Day 1 Speaker Bios
Click on each name to read bio information.
A graduate of McNeese State University in Management and Marketing, Eligha is a Louisiana Statewide Notary Public and a Licensed Louisiana Funeral Director. He is Assistant Manager/Business Development Officer and FDIC (Funeral Director in Charge) of King’s Funeral Home of Lake Charles, a partner in King and Guillory, LLC, and owner of Signature Notary Services. He is the Founder of the Eljay Foundation for Parkinson’s Awareness and a board member of CHRISTUS Ochsner Southwestern Louisiana Foundation, Keep Louisiana Beautiful, Sisters Surviving Cancer, SWLA Law Center, and Community Liaison of Southwest Louisiana Credit Union. He is also president of the Downtown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival Association.
He has over twenty years of service in strategic business planning and organization marketing, public communication, and business management. He has coordinated and led many successful special events and campaigns and provided communication solutions to non-profit organizations, for-profit business units, healthcare institutions, and government agencies.
Eligha’s work experience includes community and program development, project management, and public and governmental relations on local, state, and national levels.
Eligha is a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church. He is married to his best friend Monica, and they are the proud parents of three children, Matthew, Martina, and Isabella.
Courtney Hornsby currently serves as the Chief of Staff for the City of West Monroe under the administration of Mayor Staci Mitchell.
Hornsby previously served as the president of the West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce, where she served in that role for six years.
She currently serves on the board of directors for United Way of Northeast Louisiana, is Vice Chairman of Ouachita Green, a member of Keep West Monroe Beautiful, and is currently Board Chairman of Keep Louisiana Beautiful.
She served with the City of Natchitoches for 12 years as the Director of the City’s Office of Programming and Promotions, including overseeing the Natchitoches Main Street Program and serving as a grant writer and public relations manager for the City of Natchitoches. She is a Nationally Certified Main Street Manager.
Hornsby earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in English from Northwestern State University. She graduated from Leadership Ouachita, Leadership Louisiana, and the Delta Leadership Institute.
She is married to the Rev. Shawn Hornsby, and they have three children – Peyton, Emily, and Cooper.
Billy Nungesser is the 54th Lieutenant Governor of the state of Louisiana. He was elected in 2015 and took office in January 2016. In July 2019, he officially took over as Chairman of the National Lieutenant Governors Association. This professional association charts issues and work to be pursued by the second-highest ranking officials in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Under his administration, Louisiana celebrated a third consecutive year of record-breaking visitation as Louisiana welcomed more than 51.3 million visitors, bringing in more than $18.8 billion to the state.
Billy left a career as a successful businessman to begin his political career following Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, Nungesser rode out Hurricane Katrina at his ranch in southern Plaquemines Parish. In response to his frustration over the government’s slow response following Hurricane Katrina, Billy decided to run for Plaquemines Parish President in 2006. He was re-elected in 2010 with over 70% of the vote.
On April 20, 2010, Plaquemines Parish became ground zero for the nation’s most significant environmental disaster. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf, Billy became the voice of Louisiana’s frustration.
During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the New York Times named him the “hardest working man in Louisiana,” and ABC named him Person of the Week during the same period. He continues to be the “hardest working man in Louisiana” on behalf of all of us.
Today Billy is second-in-command in the executive branch and Louisiana’s ambassador as Commissioner of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. From natural disasters to promoting our great state…Billy Nungesser is a man for all of Louisiana.
Susan Russell is Executive Director for Keep Louisiana Beautiful since 2014. Before leading the state office, she spent eight years as a local affiliate director for Keep Mandeville Beautiful.
Her experience specializing in non-profit management, strategic development, program development and implementation, grant administration, event planning, communications, and marketing spans 30 years with stints at national non-profit organizations Special Olympics and Volunteers of America.
Susan serves on the executive committee for the Keep America Beautiful State Leaders Council as well as on the executive committee for Keep Louisiana Beautiful. She serves as a board member for the Louisiana Recycling Coalition and the Ozone Music Education Foundation.
