Our Board

John M. Barry

John M. Barry's books have won more than twenty awards. Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America won the 1998 Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historian for the best book on American history, while The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Plague in History won the 2005 Keck Award from the National Academy of Sciences for the best book on science or medicine. Barry also won the September Eleventh Award from the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Pathogens for his contribution to pandemic preparation. A member of advisory boards at MIT's Center for Engineering Systems Fundamentals and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, he also chaired a bipartisan working group on flood control for the Louisiana Congressional delegation after Hurricane Katrina and served on the board that oversees several levee districts protecting metropolitan New Orleans and Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, which is responsible for the state's hurricane protection. He is Distinguished Scholar at the Tulane-Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research. and consults regularly on pandemic influenza.

Denise M. Byrne - Secretary and Acting Executive Director

Denise M. Byrne is a management consultant specializing in organizational development and capacity building. She has over 20 years of experience working with foundations and U.S. based nonprofit organizations as well as NGOs in Africa and Latin America. Her client list includes: MedStar Health, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, Fairfield County Community Foundation, United Way, Save the Children and Yale University museums. Prior to being a management consultant, Denise worked at the Yale Peabody Museum as Membership and Development Officer, and Cartier, Inc. as Assistant to the Vice President of Finance. Denise has an MBA in nonprofit management and marketing from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BS in geology with a minor in French from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA. She is a native of Puerto Rico and is fluent in Spanish and French. She lives with her husband, Peter A. Reiling, and their two children, Dylan and Eva Luna, in Arlington, VA.

James Carville

James Carville is one of America’s best-known political consultants. His winning streak began in 1986, when he managed the gubernatorial victory of Robert Casey in Pennsylvania. In 1987, Carville helped guide Wallace Wilkinson to the governor’s seat in Kentucky. Carville continued his winning streak with wins in New Jersey with Frank Lautenberg elected to the US Senate. But his most prominent victory was in 1992 when he helped William Jefferson Clinton win the Presidency. James Carville is also an author, actor, producer, talk-show host, speaker and restaurateur. His titles include We’re Right, They’re Wrong: A Handbook for Spirited Progressives; And the Horse He Rode In On: The People vs. Kenneth Starr; Buck Up, Suck Up… and Come Back When You Foul Up; Had Enough? A Handbook for Fighting Back; his children’s book, Lu and the Swamp Ghost; and 2006’s Take it Back. Most recently, Carville is hosting XM radio’s “60/20” weekly sports show. Carville also co-produced the highly anticipated remake of the 1949 Oscar award-winning movie “All The King’s Men”.

Jack Davis

Jack Davis joined Chicago Metropolis 2020 as vice president in January 2007, to help advance the regional planning organization’s recommendations for enhancing Chicago’s economic growth and quality of life. Davis has been an editor or publisher at newspapers in New Orleans, Chicago, Virginia, and Connecticut.  He worked for Tribune Company for 23 years -- as  metropolitan editor of the Chicago Tribune; editor and later publisher of  the Daily Press in Newport News, Va.; president of Tribune Interactive; and from 2000 through 2006,  president, publisher and CEO of The Hartford Courant, America's oldest newspaper. In New Orleans, before joining Tribune, he was an editor of the alt weekly Figaro and a reporter, columnist and editor for The States-Item and The Times-Picayune. He has written about preservation, architecture and urban design and guided editorial-page positions and news coverage on those topics.  Fats Domino once visited Davis' Pontalba apartment. Davis and his wife Mimi divide their time between Chicago and New Orleans, where he is a principal adviser  for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, of which he is a trustee. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College in American History and Literature, he studied in India under a Knox Fellowship from Harvard, was a Professional Journalism Fellow at Stanford and completed the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern's Newspaper Management Center.

