Executive director, Sankofa Community Development Corporation, Lower Ninth Ward After Rashida Ferdinand earned her master’s degree in ceramics, she considered moving to New York for its energy and professional opportunities. “But I wanted to also be in a warm environment, physically and culturally,” she says. “Being around blue, purple, yellow houses. Being around my family. My grandmother was getting older. So it was a no-brainer.” …| A Peace of My Mind
Restoration programs senior manager, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Darrah Fox Bach cultivated her love for the outdoors in her native San Francisco, where environmentalism flourishes and Saturdays were devoted to hiking. She moved to Louisiana to study at Tulane University, and stayed for an AmeriCorps position with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL). When a job opened up at the non-profit advocacy group, …| A Peace of My Mind
Rosina Philippe, an elder from the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe, resides in Grand Bayou Indian Village, an Indigenous community facing environmental challenges. As traditional food sources diminish and storms increase, she emphasizes the importance of policy inclusion for community input and inspires others to advocate for their heritage and future.| A Peace of My Mind
Coastal scientist, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium During the Covid-19 lockdown, while others baked sourdough bread, Alex Kolker was studying satellite images of the Mississippi River Delta. As an oceanographer, geologist, and climate scientist, he is interested in how the Louisiana coastline loses land, and also how it builds that land back. As he examined the images, Alex noticed a channel connecting the Mississippi River to …| A Peace of My Mind
Professor of plant genetics, Louisiana State University Prasanta Subudhi grew up near India’s Bay of Bengal, in a village surrounded by rice fields. From a young age, the crop fascinated him. He considered careers in medicine and engineering, but rejected them both in favor of rice genetics. Prasanta came to the United States to do research at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. In 2001 he …| A Peace of My Mind
Kristian Bailey is a farmer, and he also considers himself a land steward and teacher. At Orais Hand Farm, located across the road from the Mississippi River, he is trying to move away from the ide…| A Peace of My Mind
Discover the story of Chief Devon Parfait as he navigates his tribe's challenges and fights for a hopeful future.| A Peace of My Mind
Ebony Woodruff, an agricultural attorney from Chalmette, Louisiana, uses her legal expertise to combat Black land loss, a legacy of discrimination and heirs’ property issues. Inspired by her …| A Peace of My Mind
