David Baker studied botany under Dr. Bill Platt at LSU and went on to study the impacts of Hurricane Andrew on Everglades National Park and LSU’s Ben Hur Woods, a bottomland hardwood forest.  While working in the Everglades, Baker learned the trade of prescribed burning.  Following his time at LSU he worked at the Louisiana Nature Conservancy as the Louisiana State Land Steward, managing and burning 16 nature preserves in Louisiana. In 2004 Baker began removing Chinese Privet at A Studio in the Woods and has worked there ever since as the program's Environmental Curator. While working at A Studio in the Woods Baker has installed thirty-two ten-meter by ten-meter plots for the long term study of changes in the ecosystem during the restoration process.

Lauren Barron is a multidisciplinary artist and community organizer in New Orleans. Her community work started as the program director of 24 Carrot gardens, now known as Material Institute, where she still collaborates as an artist for their musical and sustainable fashion showcases. Also known as “Shivers” in the art community, she’s a go to artist collaborator in town. Collaborating on projects such as New Water Music presented by New Orleans Airlift and installations for cultural and community events with MusicBox Village. Her never-ending curiosity for exploring the waterways and landscapes of south Louisiana started as a toddler when her dad took her out on the bayou where they saw a raccoon family in a cypress tree. Inheriting the DIY trait from her scrappy Pawpaw, she has a knack for using whatever materials are handy, exercising a creative inventive approach to her work. She is excited to curate a space that values the creation of art and environmental research. Her ethos is that art and knowledge really are powerful in cultivating culture, joy, community, and environmental justice.

Gabbi, the Studio's Outreach & Marketing Coordinator, is a born and bred New Orleanian leveraging 10+ years of corporate marketing, advertising, event and media planning experience across verticals including non-profits, hospitality, higher education, healthcare and the arts. A Presidential Honors and Milly & George Denegre Award in Dance recipient from NOCCA, Gabbi studied dance for over 25 years training with artists from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Complexions Contemporary Dance Company and Washington Ballet. She's performed and taught across the country with the Smithsonian Museum of African Art, Marigny Opera House, Young Audiences of Louisiana and a host of other companies, organizations and institutes.

Cammie Hill-Prewitt is an Alabama native who originally moved to New Orleans to pursue a Master’s degree in Art History at Tulane. Passionate about the arts, she has worked in non- profits for more than twenty years. She started working at A Studio in the Woods in 2007 and enjoys finding new ways to bring the arts to the Greater New Orleans community and to students of all ages. Part of Cammie's job is to help source the materials, sites and individuals that artists need to create risk-taking new works during their residencies. In addition to facilitating programmatic activities such as Kids in the Woods summer camp and the annual FORESTival fundraiser, she acts as a grantwriter, bookkeeper and database manager for the organization.

Ama Rogan is the Managing Director of A Studio in the Woods. She is a native New Orleanian who earned a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1988 and had a professional art practice until 2000, working in a variety of media including printmaking, ceramics and mixed media. In 2001 she joined the fledgling Board of Friends of A Studio in the Woods and founded the Program committee that oversaw the development of the Studio’s signature residency program. In 2004 she became Managing Director and recognized the opportunity to focus residencies on pressing environmental themes. She spearheaded the transition of the program to the internationally recognized leader in ecological residencies that it is today. Rogan directs the planning, development and management of A Studio in the Woods and the Lower Coast Field Station at Carmichael Forest.

Gary C. Watson, Jr. is an executive level advertising and business development consultant with over 20 years’ experience in marketing, promotions, fundraising, strategic planning, and digital media. A graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, Gary started his career working in radio promotions at Clear Channel Communications and quickly moved up in the organization before founding his own consulting firm. In his role at Studio, Gary nurtures connections to the individuals, foundations, and businesses that make our work possible. Although a resident of New Orleans, Gary is a native of Vacherie, Louisiana where he remains involved in community and civic organizations such as the West St. John the Baptist Parish Civic Association and Concerned Citizens of St. John the Baptist Parish. Gary is also a member of multiple professional and philanthropic organizations including the Alzheimer’s Association of Louisiana and the Iberia African American Historical Society.

Luann Dozier is Tulane University’s Vice President for Advancement overseeing the Office of Constituency Programs as a senior philanthropic advisor. Additional responsibilities include preserving and promoting philanthropic and community partnerships between Tulane University, its alumni, students and parents, faculty and staff, friends, fans, and external constituencies in support of Tulane University and its tradition of excellence through oversight of strategic teams including Advancement Events, Career Wave Programming, Tulane’s NY Regional Office, Athletics Development, the Center for Sport at Tulane, Advancement Training, and University Affiliate Organizations. Luann has served Tulane University in a variety of leadership roles since 1997 and has more than 35 years of overall Advancement experience including fundraising, communications, strategic planning, board development and training.

