Board

of Directors

Sam Wickline, Board President

Client Advisor
Sam is a Client Advisor in J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank in New Orleans. In his role, he works with high net worth individuals, families, endowments and foundations and advises his clients on all aspects of financial planning to include banking, investing, lending and wealth transition planning. Sam has been with the firm since 2013 and has held roles in both the Private Bank and Commercial Bank. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps for ten years. He holds the Series 7 and 63 securities licenses as well as the CFP® designation.

Sam is originally from Union, West Virginia and relocated to New Orleans for the second time in his career in 2017. Sam is active in the community and leads employee engagement activities in the metro area for JPMorgan Chase. He is a board member of Louisiana Green Corps and President of the Vista Park Civic & Improvement Association. He also previously served on the board of JUMA Ventures. In his spare time, Sam enjoys outdoor activities, sports, volunteering, and spending time with his family.

Michael Bowen

Michael serves as the Owner of Louisiana Home Performance, a green company with aspirations of being a part of a global solution to save our planet.  At Louisiana Home Performance Michael oversees fine-tuning homes AC, ducts, and air sealing to ensure they are energy efficient.  Previous to Owning Louisiana Home Performance, Michael served as the CEO of the Weatherization Company, and prior to that work has worked in the construction and skilled craft industries for over three decades.

Amanda Golob

Staff Attorney, Equal Justice Works
Amanda Golob is a Staff Attorney at Equal Justice Works where she works on legal issues for low income renters.

Vance Levesque, Treasurer

Controller/Sustainability Officer, Arc of G.N.O.
Vance Levesque CPA, was the CFO for the LAGC since it’s inception when it was part of the Arc of Greater New Orleans. When it was spun off into its own Non-Profit, became a Board member of LAGC. He worked as the Controller of the Arc of Greater New Orleans from 1994 to 2017, managing a budget of $10,000,000. Vance is the chair of the New Orleans Group Sierra Club, is on the board of the Friends of Lafitte and is an All Around Great Guy!!

Judge Paula Brown

Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal Judge
Judge Paula Brown, recently elected to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, earned her undergraduate degree from Tulane while on a basketball scholarship, and her Law degree from Southern University. Before her election to the bench as Judge in Orleans Civil District Court, she clerked for the Louisiana Supreme Court and worked as a trial attorney for the Regional Transit Authority, as an Adjunct Professor at Southern University, and as a Staff Attorney with the Orleans Public Defender. Dedicated to the community, she serves on the Board of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, Louisiana Appleseed, Increase Student Performance In Reading Excellence (INSPIRE), and the Louisiana Heart Foundation. As a member of the Judicial Council of the National Bar Association, she serves on the Mass Incarceration, Re-Entry, and Prison Reform Committee. From New Orleans City Business, she won the Leadership in Law Award, and has earned both the YWCA Role Model Award and the Susan G. Komen Survivor of the Year Award, as well as the Exemplary Community Service Award from the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority. On and off the bench, Judge Brown has earned a reputation for being fair, compassionate, and hard working.

Forest Bradley-Wright

Sr. Program Director, Alliance for Affordable Energy
As Senior Program Director for the Alliance for Affordable Energy, Forest has helped to create major energy efficiency and renewable energy policies for New Orleans and Louisiana that stimulate the green industries. For more than a decade, Forest Wright has worked for Shell International Exploration and Production Company and more recently with The Alliance for Affordable Energy. Forest graduated with his bachelors and masters degrees from Tulane University, where he studied international development and tourism planning.

Carrie Craven, Secretary

Social Worker, International School of Louisiana

Carrie Craven is an experienced and dedicated Holistic Social Worker, Researcher & Policy Advocate, Writer, and Local Educator. For over the past decade, Carrie has worked in New Orleans to support social justice, equity in education, and promoting all individual’s emotional well-being. She is a licensed Social Worker with a Master’s in Social Work from Portland State University.

Previous to her current role, she served as the Academic Instructor for Louisiana Green Corps where she successfully designed and taught interdisciplinary courses to Green Corps participants while integrating environmental and racial justice to explore the impact of place on socio-economic circumstances, with an emphasis on community strengths, growth mindset, personal agency, and movements led by historically marginalized communities. 

Karina Roca

Karina Roca is a proud LA Green Corps alumni, graduating from the program in 2020.  She graduated from Pace University in 2019, double majoring in Peace and Justice Studies and Political Science.  Her work in the worlds of urban farming/land sovereignty, anti-racist program development and traditional craftwork display her passion for building bridges between the past and the present.  She is currently a blacksmith apprentice and welder restoring antique ironwork in New Orleans.  She seeks to connect youth with mentors of the traditional building trades of New Orleans and beyond so that the sacred knowledge and memory that built cities like this may live forever. 

Jeff Haag

Since 1999, Jeff has been the Owner, Chief Energy Analyst, and Building Science Consultant for Diversified Energy. A leader in residential and commercial energy efficiency in the Gulf South for over 15 years, Jeff Haag is a member of the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) and Building Performance Institute (BPI). His specific BPI designations include Building Analyst (BA), Envelope Professional (EP), and Infiltration & Duct Leakage (IDL).

Jennifer Schecter

Jennifer Schecter is Senior Business Development Manager at SCAPE. She is a storyteller and relationship builder, applying her experience across the nonprofit, government, and private sectors to strategically match clients' needs with SCAPE's talent. She is passionate about resilient spaces that enable positive change in communities. 

She is also a freelance writer and tourism columnist for Biz New Orleans magazine, where she has been recognized with four Press Club of New Orleans Excellence in Journalism Awards. She was named 2022 Industry Influencer of the Year by SMPS Southeastern Louisiana and a 2015 New Orleans' Finest Honoree by Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  

Jennifer conducted her graduate studies in African-American Studies and Oral History at Columbia University and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from Ball State University, where she graduated from the Honors College summa cum laude.

Matthew Smith

Matthew is a co-owner of Reliable Foundations and former Green Corps Instructor. Matt has stayed connected with Green Corps over the past few years remains committed to serving our mission. Reliable has been a consistent internship and employer partner, working with Green corps participants and graduates.

Quotes from Youth Construction and Conservation Corps

“The most important thing I learned was the social aspect of the workplace. I already knew what employers expect, but seeing it, practicing it, that made it real for me.”
Justin

2645 Toulouse Street
New Orleans LA 70119
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