Robert Dawson - Treasurer

Hon. Robert K. Dawson is President and founder of Dawson & Associates, Inc. Mr. Dawson was Associate Director of the Office of Management and Budget at the White House where he was responsible for about one fourth of the annual domestic budget of the United States, including all budget and policy issues for the Agriculture, Energy and Interior Departments, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. In 1981, Mr. Dawson was appointed by President Reagan as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and in 1985 was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works where he headed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 1974 until 1981, he served as Administrator of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Mr. Dawson began his career in government in 1972 as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Jack Edwards. He is a graduate of Tulane University and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University.

Stephen DeBerry - Chairman

Stephen DeBerry is Chief Investment Officer at Kapor Enterprises and founder of Bronze Investments. At Kapor, Stephen manages a portfolio that exceeds $4 billion, making angel and venture capital investments in companies that align strong financial returns with positive social impact. Previously, Stephen was Investment Director at Omidyar Network, the mission-based investment firm started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. Before that Stephen was a senior manager of business development at Interval Research, the research lab established by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. Stephen is a Trustee and Member of the Investment Committee at The California Endowment. He also serves on the boards of The Association of Marshall Scholars and The Dalai Lama Foundation. Stephen earned a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology with highest honors from UCLA. He also has a Master's degree in Social Anthropology and a Master of Business Administration degree from Oxford University. Stephen is a Marshall Scholar and a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He lives in East Palo Alto, California with his wife Christine and daughter Clio.

Gloria Dittus

Gloria Dittus is one of the nation’s top public relations experts. She is known for solving corporate challenges by building communications campaigns that integrate public affairs programming and marketing strategies. In December 2005, Dittus Communications became part of Financial Dynamics, a leading business communications and consulting firm with offices in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States. She has been featured in prominent publications including Ad Age, PR Week, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and George magazine. Dubbed a “PR maven” by Wired magazine, Gloria is the Washington area’s 1999 “PR Woman of the Year,” 2000 “Washington Business Woman of the Year,” and 2004 “Public Affairs Executive of the Year.” In 2005, Gloria was named to Washington Business Journal’s list of “25 Women Who Mean Business.”

James R. Doty

James R. Doty, M.D. is a neurosurgeon, entrepreneur and philanthropist presently a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is a graduate of Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Tulane Health Sciences Center and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council. He maintains a close relationship with his alma mater recently endowing a chair for the new dean of the medical school and a scholarship for socioeconomically disadvantaged medical students at Tulane. He has recently been named a 2008 Health Care Hero by the New Orleans City Business Newspaper for his contributions to health care in New Orleans. In addition, to holding patents on a variety of medical devices, he has also started numerous health related companies and remains an advisor to a variety of healthcare related venture capital firms. Dr. Doty is the former CEO of Accuray, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARAY) and also the Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, a multi-disciplinary consortium of scientists examining the neural bases of compassion and altruistic behavior. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Dalai Lama Foundation and the USC Brain and Creativity Institute. He is also on the Advisory Board of the Fogarty Institute of Innovation.

Elliot J. Fabri

Elliot J. Fabri, President of Fabri Consulting Group, founded New Era Building Systems in 1992, a modular home producer in Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, New Era, Castle Housing, and Carolina Building Solutions, have sold over 12,0000 homes throughout the Northeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states. In 2005, Champion Enterprises, Inc. acquired the three companies. After the hurricanes, Fabri led Champion’s participation in the devastated Gulf Coast region rebuilding effort, acting as a liaison with designers, developers and builders. From 1999 until 2004, he served as President of the Automated Builders Consortium, a non-profit group dedicated to assisting with the rebuilding of the blighted major cities in the United States. Fabri played a lead role in the Manufactured Housing Institute’s (MHI) Urban Design Demonstration Project to address housing affordability in urban and suburban areas by working with local government officials and developers to bring manufactured housing into these areas. Fabri has been the recipient of several industry awards, including MHI Industry Person of the Year and the James R. Price Award for Achievement in Housing both in 2001. Fabri is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and resides in Clarion Pennsylvania.