As Executive Director, she leads the only statewide organization focused on litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling and beautification. She oversees a grants program that has awarded over $3 million to fund local projects; offers environmental education lessons targeting K to 5th grade students; conducts training and professional development; and supports local communities and a network of 39 affiliate organizations to increase their capacity to facilitate community and behavioral change.
https://keeplouisianabeautiful.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/2023-10-04-State-of-KLB-for-Conference.pdf
Dr. Cecile Carson is a recognized leader of nonprofits and government entities in developing innovative zero waste, litter, recycling, and civic engagement programs. Cecile’s career spans 30 years in government, nonprofit, and academic settings. Dr. Carson’s recent projects include conducting statewide visible litter and litter cost studies, implementing littering behavioral strategies, and developing statewide litter recommendations. Her current projects involve establishing local litter plans, researching the impacts of litter law enforcement, and creating a citizen-science litter methodology. She obtained a doctorate from Baylor University in Learning and Organizational Change, focusing on litter and blight issues in rural America. Dr. Carson serves as the North Central Texas Council of Governments – Resource Conservation Commission Plan Committee Chair, California Resource Conservation Association K-12 Executive Committee Leader, State of Texas Alliance for Recycling Summit Committee member, and a Community Heart and Soul Coach. Cecile loves to travel for business and pleasure and to find local dining experiences.
Dr. James Henderson became the University of Louisiana System president Jan. 1, 2017.
Since his appointment, he has led the Universities of Louisiana in the creation of a strategic framework that charges its universities to produce the most educated generation in Louisiana’s history, drive growth through public/private partnerships and research, and recruit, retain, and develop world class faculty who educate students, empower employers, and enrich communities. There are various systemic functions that ensure success, one of the newest is Compete LA, a program designed to assist the 653,000 Louisianians with some college credit but no degree.
Previously, Henderson served as president of his alma mater, Northwestern State University, where he reinvigorated student life and campus culture leading to the highest enrollment in the school’s 135-year history. Before taking the helm of NSU, Henderson served as chancellor of Bossier Parish Community College. During his tenure, the institution ranked among the five fastest growing colleges in the nation for five consecutive years.
In 2012, Henderson was named a Northwest Louisiana Business Hall of Fame Laureate and in 2017 he was inducted into Northwestern State University’s Hall of Honor, the Long Purple Line. His proudest accomplishment to date though is the tiny blue check next to his Twitter handle. On any given day, you can find an insider’s take on higher education in Louisiana sprinkled with candor, wit, and his two golden retrievers.
Henderson holds a Master of Science in administration from the University of West Florida and a Doctor of Management from University of Maryland—University College. In 2010, he completed the Institute of Educational Management at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The smartest decision Henderson has made is marrying his college sweetheart, Tonia, a proud Cajun from Gueydan. The Hendersons have three children, Reagan, Nicholas, and Alexander; and three grandchildren, Zachary, Miguel, and Maria.
Jenny Lawson joined Keep America Beautiful as its President and CEO in May of 2022. Prior to joining KAB Jenny served as Chief Civic Innovation Officer at Points of Light. Her career has focused on social impact and tri-sector partnerships that elevate volunteering and civic engagement. Prior to POL, Jenny held leadership roles at C2ES and The Nature Conservancy.
Gretchen Vanicor is the Director of Sustainability at UL Lafayette and advisor to the University President on the environmental impacts of all University operations, including energy, water, stormwater management, transportation, planning and development. Her office leads the University in institutionalizing sustainability throughout the campus and improving the quality-of-life amenities for the whole community. After an overhaul of waste and recycling systems that resulted in 53% reduction in hauling costs and more than 1,200% increase in recycling diversion, UL Lafayette now has a Zero Waste strategy which includes, food recovery from dining services, “Goodwill, not Landfill” for move out, and the “Good to Geaux”reusable to-go dining system. The Office led an interdisciplinary effort to create a Green Infrastructure Master Plan which won 1st Place in the EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge. The Office of Sustainability also works with faculty and researchers to increase sustainability in the curriculum for all students and coordinates the Campus as a Living Lab initiative. The University was recently awarded a STARS Silver rating by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education for their whole-campus, comprehensive approach to sustainable development and resiliency.
Gretchen serves as the PI on the EPA Gulf of Mexico Grant that is supporting the Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliate program and collecting statewide data regarding litter quantities, types, and causes. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Marketing from McNeese State University, a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from UL Lafayette, and a Master’s in Architecture from UL Lafayette. She is currently in her second year of the UL Lafayette Educational Leadership Doctorate program with a Higher Education Administration concentration. Her research focus is studying the social, economic, and environmental benefits of integrating sustainable development and resiliency principles and practices into four-year public universities.
Gretchen is a lifelong Acadiana resident, having grown up in Iota. She now lives in Youngsville with her husband, David, two children, John-Thomas and Rosalie, and rescue dog, Teddy.
