Sessions

Since its inception, the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA) has employed best practices in economic development, positioning NOLABA as the perfect intersection of commerce and culture through an inclusive economic development strategy. Today, the organization continues its legacy as they work in collaboration with Oschner Health System, Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) and the City of New Orleans, to reshape the city through thoughtful economic development in order to create a more just and equitable place for all residents. Join NOLABA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, Ashleigh Gardere, in discussion with Missy Hopson Sparks from the Ochsner Leadership Institute, Ellen Lee with the City of New Orleans and Carmen James Randolph with GNOF as they address topics such as: economic barriers that affect employee retention, diversifying an organization’s leaders to better reflect the population being served and exploring what a city-wide strategy, that employs collaboration and engagement to foster inclusivity and bring about real impact, looks like.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to develop an integrated workforce and economic development strategy that builds equity.
• Learn a framework for building public-private-philanthropic partnership to address equity issues.
• Learn how to gain stakeholder support by using metrics to build credibility for equity initiatives.