A lunch briefing in the Rayburn House Office Building sponsored by FONO and the Aspen Institute featured short presentations from 16 leaders, whose heroic actions in the two years since Hurricane Katrina are creating positive change.  Pam Dasheill from Holy Cross Neighborhood Association discussed their efforts to rebuild safely and sustainably, with an emphasis on preserving the historic nature of the neighborhood, while Denise Thornton from the Beacon of Hope described how in just eighteen months, what began as a single resource center in her home for her neighbors has multiplied to eleven beacons providing  fourteen neighborhoods with the information necessary to navigate the obstacles facing a resident wanting to rebuild.  Timolynn Sams from the Neighborhood Partnership Network explained how NPN is connecting people across different neighborhoods to promote information sharing and collaborative action to stimulate community development and citizen engagement.  

Congressional staff also learned about efforts to rebuild the city’s infrastructure.  Idea Village is promoting business innovation and supporting local entrepreneurs, New Schools New Orleans is working to establish a national model for urban education reform beginning with New Orleans, and the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) has responded to the growing film industry in Louisiana with a new workforce development program to train residents for employment in the industry through their Louisiana Film Crew Training Program.  

These organizations represent only a cross section of the many groups working to rebuild a better New Orleans, but their presentations showed the range of initiatives led by everyday citizens on the ground, rebuilding their city, as well as their own homes and businesses.  Many of these New Orleanians have seen little federal assistance, but operating on often meager budgets they are the drivers of the city’s rebuilding effort.  In the words of Charlie Martel, a participant at the hill briefing, “In New Orleans, citizenship is not a spectator sport.”  We can’t rebuild our levee system or restore our disappearing coastline entirely on our own, but the efforts of these grassroots groups demonstrate what can be accomplished through citizen activism.

Participants Included:  LaToya Cantrell (Broadmoor Improvement Association); Morgan Carter (New Schools New Orleans); Scott Darrah (Gentilly Civic Improvement Association); Pam Dashiell and Charles Allen (Holy Cross Neighborhood Association); Karen Gadbois and Sarah Elise Lewis (NorthWest Carrollton); Lisa Kaichen (Unified Nonprofits); Bari Landry (Lakeview Civic Improvement Association); Ron McClain (Family Service of Greater New Orleans); Wilfret McKee (Total Community Action); Ray Nichols (Priestley School and Carrollton-Audubon Rennaisance, Inc); Vince Pasquantonio (Levees.org); Tim Ryan (New Orleans Video Access Center); Timolynn Sams (Neighborhood Partnership Network); Denise Thornton (Beacon of Hope Resource Center); Jennifer Vu (Mary Queen of Viet Nam); Jennifer Weishaupt and Virginia Blanque (Mid City Neighborhood Association); Tim Williamson (Idea Village)