In a city full of gifted, hardworking, smart women, it says a lot that these women stand out from the crowd. Although they have very different missions, the common thread shared by these top achievers is doing the work, building consensus and believing in themselves along the way. Overnight success? That’s not a thing. It’s getting up every day and making it happen. Whether they are a force for environmental change, are passionate about social justice, provide education and career opportunities for young New Orleanians or lead the community as an entrepreneur with plenty of pluck, each of these women inspire.
Lila Palmer
General Director
New Orleans Opera Association
While widely recognized as the birthplace of jazz, New Orleans was also the first city in America to embrace another musical art form: opera. The first city in the United States to support an opera company, operas have been held regularly since 1796, when New Orleans was still under Spanish rule.
That rich history drew Lila Palmer, a producer and librettist (a person who creates the scripts for operas) to New Orleans. Her critically acclaimed work continues to appear throughout the U.S. and Europe (she grew up in Yorkshire).
In her first year on the job with New Orleans Opera Association, Palmer’s strength in forming partnerships and connections to bring opera into new spaces for new audiences has already been demonstrated.
Palmer has brokered local partnerships with The Southern Food and Beverage Museum, Museum of Southern Catholic Life, local universities and Jefferson Parish Libraries. She has also doubled the number of the association’s productions.
“When I started, we were doing two operas and a concert,” she said. “We are now up to four operas and next year there will be six.”
The biggest news is that New Orleans Opera will host its first-ever festival in 2026, marking the 230th anniversary of the arrival of opera in the city.
“It will be a 10-day love letter to New Orleans,” explained Palmer. “We’ve purposefully partnered with and will be overlapping the Tennessee Williams festival.”
The festival will include eight performances, as well as smaller conferences and lectures all within the French Quarter.
“We’re partnering with the Old Ursuline Convent Museum and we’ll have things going on both inside St. Mary’s and inside the walled courtyard there.”
Determined to break opera “out of its box” both literally and figuratively, Palmer is bringing the first opera performance to the Civic Theater, creating unique events like a Cajun Cowboy Fais Do-Do that pairs opera with a performance by local fiddler and vocalist Amanda Shaw, and brought local opera and vocal students together with principals for master classes.
“We want to be accessible,” she said. “To pop up around the city and approach performing in a new way that is in dialog with the city.”
The goal, of course, is to expose opera to new generations.
“The general standard of artistic discernment here is wildly high,” she said. “You can’t fake it here. People here care about beauty, craft and excellence. So our job is to make sure the maximum amount of people have access to what we’re doing and let them decide.” – KS
Anne Collins Smith
Chief Curator
New Orleans Museum of Art
A native of Gentilly, Anne Collins Smith is quick to give credit for sparking her love in art history to the teacher she had for advanced placement history at Benjamin Franklin High School.
“Michele Belman was such a great teacher,” she said. “She taught us to look at not only the art but at the context in which it was created.”
Smith said one of the earliest pieces that drew her in was the famous 1884 painting by Georges Seurat called “A Sunday on La Grand Jatte.”
“The painting depicts people of all different social classes hanging out at a big park by the water,” explained Smith. “It reminded me so much of City Park and reminded me of the times my mother and I would spend every Saturday there. That painting pulled me in, and I just kept taking art history classes.”
Smith’s career led her to positions including curator of collections at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, Andrew W. Mellon curatorial fellow at the Davis Museum and Cultural Center at Wellesley College and Romare Bearden fellow at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Most recently she served for two years as director of the Xavier University of Louisiana Art Gallery.
On Sept. 9, 2024, she stepped into her dream job as the chief curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art, located within the park that she loves so much.
“My goals are to ensure that our content, our exhibitions, collections and programming are relevant to as wide of an audience as possible and resonate with as wide an audience as possible,” she said.
Smith is excited for the museum’s newest exhibition, New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations, which debuted in April.
“New Orleans has its own masquerade arts of course,” she said, “but this looks at the way these arts are celebrated especially in West Africa. It’s an opportunity for us to look in the mirror and see each other.”
She will also serve as the institutional curator for upcoming retrospectives by artists Hayward Oubre and Willie Birch. Oubre is a modernist painter, sculptor and printmaker educated at Dillard University known for his wire hanger sculptures, and Birch is known for his drawing, painting and papier mache sculpture.
“A lot of his work is rooted in and depicts community,” said Smith. “Especially Uptown New Orleans.”
Smith said her biggest hope for those who visit NOMA is simple.
“I want them to see something which they can relate to and enjoy, and know that they belong in the museum.” – KS
Susannah Burley
Founder and Executive Director
SOUL (Sustaining Our Urban Landscape)
Many things came out of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — loss, despair… and even hope. The city, and its people, did what it does best in the face of tragedy — rebuild and try to make home a better place to live for everyone.
