Announcing the Leadership Development Series Class for 2023

The Young Leadership Council (YLC) introduces the Fall 2023 Leadership Development Series (LDS) class sponsored by Laitram. After a month-long, competitive application period and detailed deliberation, YLC is happy to announce a diverse class of young professionals from different industries and backgrounds. 

Members of the class of 2023 include: 

Ashley Amoss – New Orleans Saints and Pelicans – Manager of Basketball Operations

Kayla Ayala – Gulf Coast Bank and Trust – Certified Relationship Banker

Danielle Blanco – Care Eleven – Director of People and Culture

Benjamin Bratcher – New Orleans & Company – Market Research Manager

Jeremy Davis – Self-Employed – Consultant

Whitney Dickerson – Living School – Director of Talent

Greg Doolittle – City of New Orleans; FEMA – Mass Care Coordinator; Disaster Community Assistance Supervisor 

Ricardo Fortune – Marriott International – Revenue Manager

Taylor Jackson – New Schools for New Orleans – Director of Communications

Victoria Helmers – Bourgeois Bennett – Staff Auditor

Jessica Holtzman – New Orleans & Company – Manager of Group Marketing & Attendance Building

Daniel Jackson – Intralox – Project Engineer

John Krzystowczyk – APTIM Energy Smart – Commercial Program Manager

Megan Marsalone – Gallo Mechanical – Preconstruction Engineer

Meredith McInturff – City of New Orleans – New Orleans Health Department – Public Health Emergencies Coordinator

Sonya Morris – Morris Books LLC – Writer/Author

Jarrett Orr – Team Gleason Foundation – Technology and Equipment Team Associate

Emma Pegues – Tealium – Sr. Manager, Enterprise Customer Success

Nancy Pesses – Self-employed – Veterinarian

Frank Rabito LaPorte – APAC – Senior Manager

William Wildman – Baker Donelson – Associate

Liz Waller – Accruent – Senior Renewals Manager

Natori Green – Broadmoor Improvement Association – Community Relations Manager

Gary Cavallo – Bourgeois Bennett – Senior Auditor

Hannah Kenyon – Tulane University School of Architecture- Architect/Visiting Assistant Professor

Lucille Oprea – New Orleans Museum of Art – Events Associate

Elsie Rayon – NOLA GOld Rugby – VP of Soccer Events

 

“The Leadership Development program helped build the groundwork for years of successful leadership for me. I continually find myself evaluating what impactful teams look like and how that process evolves. For over three decades, YLC has supported and guided the city’s next generation of leaders. Our alums have a marked impact on not only New Orleans, but across the country, as they move into prominent roles in politics, the public and private sectors, and continue their philanthropic passions,” said LDS Project Leader Leo Arnett. 

Fellows will be working in collaboration to build community-centered solutions with the guidance of established professionals across New Orleans. Through weekly workshops, skills assessment, and deep-dive conversations LDS participants will be able to grow their leadership skills from a collaborative and immersed program. 

This year LDS will be free to all participants due to sponsorship from Laitram. The cohort will begin in September 2023, from 6pm to 8pm from September 12th through November 14th.