Taylor Hackford

In addition to helming the iconic feature hits, An Officer and a Gentleman, Against All Odds and the cult thriller Dolores Claiborne, Taylor Hackford has directed  The Devil's Advocate, White Nights, Everybody’s All American, and Proof of Life.  He developed and produced La Bamba, the most successful Latin themed feature film in history. His documentary work is equally as acclaimed with Chuck Berry: Hail! Hail! Rock n’Roll and the Oscar winning documentary When We Were Kings. Taylor Hackford began his career pioneering Rock n’Roll performances on Public television, so it is no surprise that his most recent project — 15 years in the making — is RAY, a dramatic film portrait of Ray Charles, starring Jamie Foxx. RAY was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.  It also was nominated for DGA and Golden Globe Awards.  The film garnered Jamie Foxx the Best Actor accolade for 2004. Taylor Hackford is a 30 year member of the DGA and currently serves as the 3rd Vice President.

Michael Hecht

Michael Hecht brings a diverse background to the task of leading economic development for the Greater New Orleans region. As the Chief Executive of Greater New Orleans, Inc., Michael leads an organization whose mission falls broadly into two categories: business development - marketing the region to businesses - and product development - creating better conditions for business. The ultimate vision of GNO, Inc. is to make the Greater New Orleans region one of the best places in the country for both a business, and a family. Before begin tapped by the area's business community to lead GNO, Inc., Michael served as Director of Business Recovery Services for Louisiana Economic Development, where he led the federally-funded $232M Small Business Recovery Program. Designed to revitalize the independent and small business sector devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Recovery Program helped over 7,000 Louisiana businesses with grants, loans and technical assistance. While at LED, Michael also established the $90M Louisiana Revolving Capital Fund, the first of its kind. Prior to repatriating to Louisiana, Michael worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York City. As Assistant Commissioner for NYC Business Solutions, Michael designed and ran a new initiative to help the 200,000+ small businesses of New York City prosper and grow. Michael's final effort before coming to Louisiana was to develop an unprecedented emergency loan program for thousands of businesses affected by an extended summer power outage. Michael also brings the experience of starting and managing his own business, having founded a conglomerate of restaurant ventures in San Francisco, including the award-winning "Foreign Cinema." Starting with a business plan but no equity, Michael raised over $2M and built at $9M, 125-employee business that continues to operate today. In addition to his public and private ventures, Michael also has experience in the nonprofit sector, where he was Director of Business Development for the Food Bank for New York City, the largest of its kind in the country. Michael began his career as a strategic management consultant to Fortune 100 multinationals including Coca-Cola, Kellogg's and IBM, in Europe, North America and Australia. Michael holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was a member of the Public Management Program, and an undergraduate degree in Race Relations from Yale University, magna cum laude. He is a member of Coro Leadership New York, and has lectured nationally and internationally on entrepreneurship and economic development. With family roots in Louisiana back to the 1830's, Michael now lives in New Orleans with his wife, Marlene, an ESL professor at UNO and Delgado, and his two small boys, Dexter and Kaj.

James Honoré

James L. Honoré is Executive Vice President of Worldwide Post Production for Sony Pictures. Mr. Honoré is responsible for the final post production quality on all films belonging to the Sony Pictures family, including Columbia TriStar Pictures, the theatrical product of Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems and feature films acquired by Columbia TriStar Home Video. Mr. Honoré has more than 40 years in the business and 1300 films under his belt including Men in Black 1 and 2, Jerry Maguire, Spider-Man 1 and 2, and the soon to be released The Da Vinci Code. He is a native of New Road, Louisiana and now a long time resident of Studio City, California.