Ivy is a retired HR professional who worked primarily in the telecommunication and health care industries. In addition to HR roles, Ivy honed skills in employee relations, training and development, environmental health and safety, and talent management. Ivy served Bayou Steel of LaPlace, Cox Communications, and finally Cardinal Health, where her retirement began in December 2015. Upon retirement, it was Ivy’s goal to escalate her efforts of giving back to St. John parish and the state.
Ivy currently serves St. John Parish Coastal Advisory Committee as board vice chair, Keep St. John Beautiful as board secretary, Louisiana Recycling Coalition as a member of the board, Louisiana Federal Credit Union as a supervisory committee member, and Louisiana Watershed Initiative as a steering committee member.
Cabell Mouton currently serves as Community Engagement and Affiliate Services Director for Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB), the state’s leading nonprofit anti-litter organization. Since 2017, Cabell has provided the Louisiana Affiliate Network of communities, nonprofits, and universities with education, training, resources, and programming for a cleaner more beautiful Louisiana. Cabell’s career began with the Louisiana Press Association, leading public policy efforts in government, and developing innovative programs to grow advertising and new revenue streams, and build audiences across all platforms for the members. Prior to KLB, Cabell served as an Educator for the Maritime Museum Louisiana and as Sales and Marketing Manager for the Times-Picayune for over 10 years providing sales leadership, sales management, strategic planning, launching new sales platforms, and fostering a culture of collaboration.
Cabell has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and a minor in Sociology from Louisiana State University. She is married with two daughters and resides in Madisonville, LA.
Andrew Hardee is the Assistant Director of Residential Life at the University of Louisiana Monroe. He has 16 years of higher education experience, covering federal and institutional aid, student activities, leadership, and engagement, and residential life and housing.
He serves as the 2023-2024 Staff Senate President at ULM and the 2023-2024 Louisiana Association of Housing Officers President. He advises the Lambda Society, a recognized student organization that serves members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
Andrew received his Bachelor’s from the University of Louisiana Monroe and his Master’s from LSU Shreveport. In addition, he is a Louisiana Notary Public with statewide jurisdiction.
For the past year, Andrew, along with his co-coordinator, Joel Sinclair, has worked with KLB on establishing the University of Louisiana Monroe as a new University Affiliate and is excited about the opportunities and resources available to ULM as KLB University Affiliate.
Dr. Mitzi Jackson, a former Health Science faculty member, moved to the Office of Development in 2018 to become the Development Faculty Fellow. Since she has helped in the establishment of such projects as the Nicholls State University – LSUHSC -NO School of Medicine Culinary Medicine Program and Charles J. Monier, Ph.D. Makerspace. Mitzi is the advisor to the GREEN Club, a student organization dedicated to recycling activities, environmental stewardship, and sustainability efforts. With the advent of the Keep Louisiana Beautiful University Affiliate program, she was tasked with becoming the c Keep Nicholls Beautiful Task Force chair to help further sustainability efforts on campus and in the community.
After completing her undergraduate education in Biological Sciences at Newcomb College of Tulane University, Dr. Jackson earned her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. She completed a Pediatrics residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – Children’s Medical Center.
Carol Lunn is the Assistant Vice President for Research & Economic Development at the University of New Orleans. Her department helps the UNO community succeed in creative, innovative, and scholarly research. In her twenty-one years at UNO, Carol built a team focusing on customer service and compliance. They provide support, training, and mentorship for all research activities; generate opportunities for collaboration with external partners in the community.
She and her husband are both first-generation students who met at UNO. Currently, she is working toward a Ph.D. in Planning & Urban Studies, and her dissertation focuses on environmental sustainability in higher education. In addition to serving as the UNO facilitator for Keep UNO Beautiful, Carol is a co-director of the UNO Sustainability Circle and the advisor to the UNO Garden Club. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, listening to her daughter sing, and playing with the family’s rescue dogs.
Tammy Millican currently serves as Executive Director for LSU Facility & Property Oversight. She has been an LSU staff member for 25 years and serves her third term as Staff Senate President. Tammy oversees the campus sustainability unit and internal and external communications, strategic planning, grant writing, and policy/process development for F&PO. She also serves as a part-time coach for LSU’s Leadership Development Institute.
Tammy has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, a master’s degree in public administration and is currently a doctoral student with an expected graduation date in Spring 2023. She is married with five children and six grandchildren.
Andrew has been a part of the French Quarter Festivals, Inc. team since 2011 previously holding the roles of Site Manager and Assistant to the Operations Director, before becoming Operations Director in 2019. Andrew has worked in festival production in New Orleans for over a decade, including positions with the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Voodoo Music Festival, and Essence Music Festival. He holds a B.S. in Music Industry Studies from Loyola University New Orleans and enjoys gardening and songwriting in his free time.