After Katrina, Susannah Burley gained her degree in landscape architecture at Louisiana State University and, following her education, worked at Parkway Partners. During that time, Burley notes that although the messaging around post-hurricane tree loss was consistent, she noticed there was no plan being put in place to help rectify the situation in the private sector. This lack of momentum made Burley want to take action.
“I was fortunate enough to meet Andreas Merkl, who was then the CEO of the Ocean Conservancy, and living here part-time because of the BP Oil Spill,” Burley said. “He mentored me in founding SOUL and taught me how to think about environmental issues using a different mindset.”
SOUL’s (Sustaining Our Urban Landscape) main focus is to reforest New Orleans; and this does not mean planting trees here and there throughout the city. Burley and her team are working towards bringing the “wealth and health” brought by trees to communities all over the city at a larger scale with what she said needs a meaningful strategy.
“Today, we are planting entire neighborhoods at a time,” she said. “We use this approach in low-income communities that continue to be under-resourced by the city. So we’re filling that gap. Once a neighborhood is canopied and the trees have matured a little, they will lower air temperatures and energy bills, mitigate air pollution, and decrease flooding, while of course bestowing the beauty and the solace that only trees can provide.”
The work that Burley and SOUL are doing not only aids in the health of our low-income communities, but also in turn will benefit the city as a whole, with Burley noting that the lack of tree canopy is both an environmental issue,and a health issue.
Like many of those trying to create change within our community, one of the biggest challenges Burley and her team face now is that of the lack of federal funding.
“A $1 million grant we had already begun executing — one that had full Congressional approval and a signed contract — was abruptly terminated by the new administration,” Burley said. “Another grant was frozen for a while, and we’ve been waiting for months for three federal reimbursements. This funding bottleneck has brought us dangerously close to shutting our doors.”
The organization that gives back to the community now relies on said community to help SOUL and others like it to continue their work. “Your support could be the difference between stalling out and scaling up.” – KM
Takeisha Charles Davis, MD, MPH
President and CEO
New Orleans East Hospital
While in high school, Takeisha Davis experienced an horrific event that would end up inspiring her life’s work.
“In my senior year I was stabbed three times,” she said. “I had to have lifesaving treatment at Charity Hospital. In addition to that stress on my family, however, there was a huge financial burden placed on them for me receiving that care. That really opened my eyes to a huge problem in this country.”
Committed to being part of the solution, Davis cut her teeth in public health at Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, where she served as the director of the Center for Community and Preventive Health, presiding over the state’s public health clinics through challenges like Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill and H1N1.
“After Katrina, we had the opportunity to reenvision the way we provide care, bringing healthcare back to neighborhoods,” she said.
That work continued when she became the CEO of New Orleans East Hospital in 2016. At the time, the hospital had only been open for a little over a year after being forced to close after Katrina for nine years.
“We had to reintroduce ourselves to the community,” she said. “When I started, we were only using three of the six floors, and we didn’t have our own physicians’ group or any primary care clinics.”
Davis is proud to report the hospital is now not only using all six floors, but it has also opened new units, including primary care and specialty care clinics, including an award-winning center of excellence for diabetes and an accredited primary stroke center. ¶ Davis said she is also working to bring behavioral health services back to New Orleans East this year.
“Prior to Katrina, we had three centers in the area that provided care. Those did not come back,” she said. “Since we opened again, mental health issues have been the No. 1 reason patients come to our ER and we have had to transfer them out of the area.”
She is also proud of the work the hospital has done beyond its walls.
“After COVID, we partnered with the Ashe Cultural Arts Center of a program called ‘I Deserve It’ where we train culture bearers as community health workers,” she said. “This does two things: it takes people who are very trusted in the community, sometimes even more than doctors, and empowers them to provide education to the community and connect people to resources to help tackle the 25-year health gap between our Black and white residents. For the culture bearers, the program also provides them with a living wage-paying job and some economic stability so that they can continue to share their talents with all of us. I just came back from Washington D.C. where I learned we are starting to get national recognition for this program.” – KS
Kaitlin Guerin
Owner and Executive Pastry Chef
Lagniappe Bakehouse
Kaitlin Guerin, owner and executive pastry chef at Lagniappe Bakehouse, originally began her career in professional dance. However, she always had an interest in food, and the desire for a unique creative outlet led her to pastry. She began working as a pastry chef eight years ago, and she started Lagniappe Bakehouse as a popup in May 2020 followed by a brick-and-mortar location in September 2024. A local success story, Guerin was named a finalist in the Emerging Chef category for the 2025 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards.
