2019-2020 GNOHA Fellows
Jaleesa joined the GNOHA Fellowship Team as Program Coordinator in Fall 2018. She currently coordinates for the Rental, Resiliency, and Short Term Rental Committees. She also assists with HousingNOLA initiatives such as: the ReEntry Housing Committee, Homelessness, and Lower Ninth Ward working groups.
Jaleesa grew up in Virginia Beach, VA. She attended Norfolk State University where she obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Mass Communications and Journalism. While working in youth development, she also volunteered for various community organizations where she discovered her passion for social justice. She believes that we owe it to the next generations to be community leaders and create lasting policies that promote equality for years to come, and that affordable housing is at the base of it all.
2017-2018 GNOHA Fellows
2016-2017 GNOHA Fellows
Cameron Boissiere joined the GNOHA Fellowship Team in early 2017 to support the work of the Louisiana Homebuyer Education Collaborative and Homeownership Committee. She also assists with the Non-profit Roundtable, Shared Solutions Initiative, HousingNOLA’s Insurance Task Force, and Lenders Roundtable.
2015-2016 GNOHA Fellows
Brianna Reddeman served as a Fellow from 2015-2016, and worked as the Program Coordinator for the Louisiana Homebuyer Education Collaborative. She also coordinated a Capacity Building initiative in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as homebuyer education trainings in partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). Brianna also managed the Insurance Task Force and Assessor Working Group for GNOHA. She is now the Volunteer Coordinator/Boutique Manager at Dress for Success New Orleans.
Adam was born in Austin, Texas, but grew up in rural Illinois. He received his baccalaureate degree from Illinois State University, and then his Masters’ degree from Loyola University in Chicago; both of which were in the field of History. He became involved in several academic and service organizations while in school, and after graduating began tutoring autistic students and English as a Second Language learners at the Christopher House in Chicago.
Kelsy Yeargain was part of the second cohort of GNOHA Fellows, and served as support for the Emergency Preparedness and the Outreach and Community Engagement Committees. Kelsy is now the Executive Director of the Tulane/ Canal Neighborhood Development Corporation (T/CNDC), an organization that provides affordable housing and community engagement in the Tulane Gravier Neighborhood. She is also an adjunct professor at Tulane University in the Sociology department.
Kelsy graduated from the American University of Cairo with a Masters in Refugee and Migration Studies along with a Graduate Diploma in Gendered Political Economy. Her B.A. degree is in Sociology with minors in Women’s Studies and Economics. For the past ten years, Kelsy has worked on issues of displacement and housing, from natural disasters to forced migrations to the continuing need for affordable housing. Kelsy is also part of the Evacuteer.org Leadership team. She has lived and worked in Montana, Budapest, India, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Cairo, Kentucky, and Haiti.
2014-2015 GNOHA Fellow
Alex Whatley served as a GNOHA's 1st Fellow after graduating from Tulane’s Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development Program. He is now an Assistant Project Manager with Providence Community Housing, working in Asset Management and Real Estate Development at Providence Community Housing in New Orleans.
During his time with GNOHA, he coordinated several initiatives including the start of HousingNOLA: The Ten Year Housing Plan for New Orleans; Own the Crescent, which promotes homeownership opportunities through the city’s network of non-profit housing providers; and helped introduce the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Energy Efficiency for All program to Louisiana, which targets new housing policies that will bring improved energy efficiency to affordable housing. Alex is also an active member of Urban Land Institute, NeighborWorks, and the Louisiana Association of Affordable Housing Providers (LAAHP).