Call for Volunteers!

New Orleans needs you!

Camille Terk (Tulane MBA 05) is working with the Committee for Economic recovery in New Orleans and has contacted me to help build a team of Freeman MBAs and Freeman Alumni that are dedicated to the rebuilding of New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana.

In her own words this is who we need for this great opportunity:


Specifically, right now, I have already had requests for MBAs who are willing to:
1) evaluate other city government structures and come up with a best practices list of recommendations. Basically, who is doing what and how can we learn from other cities.
2) help generate out of the box ideas for new industry possibilities for New Orleans.
3) help generate and support the development of a biotech industry in NOLA.

And much more. These are just a few examples of work that committee members need help with currently. I think, who better than Tulane alums!?

So… I need your help. Can you help me to organize this- like yesterday?

So if you are interested please email me or call me as I am putting together a spreadsheet of interested people and what and how they would like to help. To email me use the link on the right.

I also received a call from Shannon Jones. She is working with President Cowen and the Committee for Education as part of the recovery process. She asked that we build a team of Freeman MBAs that are concentrating in marketing to design a plan to delivery the new message and brainstorm on ideas to create a new image for the new system in New Orleans. Another great opportunity! They are currently looking for currently enrolled MBAs, so if you are a first or second year MBA concentrating in Marketing and wants to help rebuild New Orleans, please let me know!

New Pictures

I finally resized the latest pictures from my last trip to New Orleans (linked through the title and on the left). In these pictures you will see the breech of the 17th Street canal and that area of Lakeview. It is devastated and the pictures really do not capture how bad it is there. Also, in these pictures are some pictures of my aunts’ house in Lakeview. I took pictures of the inside and outside. I need to thank a very good friend of mine, Ryan Harper for helping me removed debris from the yard and making the inside more passable for my mom and me this weekend to salvage what we can from the house.

In one of my last post I spoke of how bad the condition of the city was and my doubts of how the city could support the numbers of people that will descend in January. Well my outlook is a little brighter now after spending more time in the city. This was the first time I saw true signs of recovery. Many restaurants are now open in the city, nowhere near pre-Katrina days, but still very encouraging. I had dinner at Kyoto the Saturday night I was in town and we even talked about how things looked almost normal, with the exception of uniformed National Guardsmen having ice cream at the Creole Creamery. (which was by the way one of the first places open in my neighborhood!) I believe my earlier comments were a bit skewed by the shock of seeing the destruction in the city. As you return for the first time you will understand. The first time or two in, the city leaves you in shock. Many of the things you will see just will not make sense.

So we are nearing the time many of us will begin to move back and start rebuilding our lives in New Orleans and will be able to watch and participate in the rebuilding of the great city of New Orleans!

Good News and Links

Well I finally broke down and called the Call Center in Houston today to ask about books that we purchased before the storm. I was told the Barnes & Noble (the campus bookstore) will be accepting returns for refunds once campus reopens.

I have also posted some new links in the links section, the most important being the Course Schedule for he Spring. The one posted is dated October 13th so it may not be the most up to date version, but hopefully pretty close to it. Hopefully they won't cut anymore classes.