Walter Isaacson - Emeritus Founding Board Member

Walter Isaacson is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies institute based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the editor of Time Magazine. He is the author of Einstein: His Life and Universe (April 2007), Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (2003), and Kissinger: A Biography (1992), and coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made (1986). Isaacson was born on May 20, 1952, in New Orleans. He is a graduate of Harvard College and of Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He began his career at the Sunday Times of London and then the New Orleans Times-Picayune/States-Item. He joined Time Magazine in 1978 and served as a political correspondent, national editor and editor of new media before becoming the magazine's 14th editor in 1996. He became Chairman and CEO of CNN in 2001, and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003. He is the chairman of the board of Teach for America, which recruits recent college graduates to teach in underserved communities. He is also chairman of the board of the U.S.-Palestinian Partnership, set up by the U.S. State Department to promote economic and educational opportunities for the Palestinian people. He is on the Board of United Airlines, Tulane University, Society for Science & the Public, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. He was appointed after Hurricane Katrina to be the vice-chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. He lives with his wife and daughter in Washington, DC.

John Larroquette

John Larroquette was born in New Orleans. He spent his first 21 years there and has deep roots in the city. He was a musician as a child and later worked for Decca records and was able to hang around some of his childhood heroes like Pete Fountain and Al Hirt. He started acting only after a stint in the Navy and a few years as a radio disc jockey. He is a five time Emmy winner. Four of them were consecutive for his role as Dan Fielding in the long running sitcom NIGHT COURT. He has been married to Elizabeth for 30 years and they have 3 children.

C.C. Lockwood

C.C. has published 12 books over his 30-year career as a natural history photographer. His work has been featured multiple times in National Geographic Magazine and other national publications. He received the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams award for outstanding conservation photography. Most recently C.C. was honored as Louisiana Legend by Louisiana Public Broadcasting, Conservation Communicator of the year by Louisiana Wildlife Federation, and a Distinguished Alumni by LSU. Throughout his career, C.C. Lockwood has established himself as one of the nation's outstanding nature and wildlife photographers and as the premier chronicler of the natural wonders of Louisiana and the Gulf Region, including the Yucatan Peninsula. Currently CC is finishing up a book entitled Atchafalaya Basin Revisited and covering hurricane damage to the Louisiana Coast. Lockwood's photographs are held in many personal, museum and corporate collections. He is also in the process of completing the latter half of a four-year public awareness project dubbed "The Marsh Mission" which includes a book, exhibit, web page and lecture tour. C.C. Lockwood is a graduate of L.S.U. (Louisiana State University) and a man who is more comfortable spending weeks at a time in the swamps, marshes, forests and canyons of America's wilderness than he is sleeping under a roof with the air-conditioner humming away.

Mike Medavoy

Mike Medavoy is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Phoenix Pictures. He has been involved in the production of more than 300 feature films, including 16 nominees for Best Picture Academy Awards, seven of which have won. During his heralded career he has served as an agent to the likes of Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola, as Chairman of TriStar Pictures and as a Co-Founder of Orion Pictures. He has brought to the screen classics like "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," "Rocky," "Platoon," "Dances With Wolves," "Silence of the Lambs," "Philadelphia," and "The Thin Red Line," just to name a few. Mike was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles by former Governor Jerry Brown and was appointed by Mayor Richard Riordan as Commissioner on the Los Angeles Board of Parks and Recreation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Tel Aviv, the Board of Trustees of the UCLA Foundation, and the Board of Advisors at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. In 2002, Governor Gray Davis appointed Mike to the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center's Executive Advisory Board. Mike has received numerous awards such as the 1992 Motion Picture Pioneer of the Year Award and the 1999 UCLA Neil H. Jacoby Award, which honors individuals who have made exceptional contributions to humanity. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mike was honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 2005 when he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