“Dance discipline falls akin to kitchen and industry demeanor, so I fell right into the part,” she said. “[I love] the creative freedom — getting to play with unique flavors and unexpected combinations. But even more than that, it’s the joy of watching people light up when they taste something they love and want to share.”
Finding inspiration in seasonal ingredients, podcasts, books and conversation, Guerin usually has about 10 to 14 items on the menu at one time. While some items rotate every couple of weeks (depending on what’s in season), the entire menu is always rooted in Southern culture with additional influences from West and Central Africa. “It’s a reflection of who we are — using pastry to explore history, identity and flavor in a way that feels both familiar and new,” she said.
Currently, Guerin focuses on viennoiserie, pastries and coffee. Some of the most popular menu items include The Grains of Paradise Bun, the Vaucroissant, Pain au Chocolat, the Africano Latte and specialty sandwiches. She just introduced a new croissant called the Alligator Claw, and, this summer, she will bring back her staple cornmeal muffin with local honey butter and fresh corn.
While Guerin is proud to have been named a James Beard Best Emerging Chef finalist 2025, she said that she didn’t get here alone. “This honor is a reflection of the people around me — my incredible staff, mentors and the Lagniappe community who show up every day,” she said. “Their dedication and belief in what we’re building made this possible. As a Black woman in this industry, moments like this don’t come around often. It’s not just about me — it’s about what it represents. Recognition like this helps open doors and shine a light on the value of different perspectives in hospitality.”
Looking forward, Guerin plans to add more staple items after celebrating Lagniappe Bakehouse’s one-year anniversary in September. “We’re excited to keep growing — adding new things to the menu, staying true to our commitment to great hospitality and showing up for our Central City community,” she said. “Everything we do is about building something that feels good and real, both for us and for the people who come through our doors.” – MM
Amanda Toups
Toups Family Meal
The COVID-19 pandemic devastated so many people in so many ways and shined a spotlight on the city’s ongoing fight with food insecurity.And yet when New Orleans and its people are faced with tragedy, we are united. We get to work.
No one exhibits that spirit more than Amanda Toups, who sprang into action with the creation of nonprofit Toups Family Meal.
Amanda and husband/business partner chef Isaac Toups brought back the nonprofit post-COVID after Governor Jeff Landry said in early 2024 that the state would not be participating in the federal program that helped families with groceries over the summer months. As a mother, and someone who sees the vastness of our food insecure neighbors, a spark reignited with zero intentions of slowing down.
This former aspiring artist met her food-obsessed husband at a young age and, for many years, she kept their lives going as his star rose. But now, Toups has taken center stage with their nonprofit. She, along with Chef Shalika Sprowal and head of logistics Molly McGuire Cooke, are responsible for bringing tens of thousands of meals to the children of New Orleans and their families since summer 2024. Though times have been tough, and certain areas of life have been sacrificed in some capacity, the passion of the female-lead team to alleviate a little stress for the women and families of New Orleans is gratifying.
“When I get a mom reaching out and going, ‘Look, thank you at Christmas time for making me not have to choose between a small toy and a Christmas dinner,’ I think it’s all worth it, every bit of it. All of it,” she said.
As more federal funding is cut to food banks and public schools buying from their local farmer’s markets, as well as with local grants and money the team was banking on to keep things afloat, it continues to be an uphill battle for Toups and her team. But, as she’s said, it’s all about the people.
“This is my dream,” Toups said. “Now I get a chance to take something that I really – I get emotional thinking about it – really care about. The food insecurity and children are so important to me.” – KM
Alejandra Guzman
Chief Business Development Officer
LSU Health Foundation
Growing up in Mexico, Alejandra Guzman began her career with a focus on supporting community growth. Early on she realized that to make a meaningful impact, she needed to deepen her business knowledge. “While working at CEMEX, a global construction company, I became passionate about promoting social responsibility programs within the firm,” she said. “This passion led me to pursue an MBA at Tulane University. It was during my time at Tulane that I met my husband, a proud New Orleanian. I’ve now called New Orleans home for over a decade, and it has truly become a part of who I am.”
Guzman now serves as the chief business development officer at the LSU Health Foundation New Orleans. In her role, she develops, executes and manages business ventures that promote the advancement of the LSU Health Science Center community by securing unrestricted income and providing valuable infrastructure. “I also have the responsibility, and, most importantly, the accountability of leading the success of critical public/private partnerships,” she said.
LSU Health Foundation produces healthcare professionals, conducts groundbreaking research and leads initiatives that transform the well-being of people in the city, state and region.
One of Guzman’s most significant projects was bringing together city officials, private sector leaders, academic institutions and local communities to transform the urban district of Valle del Campestre District in Monterrey, Mexico, into a thriving, sustainable environment.