Don Bates is the owner and founder of Osprey Initiative, LLC, and the inventor of the Litter Gitter. A graduate of Millsaps College, he has over 25 years of experience in the environmental consulting business. Prior to starting Osprey Initiative, LLC, he was an Executive Vice President for a Southeast Regional Civil Engineering firm where he managed operations for 250 people in 12 offices in 7 states.
Born in Hammond, Louisiana, he grew up in the swamps around Manchac, Louisiana and still gets back to the Galva Club fish camp whenever he can. He has spent most of his life in and around waterways and has a passion for maintaining and improving our natural resources. Married with 4 children, he feels that the best legacy he can leave to future generations is access to wild places un-marred by human impacts.
Brett Davis is the Founding Director of Grounds Krewe, a New Orleans based non-profit with a mission to lower the waste impact of the city’s many festivals and special events. His organization has a specific focus on transitioning the world’s largest free and unsponsored celebration, Mardi Gras, away from its overuse of imported, disposable, plastic parade “throws” that are often neglected and create millions of pounds of unnecessary trash in his community’s streets, storm drains and landfills. In addition to 5 years of implementing parade recycling initiatives, Grounds Krewe designs, manufactures and sells affordable, eco-friendly parade throws promote Louisiana products and people through the Sustainable Throw Catalog.
Day 2 Speaker Bios
Click on each name to read bio information.
Sharon Weston Broome is a firm believer in achieving progress through inclusion, innovation and information. Since taking office, Mayor Broome has placed a heavy focus on improving the quality of life for citizens while building resiliency through infrastructure improvements. She has focused on addressing transportation, drainage, public safety, education, economic development and revitalizing neighborhoods.
Mayor Broome is the first female Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish. She previously served as a Baton Rouge Metro City Council Member, a Louisiana State Representative and a Louisiana State Senator. While serving in the legislature, Broome became the first woman to hold the leadership positions of Speaker Pro Tempore in the House and President Pro Tempore in the Senate.
Mayor Broome has been recognized for her service and leadership by several organizations. She was selected for the inaugural class of the Bloomberg-Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Mayor Broome serves as 2nd Vice President of the National League of Cities (NLC) and serves on the NLC Board and Executive Committee. In addition, she is a Local Government Advisory Committee Member of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Vice-Chair of the Mayor’s Alliance to End Childhood Hunger. She is the secretary and a member of the board of trustees of the African American Mayors Association, and sits on the US Conference of Mayors advisory board.
She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated and has been recognized for her public service and leadership by a number of organizations including the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, and received the Luminary Award from Links Incorporated LA Capitale Chapter, the Baton Rouge NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, Girl Scouts Louisiana East 2017 Women of Distinction Award and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Lambda Kappa Kappa Chapter) 2017 Citizen of the Year Award – just to name a few.
Mayor Broome holds a B.A. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse. She is a
2019 recipient of UW-L Alumni Association’s Maurice O. Graff Distinguished Alumni Award. Mayor Broome received her M.A. in Communications from Regent University. The mayor has served as an adjunct instructor at the Manship School of Mass Communication at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Community College and Southern University.
Faith and family are priorities for Mayor Broome. She is a member of United Christian Faith Ministries Church and is happily married to Marvin Broome. They are the proud parents of three children and have three grandchildren.
Kelly Sword-Hurtado is a veteran of the hospitality, multi-media publishing and philanthropy industries. She currently serves as Marketing Director for Bank of St. Francisville. She is a past recipient of Business Report’s Influential Women in Business award, Women with a Cause as well as other industry specific awards. Her current main community focus is the Louisiana Stormwater Coalition which she co-founded with 3 others. She is a connector, a serial volunteer and action junkie. Kelly and her husband, Enrique have 3 daughters, 2 sons-in-law, 4 grandchildren and 2 nonagenarian parents.
Jessica Gauley, Pearl Riverkeeper Board Member, Honey Island Kayak Guide, and Environmental Educator
Lifelong resident of Pearl River, La, Jessica Gauley is the owner of Honey Island Kayak Tours and lead guide. She welcomes guests from all over the world to teach them about the importance of a healthy wetland ecosystem all while enjoying the beauty of a 400+ year old Cypress Swamp. She is a board member of Pearl Riverkeeper and has hosted trash cleanups on the Pearl River since 2012.