Regine “Gigi” Dupuy has over 20 years of experience specializing in governance, migration, human rights, gender, conflict mitigation, and peacebuilding. Gigi began her career as an Asylum Officer adjudicating refugee cases in East and West Africa. Since then, she has acquired vast and diverse multi-country experience in Sub-Sharan Africa and Haiti. Gigi has intertwined her passion for social justice with creative pursuits such as documentary film, photography and forum theater. Today, she is the Senior Technical Advisor for Governance for an international NGO, Global Communities. She recently joined the advisory board of Twin Sisters Reunited, an organization that strengthens ties between Cap Haitian and New Orleans. Gigi holds a master’s degree in Peace, Conflict, and Development Studies from Innsbruck University, as well as a Juris Doctor in Law degree from Rutgers University.

Jade Elizabeth Flint, Assistant Curator, is a Louisiana native with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History degree from Howard University, cum laude, and a Masters of Arts in Art History from Tulane University. She currently leads the Artists-in-Residence program through a joint appointment with the Amistad Research Center (ARC) and Rivers Institute for Contemporary Art + Thought that brings international artists to New Orleans for research in the archive in exploration of new territories to expand their artistic practices and thoughts. Additionally, Flint hosts The Prepared Table, monthly workshops that leads New Orleans-based artists to archival materials related to their research and how to navigate the archive for themselves. Flint has conducted curatorial research for institutions including, but not limited to, the National Portrait Gallery, Sotheby's New York, and Phillips Collection. Flint collaborates dually with ARC through Tulane University's Community-Engaged Fellowship.

Jennifer Fuselier, CPA, is an Associate Director in P&N's Accounting and Assurance Services Group. Jennifer joined the firm in 2010. With over ten years of public accounting experience, Jennifer has served a wide range of clients, including various non-profit organizations, governmental entities, charter schools, employee benefit plans, and others. Jennifer performs financial statement audits, single audits, agreed-upon procedure (AUP) engagements, and other services for these clients. She also serves on the boards of Academy of Our Lady and Young ACG Louisiana.

John Kleinschmidt is an architect and urban designer at Waggonner & Ball Architecture/Environment where he leads projects focused on creative adaptations to climate change and sensitive responses to place and site. Additionally, he maintains an artistic practice focused on drawing, printmaking, and site-specific installations. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and the Yale School of Architecture, and was a 2018 Adaptations Artist-in-Residence at A Studio in the Woods.

Dr. Alexander S. Kolker is a leading voice on the science of climate change and coastal change. He has worked in coastal systems across the world - including in North Africa, Europe, and the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States. Dr. Kolker both serves as an Associate Professor at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and directs the Coastal Climates Institute- an independent research platform that uses science to find practical solutions to climate change and coastal risks. His research interests include climate change, sea level rise, coastal sustainability, air pollution, and the global energy transition. He has published extensively in the academic literature, penned opinion pieces for leading publications, and regularly speaks to the national and international media. Dr. Kolker has been appeared in outlets that include the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Al Ahram, and Al Jazeera.

Teddy McGlynn-Wright, MSW currently co-directs the Trauma-Informed Schools Training of Trainers project of the Coalition for Compassionate Schools in New Orleans. As a Belonging-Based Facilitator, politicized healer and award-winning professor, Teddy uses a somatic approach to healing, working with individuals and groups to transforming systems that break people. His practices of facilitation, well-tending, and teaching inform and are informed by one another. Nearly never without a book, Teddy lives in the Seventh Ward, halfway between a bookstore and a library. This Book DJ moved from Seattle in 2019, thinking it would be for just a couple of years, but after only six months was completely captivated by the people and spirit of New Orleans and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Alexandra "Sascha" Mora is originally from New York, and feels connected to her Latin American and Swiss roots. New Orleans has been home to her for over 20 years. She is a lawyer, mediator, and hearing officer. She also serves the government of Switzerland as an honorary consul of New Orleans. As a lawyer, she has worked with non-profits and taken on civil rights cases, including voter registration and discrimination. For relaxation, she enjoys practicing Reiki and Jin Shin Jyutsu, and painting. Sascha expresses her commitment to the environment by carrying her own plastic cup, avoiding plastic water bottles, re-using whenever possible, and supporting organic and local businesses. She is proud to support Friends of A Studio in the Woods as its Secretary and a board member.