J. Stephen Perry

J. Stephen Perry has been president of The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOMCVB) since August 2002, bringing a new vision to the CVB's activities. He has re-tooled the structure of the Convention Sales Department, focusing efforts on shoring up meeting business in the short term to meet the challenges brought about by changes in market forces. In addition, he has sought to leverage the city's tourism industry to serve as an engine for economic development in the region, promoting New Orleans not only as a first-class leisure destination but also as a prime place to live and work. Perry currently serves on many national boards including Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), Travel Industry Association (TIA), and the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board to the United States Secretary of Commerce. Before taking the lead of the NOMCVB, Perry served as Louisiana Governor Mike Foster's Chief of Staff from the time the governor took office in January 1996. In that capacity, he shepherded a number of major reforms and initiatives for Gov. Foster. Perry helped put together the governor's economic development package, including financing for Phase IV of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center as well as incentives to keep the New Orleans Saints in the Crescent City and lure the NBA's Hornets to New Orleans. He brings many years of legislative and executive branch service combined with non-profit foundation, private sector business management, and sales and marketing experience to his position at the NOMCVB. Mr. Perry holds B.A. degrees in History and Russian Area Studies from LSU, with time at Moscow State University in the Soviet Union, an M.A. in Anthropology from LSU, and he completed the Senior Executives Program in State and Local Government offered by the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Harry Shearer

Harry Shearer is a writer, actor, and director, voice of more than a dozen "Simpsons" characters, co-creator of and co-star of "This is Spinal Tap". His books include: "Man Bites Town", "It's the Stupidity, Stupid", and the forthcoming "Not Enough Indians". He is the creator and host of the nationally-syndicated weekly radio hour, Le Show. Harry was born in Los Angeles He graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science and attended the urban government graduate program at Harvard University. Harry has resided in New Orleans for ten years and is married to singer, songwriter, and pianist Judith Owen.

Tommy G. Thompson

Tommy G. Thompson, the former Health and Human Services Secretary and four-term Governor of Wisconsin, is a partner at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. At Akin Gump, Secretary Thompson is building on his efforts as HHS Secretary and Governor to develop innovative solutions to the health care challenges facing American families, businesses, communities, states and the nation as a whole. These efforts focus on improving the use of information technology in hospitals, clinics and doctors offices; promoting healthier lifestyles; strengthening and modernizing Medicare and Medicaid; and expanding the use of medical diplomacy around the world. Secretary Thompson served as HHS Secretary from 2001 to 2005 and is one of the nation's leading advocates for the health and welfare of all Americans. Secretary Thompson has dedicated his professional life to public service and served as Governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2001. Secretary Thompson made state history when he was re-elected to office for a third term in 1994 and a fourth term in 1998.

Rev. Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J. - Vice Chairman

Kevin Wm. Wildes, S.J., is the sixteenth president of Loyola University New Orleans. Wildes entered the Society of Jesus in 1976 after graduating from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. He holds advanced degrees in theology and in philosophy. He received his Ph.D. from Rice University in 1993 and his professional work is in the field of bioethics. Wildes serves as associate editor to and on the editorial board of a number of ethics and medicine journals and book series, and he is a founding editor of the Journal of Christian Bioethics. Prior to joining Loyola University, Wildes was a member of the Department of Philosophy and a Senior Research Scholar in the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University where he also held a secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He is currently a member of the Department of Philosophy at Loyola and teaches undergraduate students each year. Wildes has delivered a number of invited lectures and papers and has written widely on bioethics and public policy. He authored Moral Acquaintances: Methodology in Bioethics published by the University of Notre Dame Press (2000), and is the editor or co-editor of four books. He has lectured at Tulane Medical School, LSU Medical School, and given grand rounds at Ochsner Clinic Foundation. Currently he is developing a new book on organizational ethics in health care. Wildes is a member of the boards of Loyola University Chicago and St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Active in the New Orleans community, he is a member of the New Orleans Business Council and serves on the national Board of Directors of Friends of New Orleans. He is the appointed chair of the Ethics Review Board for the City of New Orleans. Wildes recently served on the board of GNO, Inc., which spearheads economic development for the ten-parish Greater New Orleans region.