THE FUTURE OF MONEY BY MERVYN KING
J. Lowry Curley, 32
OWNER/DESIGNER, BONFOLK COLLECTIVE
A STINT IN LOS ANGELES EXPOSED JANNA HART BLACK TO THE CITY’S LARGE HOMELESS POPULATION.
T W E N T Y S I X T E E N
FAVORITE LOCAL BAND: TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE DRINK OF CHOICE: A GOOD IPA HIDDEN TALENT: ART (POTTERY, PAINTING)
Seema Dave, 32 DIVISION BUSINESS MANAGER, HEALTH GUARDIANS OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANS
HEALTH GUARDIANS — A PROGRAM OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW ORLEANs — helps guide people in at-
risk communities through an intimidating health system. Patient advocates serve as liaisons through the system, so by the end of the program, patients “are asking all these questions, they understand their conditions, and they really feel comfortable having that open communication and dialogue with their physician,” business manager Seema Dave says. “The focus of Health Guardians is to empower them, to educate them, to connect them with a primary care provider, and to really teach them how to advocate for themselves,” Dave says. “It’s really taking the time to understand the full context of their situation, understand their barriers and really help them every step of the way.” Patients may be homeless and many don’t have basic needs met, and often rely on emergency rooms for primary care or to refill prescriptions. As division business manager, Dave oversees a dozen programs to help “empower people who don’t have a voice.” “I really enjoy the challenge — the budgeting part, the finance part, marketing, writing,” Dave says. “Anything that’s versatile and challenging, that’s what motivates me. When I see a challenge I just want to go for it.” — ALEX WOODWARD
BOOK CURRENTLY READING: LEAN IN: WOMEN, WORK, AND THE WILL TO LEAD BY SHERYL SANDBERG FAVORITE NEW ALBUM: DAY BREAKS BY NORAH JONES FAVORITE LOCAL BAND: BRASS-A-HOLICS PAGE 18
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Damon Burns, 34