Creative Director and Executive Producer, Alexandra Norris is a multichannel media creator and producer whose work currently focuses on climate action, social justice, and politics. She is the Managing Creative Director at Climate Power and the Producer of Alive Inside, which won the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for U.S. Documentary, sold to Netflix, and was released in theaters nationwide. Since Alive Inside, Alex has produced two additional non-fiction feature films - State of Eugenics, which was acquired by and aired on PBS and In Our Mothers’ Gardens, which was acquired by Ava Duvernay’s distribution collective ARRAY and was licensed by Netflix. Earlier in her career Alex concentrated her efforts in publicity and distribution, serving as the lead on campaigns for Image Entertainment and Anchor Bay Entertainment, among others. She led U.S. distribution for Teza – the last dramatic feature from celebrated Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima – and led publicity for the home entertainment release of Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer and Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. Alex has produced numerous Telly and Webby award-winning projects for Fortune 50 brands, episodic documentary work for MTV and VICE Media. She is currently directing and producing Let No One Lose Heart, a feature documentary about the work of Gulf South environmental justice activist Sharon Lavigne.

Renee Peck earned a BA in English literature at Kenyon College in Ohio before returning in 1975 to her native Louisiana and a job as an editorial assistant and curator at The Historic New Orleans Collection – a job that fed her passion for all things New Orleans and augmented her understanding and appreciation of its unique culture and history. Two years later, she joined The Times-Picayune, where she worked for 32 years as a feature editor and writer. Titles included food editor, entertainment editor, TV editor, associate lifestyle editor and home and garden editor. Post-Katrina, her This Mold House column chronicled rebuilding efforts with humor and advice. In 2011, with the late Sharon Litwin, she founded NolaVie, a digital publication devoted to the life and culture of New Orleans. In the site’s Big Easy Living column, she explores the way we live in this entertaining but sometimes uneasy city. NolaVie publishes curated content from a wide range of contributors, and spotlights emerging writers and artists by showcasing their work and providing them with a digital platform. Renee has served on various boards, including Partnership for Action, dedicated to local quality of life issues, and Lindy’s Place, which served homeless women. She is a local host of Notes from New Orleans on WWNO radio, the local NPR affiliate, and was co-host for two seasons of the podcast Everyday Wonder.

Dr. Usdin is the president of Swamplily, LLC. In this capacity, she has helped match the strategic interests of philanthropic organizations with the needs and capacity of local non-profits and governmental agencies in diverse areas. In the last fifteen years, she has worked with the Ford, the Open Society, the Conrad N. Hilton, the Louisiana Disaster Recovery, the David and Lucille Packard and the Greater New Orleans foundations. She has served on expert advisory panels on community resiliency for the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, the Rand Corporation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In addition, she has taught courses on building community engagement in public health efforts for the South Central Public Health Leadership Institute, the Centers for Disease Control, and Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and has facilitated strategic planning processes for groups such as the City of New Orleans, National Network of Public Health Institutes, and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Dr. Usdin was awarded a Bellagio fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation. She graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in psychology from Duke University, has a master’s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley and a Dr.PH. from the international health department at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. She has served on the Joan Mitchell Foundation, Second Harvest Food Bank, WWNO, Propeller, and LPHI.

Monique Michelle Verdin uses imagery to expose the reality of a Louisiana lost and the Louisiana left behind. More folk artist than photographer, more storyteller than visual artist, Verdin has captured, collected and exposed an intimate perspective into the survival of her Indigenous French-speaking clan who still inhabit the endangered bayou communities of southeast Louisiana. Her story has been shared and exhibited at the University of California, Georgia College and State University, Mesa College of San Diego, the Social Public Art Resource Center in Venice, California and at a number of other galleries along the Gulf Coast. Verdin currently resides on her family land in lower St. Bernard Parish. Monique has been an artist in residence at A Studio in the Woods several times between 2007 and 2019.

Emily Wilkerson has worked with and written about artists in the South Louisiana region for more than fifteen years. Emily recently opened Other Plans, a contemporary art gallery that presents exhibitions by an inter-generational group of artists exploring the most pressing issues of our time. Over the years, Emily has contributed to art and cultural publications including ArtForum.com, Art in America, Pelican Bomb, Art Papers, Burnaway, and multiple exhibition catalogs. She has worked on exhibitions and projects with Prospect New Orleans, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Chinati Foundation, and the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, and has consulted for the Joan Mitchell Center, the Tennessee Triennial and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, among other initiatives. Emily has held individual giving and editorial positions at Tulane for the past five years and is a certified yoga teacher (you can find her teaching at Wild Lotus Yoga in town). While she was born and raised in Shreveport, New Orleans is her home, where she remains committed to fostering growth for artists of all disciplines and finding joy with her husband Matt and son Jack Cosmo.