WHO WE ARE

CHARMAINE BAKER-FOX

For almost 50 years Charmaine Baker-Fox has served as a community activist and deathcare advocate, connecting community members with affordable funerals, helping to arrange services, delivering eulogies, and helping families connect with public victim-assistance funds. With deep roots in New Orleans civic life, Charmaine has served on the board of several community organizations, including Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Israelites Baptist Church, and 16 years on the board, including eight as Chair of District B, for Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee. 

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AMELIA BIRD

Amelia Bird comes to Wake's work as a former Hospice volunteer, the daughter of an end of life home health care nurse and an artist who carved skulls out of cypress. She has a background in teaching, state parks, and print media, and her hand-made artist's books are collected in university libraries and private collections across the country. Amelia has spent the last decade contributing to New Orleans area nonprofits with design, writing, project management, communications strategy, and fundraising. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from the New College of Florida, and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing and graduate certificate in Book Arts & Technologies from the University of Iowa. 

 

CINDY BROWN

Cindy Brown is a New Orleans native who has worked in the land conservation and environmental fields for 25 years for such organizations as The Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, and as a private consultant in her own firm, Third Coast Conservation. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Land Trust for Louisiana. Areas of expertise include program development, project management and fundraising in the areas of ecological restoration, land protection, and conservation programs and policy. She earned a graduate degree at Duke University and a bachelor’s degree at the University of New Orleans.

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HECTOR CASSINI

Hector Cassini’s career in the hospitality industry spans 35 years, dedicated to financial management roles in various hotel organizations, including managing internal controls and developing and implementing budgets and forecasts. He currently serves as Business Manager for the New Orleans Film Society. Hector holds a Bachelor’s degrees in General Business Administration and Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration from the University of New Orleans.

 

AMY CONNOLLY

Amy Connolly is a mother, teacher, and scientist who hails from Seattle but has been living in New Orleans since 2003. Amy holds a BS in Biology from Santa Clara University and an MS in Biology from the University of Memphis. She has served in Cameroon as a Peace Corps Volunteer where she completed an assignment in Agroforestry and conducted agricultural and forestry interventions.  She studied community ecology at the University of Memphis and conducted her thesis on milpa (small farm) recovery and fertility as a function of distance from old growth tropical forestry stands. Amy is certified in K-12 science education and has taught biology, physical science and math at the high school level. She has also worked as a Peace Corps Recruiter, a Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL), Intergovernmental Affairs Liaison, and Intergovernmental and Congressional Affairs Supervisor for FEMA, and most recently as Site Coordinator for Catholic Charities’ ESL program. In 2004 Amy co-founded a non-profit called Baobab Leadership Initiative which brought New Orleans high school students on overseas service-learning projects and developed leadership skills.  She is a founding member of New Orleans Red Beans and Rice Parade and Social Aid Club and enjoys participating in neighborhood improvement projects and political advocacy events. 

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GLENN OWINGS

Glenn Owings serves as a volunteer for nonprofits in the greater New Orleans area, helping to build the capacity of institutions in the arts, education and health & human services sectors, including New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Lazarus House, Roots of Music, Threadhead Cultural Foundation and 826 New Orleans. She has previously served on the board of Christ Episcopal School and the Magnolia Gardens Civic Association. Glenn holds a Bachelor’s in General Studies from Birmingham-Southern College and a Master’s in Political Science from Tulane University. She has worked as an adjunct professor of Political Science at Lonestar College and as a tutor for middle school and high school children.

 

NEIL RANU

Neil Ranu has counseled business owners, companies, community groups, and nonprofits in all aspects of their operations as an attorney at law firms and public interest organizations in Louisiana and California. He received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2010, he moved from California to attend the graduate Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans. He currently practices law at a boutique law firm in New Orleans.

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EZRA SALTER

Ezra Salter is a licensed embalmer and funeral director in New Orleans whose professional focus is on bringing green funeral options to the state of Louisiana, as well as facilitating community access to respectful deathcare and end-of-life planning. Ezra is a member of the New Orleans Mayor’s COVID-19 Deathcare Taskforce and has collaborated with The Order of the Good Death on end-of-life planning resources for the LGBTQ+ community. They are active in local deathcare outreach and are a strong advocate for the protection and revitalization of New Orleans’ historic cemeteries. Ezra's background is in theatrical costuming and they hold a Bachelor’s degree in apparel design from Louisiana State University and an associate degree in funeral service from Delgado Community College.

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CORY SPARKS

Cory Sparks is Major Gifts Officer at Dillard University. In his career he has worked as pastor of churches and as a fundraising and organizational development consultant for more than 325 nonprofit organizations. Originally from Fort Smith, Arkansas, Cory has served churches in New Orleans and suburban Lafayette. Cory often speaks to groups about ways to promote a more just and caring society. He is Secretary of community organizing group Together New Orleans and Past President of the New Orleans Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He’s also on the advisory team for the Community Developers Program of The United Methodist Church’s General Board of Global Ministries. Rev. Dr. Sparks holds an A.B. from Columbia University, an M.Div. from Southern Methodist University, and a Doctorate in American History from Louisiana State University.

LIZ DUNNEBACKE

Liz Dunnebacke’s professional career began over 25 years ago in the entertainment industry in her native California, where her experience ranged from property development for Comedy Central to free-lance work on PBS documentaries. Since moving to New Orleans in 2004 Liz’s work has toggled between television production and nonprofit administration, occasionally blending the two. As the Executive Director of New Orleans Video Access Center, Liz saw the quintupling of the organization’s operating budget and built workforce development programs that put New Orleanians back to work in the burgeoning film industry in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Returning to free-lance television production, she continued to serve on the board of several New Orleans-based nonprofit organizations, including founding a Louisiana chapter of Women in Film & Television, and helping the New Orleans Film Society to restructure and grow. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Green Burial Council, International. Since 2013, Liz has followed the growth (return) of the green burial and home-funeral movements with passion, and is committed to providing resources to the community for sustainable end-of-life care. Liz holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Brown University.