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Past Fellows

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.

Jaleesa currently lives in Uptown New Orleans and enjoys singing, writing and art of all kinds. In her spare time, she loves exploring all of the different restaurants in NOLA and serving as co-captain of her newly inaugurated parade krewe—Women of Wakanda!
Sydney Shivers joined the GNOHA Fellowship Team in Fall 2018 to support the work of the Louisiana Homebuyer Education Collaborative and the Homeownership Committee.  She also assists with the Non-profit Rebuilders Roundtable, the Assessor’s Working Group, the Opportunity Youth Task Force, and the People Living with HIV Aids and LGBTQ+ Data Working Groups.
Sydney grew up in Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in American Government and a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning. Sydney has lived in New Orleans for over three years, working in education and community development. Before coming to GNOHA, Sydney was a fellow at the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, and she served as a ServeLouisiana Corps Member with the Tulane Canal Neighborhood Development Corporation, where she now serves as a board member. In addition to her work in affordable housing advocacy and planning, Sydney enjoys pedicabbing in the French Quarter, teaching yoga at Wild Lotus and observing life on the Bayou. She is very grateful to be a part of the movement to ‘Put Housing First’ alongside other housing advocates and the New Orleans community.

2017-2018 GNOHA Fellows

Trayshawn Webb joined the GNOA Fellowship Team as Program Coordinator in Fall 2017. He coordinates for the Public Policy, Rental, and Emergency Preparedness Committees. He also assists HousingNOLA Initiatives, such as the Healthy Homes Initiative and Housing for People with Disabilities. His dedication to affordable housing policy and advocacy work during his fellowship at GNOHA landed him his current role as HousingNOLA's Program Manager.
Trayshawn was born and raised in New Orleans Uptown area. He later attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and received his Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. While in college, he learned that he wanted to do and be more in his hometown. He has worked to increase his knowledge of politics, farming, the history of social justice, and leadership. He aims to be a positive impact in his hometown, but he doesn’t let that prevent him from enjoying himself. When he has free time, he likes to bike, read, and just have an overall good time. He continues to casually educate himself in preparation for his future.

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.

Cameron was born in New Orleans, Louisiana but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She attended New York University before transferring to the University of New Orleans, where she completed her B.S. in Urban Planning and Urban Studies. During that time, Cameron began research on the effects of social isolation and its influence on Urban Design, and hopes to obtain a Masters of Landscape Architecture. In 2016, she participated in an internship program with HousingNOLA. She is excited about joining the GNOHA team and continuing her journey of advocacy in New Orleans.
Tessa Hartley joined the GNOHA Fellowship Team as the Program Coordinator of the Outreach & Advocacy, Rental, and Emergency Preparedness Committees. She also serves as support for HousingNOLA's Healthy Homes Initiative and Assessor’s Working Group.
Tessa grew up in Portland, Maine and graduated from New York University’s Gallatin School in 2013, with a degree in Cultural Geography. She has worked in various fields relating to architecture and the built environment, including architectural photography, landscape architecture, and zoning law. During college, she spent a summer in New Orleans taking a course on the city’s geography and interning at the Preservation Resource Center, and fell hard for the city, ultimately making the big move south. She is captivated by her new southern landscape, and spends much of her free time wandering through the bayous and learning the Louisiana vernacular.
Jasmine Brooks was part of the third cohort of  GNOHA Fellows in 2016-2017. While at GNOHA she served as the Program Coordinator of the Louisiana Homebuyer Education Collaborative and Homeownership Committee, which included the Non-profit Roundtable and Shared Solutions Initiative. She also served as support for HousingNOLA's Insurance Task Force and Lenders Roundtable. Jasmine is now residing in San Jose, California where she serves as Personal Care Coordinator for the Santa Clara Family Health Plan.
Jasmine was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She received her Masters’ degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School (LSUHSC) of Public Health in Behavioral and Community Health, and her B.S. from Xavier University of Louisiana in Biology. During her study at LSUHSC, Jasmine studied the effects of hunger and food insecurity on childhood development, which served as the topic of her graduate thesis. She enjoys spending time with her family and all things NOLA!

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.

Brianna grew up in Alpharetta, Georgia and graduated from Tulane University with degrees in International Development and French. She spent much of her undergraduate career studying and working abroad, at universities in Toulouse and Aix-en-Provence, France, and at an English immersion school in Shenzhen, China. Back in New Orleans, Brianna interned and volunteered for several non-profit organizations. Upon graduation she was selected to join the inaugural cohort of fellows in the Tulane AmeriCorps VISTA Fellowship program through the Tulane Center for Public Service. During her year of service, Brianna worked at the Broadmoor Improvement Association.
Ross Hunter was part of the second cohort of GNOHA Fellows in 2015-2016, coordinating the Public Policy and Rental Committees. While at GNOHA, he worked on initiatives around inclusionary housing policy, funding streams for affordable housing, habitable living conditions, energy efficiency, rental registries, affordable housing impact statements, and short-term rentals. Ross currently works in the Office of Mayor Mitch Landrieu as the Neighborhood Liaison for Council District A. He is a happy resident of Mid-City.
Ross was born and raised in Columbus, Georgia and graduated from Tulane University in May of 2015 with degrees in Political Science and Philosophy. Prior to his time at GNOHA, he worked at the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center as both a Public Policy Intern and Intake Coordinator.
Adam Jones served as a GNOHA fellow from 2015-2016. During his time with GNOHA, he worked with Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative organizing workshops for homebuyers and homeowners in Central City, and assisted with the launch of HousingNOLA: The Ten Year Housing Plan for New Orleans. Adam also served as support for GNOHA’s Homeownership Committee, Own the Crescent, and the Third Line Initiative. Moreover, he aided a larger Workforce Housing Task Force seeking sustainable housing for New Orleans’ workers. Adam was also involved with the Louisiana Homebuyer Education Collaborative, and discussions around expanding homebuyer education outside of Orleans Parish. Adam is now a performing artist with a traveling circus.

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).