More recently, she has contributed to the LSU Health Foundation Mission-Related Investments. A project exemplifying how strategic investments can drive local economic growth and innovation — and supported by a federal grant administered by Louisiana Economic Development — this initiative enables the Foundation to invest in Louisiana-based companies, particularly in the health, biotech and life sciences sectors.
Meanwhile, Guzman also is a proud member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana. “I’ve had the opportunity to mentor emerging professionals, share insights from my own experiences and advocate for programs that empower Hispanic businesses to thrive,” she said.
Guzman also served as a director for the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans for six years until late 2024. “One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is our work on the utilities power complex, which was a significant step toward ensuring the reliability and sustainability of the city’s drainage systems, particularly during severe weather events,” she said.
Recently voted in as the Chapter Chair for the Urban Land Institute of Louisiana, Guzman will focus on creating a platform for meaningful programming and networking for the state’s real estate and development community. “One of our standout programs is the REDI initiative, which nurtures emerging real estate talent through mentorship, education and hands-on experiences,” she said. – MM
Queen Tahj Williams
Artist and Entrepreneur
Though 2025 isn’t even halfway over, New Orleans already basked in the glory of playing host its 11th National Football League Super Bowl and 2025 is still young by all accounts.
Though still young herself, Tahj Williams – better known as Queen Tahj – stood at the forefront of the city’s celebration as a culture bearer in her own right. Williams is the first artist asked to partner with the NFL to design the Super Bowl logo and theme art. She took this moment and the opportunity to showcase the centuries-old, deeply rooted Black masking tradition, one of which she is heavily involved in. As the Big Queen of the Young Eagles Mardi Gras Indian Tribe, she used traditional beadwork to create the vibrant designs used not only in displays all around the city and beyond, but also throughout ticketing, programs, commercials and more. (It was even featured in the light show displayed across the St. Louis Cathedral.)
“I think it’s super important to note that I am the first person outside of the NFL’s creative team to design the Super Bowl logo and theme art, and I just so happen to not only be a woman but a Black woman,” said Williams. “It’s important to acknowledge that because it’s another barrier that has been cleared for the next generation of artists.”
Queen Tahj has been a part of the culture and traditions of the Mardi Gras Indians since childhood. Known for her stunning suit designs, Williams masked all throughout high school, college and into her young-adult life. When it comes to the passion she displays in her beadwork Williams said, “My interest in pushing myself to become a designer when speaking of the artistry honestly came from how small in stature I always have been. So I would say my inspiration truly comes from within.”
Though Queen Tahj is known worldwide for her artwork, the young queen shares multiple passions including being a woman in STEM with a job in technology at Microsoft and a lover of old school cars — with Corvettes, Camaros and fourth-generation Trans Ams being some of her favorites.
Queen Tahj is a true Renaissance woman and an inspiration for the next generation. – KM
Michelle Clarke Payne
Chief Strategy Officer
United Way SELA
Originally from Lafayette, Michelle Clarke Payne frequently visited her grandparents in the French Quarter, and she later attended Loyola University New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina hit the city during her senior year of college, she decided to stay and help the city rebuild. Today, she serves as the chief strategy officer for United Way of Southeast Louisiana. In this role, she leads the marketing and resource development teams, collaborating across departments to drive strategic growth, execute key initiatives and strengthen donor relationships across the seven-parish region.
Payne is now leading the strategic planning process for United Way SELA, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. “We are currently developing our plans for the next 100 [years], but our mission is the same,” she said. “Our goal is and will continue to be to help families throughout Southeast Louisiana.”
In times of crisis, Payne leads efforts to help the community recover. “Disaster work is the hardest and most rewarding part of my job,” she said. “I show up when people are in their most vulnerable state and provide them with something that will hopefully help them. When someone has lost everything or even in the case of the January 1 attack [on Bourbon Street] — a loved one — the ability to mobilize a community to give hope to someone is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.”
Payne also volunteers as president-elect of the Junior League of New Orleans. “The JLNO Diaper Bank is the largest diaper bank in the Gulf South, and we recently reached a major milestone: 10 million diapers distributed,” she said. “This is just one of the ways in which the league continues to drive meaningful change in our community.”
If all of this isn’t enough, Payne also serves as an adjunct professor in marketing at Tulane University. “My hope is that I’m not only educating [students] on specific concepts, but providing them with relevant expertise, critical thinking techniques and life skills,” she said. “Teaching is one way I am able to pay it forward, and hopefully provide support and guidance to the next generation.”
In her free time, Payne enjoys spending time with her two children. “At home, I have a very supportive husband who allows me to show up and volunteer as I do,” she said. “At work, I have an amazing boss and team that help me do it all. I am humbled by this honor, but I don’t want to take all of the credit. I don’t do this alone, and this recognition is a reflection of the incredible family, friends and support I have in my life.” – MM
