Everyone has their Katrina story. I'm very lucky that mine is not terrible or tragic like so many are. Mine is a tale of inconvenience, more than anything.
When I evacuated on Saturday, August 27, I was headed to my...
There are details that are so incredibly vivid nine years later, and there are those that have faded with time. But at the end of the day, those details don't matter, it's the lessons I learned in the aftermath...
"I'll finish this wedding album Monday," I thought to myself. It was finally Friday, and near the end of the workday. My plans for the weekend were simple: have a relaxing evening with my husband, maybe head to a friend's house, take...
In August 2005 I was an 18-year-old college sophomore who had just decided to move back to New Orleans. A few days before the storm I evacuated with friends and family, as we had done so many times before....
The first time I came to New Orleans, I was a high school senior considering Tulane University. After spending an afternoon in the French Quarter, before I had even set foot on Tulane’s campus, I knew I was going...
It's been 9 years. The memories are fuzzy, fading slightly. But some things will never be forgotten. How I evacuated with my boyfriend of a few months, wearing only a bathing suit and cover-up. Literally, no underwear. I was...
Disclosure :: This post was created in partnership with our sponsor Toyota.
The Toyota Effect
When you think of the brand name Toyota, you probably think of cars. But did you know that Toyota has a greater mission? Toyota believes that organizations should...
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From NOLA to Houston, With Love
We're just a few days shy of the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and our TVs and social media feeds are again full...
As Director of Operation Playground for KaBOOM!, I saw a lot in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, but I’ll never forget the first time I saw ‘Play World’ in New Orleans. It was a...
I’d never lived anywhere with spirit.
Growing up an Air Force brat, most of the places I’d called “home” consisted of people whose actual homes were in different states or even different countries. We were all transplants; our housing was temporary....
My dearest children,
For the past ten years on August 29th, I have taken this day, the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, to reflect on our Katrina story. Growing up here in New Orleans, you will come to learn that everyone...
Growing up in New Orleans our education system has always come under criticism for it's less than stellar record of student performance, funding and lack of diversity, innovation and administrative oversight.
Enter Hurricane Katrina.
Although this mighty storm and its subsequent...
It’s August 28, 2005.
We watch helplessly as long lines of New Orleanians make their way into the Superdome, clutching pillowcases, suitcases, and small children.
We watch this scene on a small TV screen in New York’s JFK airport, squeezed into...
{see also :: New Orleans is Sending Houston LOVE}
My Katrina Days :: An Anniversary Reflection
We decided to stay. We had just evacuated for the previous storm, spent hours in traffic, and came home to a few leaves on the...