Dr. Jeff Kuehny grew up on a farm in Northern Oklahoma with a passion for plants and the environment. He pursued his interest at Oklahoma State University earning a B.S., North Carolina State University earning an M.S., Clemson University earning a Ph.D. and Cornell University as a Postdoctoral Researcher. He has lived in the Deep South for 30 years as a Professor of Horticulture at Louisiana State University and more recently the Director of the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens. He is currently leading the implementation of a master plan for the Botanic Gardens that focuses on sustainable urban environments and for healthier ecosystems in designed, agricultural and natural landscapes to improve quality of life. Through these efforts he continues to develop partnerships with governmental and nongovernmental organizations to conduct research and educational programs that make a positive impact on environmental and public health.
Anne Rheams has been an environmental professional for over 30 years. She has worked in LDEQ’s Water Quality Program, held multiple positions with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (now the Pontchartrain Conservancy), owned an environmental communications company and now works for the City of New Orleans as the Environmental Outreach Manager in the Office of Resilience and Sustainability. Anne has written environmental curricula for middle schools and taught at the University of New Orleans as an adjunct instructor. She holds a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning.
Missy Marshall serves as Executive Director of Keep Tennessee Beautiful (KTnB). In this position she provides direction, management, and supervision for KTnB staff, leadership to 32 Keep America Beautiful (KAB) affiliates and a 21-member citizen advisory board appointed by the Governor.
Since joining KTnB in July 2013, Marshall has led the team to receive national awards from KAB: 2013 – 2018 Diamond Level State Affiliate Recognition Awards, and 2014 Best Statewide Promotion of the Great American Cleanup. She was the recipient of the 2015 Alma Bucovaz Urban Service Award.
Marshall came to KTnB with over 20 years of experience in public service. She began her career in state government as a public health educator for the Tennessee Department of Health. Over the course of her career, Marshall has held several executive positions, serving as legislative liaison for eight state departments, nine commissioners and on the team of three Governors. During her state tenure, Marshall has had the distinct honor to serve on the legislative team that assisted the legislature with establishing the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD). Prior to her appointment at KTnB, Marshall served nine years as Director of Communications and External Affairs for the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Development Disabilities (DIDD).
Brittany Morris has been the Outreach Coordinator for TDOT’s Highway Beautification Office for over 5 years. Originally for Kingman, Arizona, she completed her BS in Biology from Colorado State University – Pueblo in 2015 and her MPA in Environmental Policy from American Public University in 2018. In her time at TDOT she has worked on a variety of projects, from Pollinator Meadows at TN State Parks to re-launching Tennessee’s litter prevention campaign, Nobody Trashes Tennessee.
Craig has more than 25 years of recycling experience in the university, local government, and private sectors. Craig’s experience has revolved around program management including residential recycling, environmental education, electronics recycling, public school recycling, and business recycling. Part of Craig’s work involved collaborating with a variety of end-users to market fiber, plastic, and metal recyclable grades. He now focuses efforts on increasing multifamily recycling for The Partnership as Sr. Director of Community Development.
Matt has worked in the recycling industry coordinating efforts between recycling processors and local governments. He worked five years at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s recycling office as a grant manager and technical assistance provider. Matt is a Grant Development Manager at The Recycling Partnership.
Over the past 30 years, Denise Calhoun has evolved her career from marketing and banking to non-profit and governmental work, primarily focused on youth and family support through education and health initiatives. When she began with the City of West Monroe in 2007, she was the Director of the community center programs which included the SEE West Monroe AmeriCorps Program. Under her direction, the program grew its educational support programs while also expanding into environmental activities. The AmeriCorps team because responsible for litter abatement collection and tracking for west Ouachita Parish in partnership with local Keep Louisiana Beautiful affiliates as well as numerous beautification initiatives.
In recent years, Denise was given to opportunity to develop a Human Resources division tasked with the challenge of building a support system for the employees within the City. The West Monroe Recycling Center was created in 2018 as a direct result of a campaign promise by current Mayor Staci Mitchell and was eventually placed under the HR umbrella. Over the last 4 years, Denise has spent time learning more about the recycling industry in an effort to not only sustain the current program but also meet the ever-increasing demand for recycling alternatives in Northeast Louisiana.
Bethany Crochet is a graduate from McNeese State University where she obtained her B.S. in Natural Resources. She has been employed with the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana since 2016 through the Environmental Division. Her main responsibilities include writing and managing grants that expand environmental awareness for the Tribe. With the award of EPA GAP funding, Bethany was able to implement a recycling program for the Coushatta Tribe which she has successfully managed since its development in 2017. Through the newly developed collaboration with The Recyling Partnership, Bethany is working on expanding her department’s recycling capacity.
