On October 6 a multi-regional group of 25 English teachers visited St. Paul's Episcopal School in Lakeview to learn about language courses in American schools.  The group was welcomed by the administration, teachers and parents for an introduction and overview before visiting classrooms.  Charleen Schwank, Principal of the Lower School, talked about the destruction caused by the flooding following Hurricane Katrina and the group watched a video of St. Paul's rebuilding that brought many to tears.  Following the introduction the visitors were split into groups for classroom visits and observations.  During recess the students sang songs for the group and the visitors signed the school's Peace Arch in the courtyard.  The group was very impressed by the school's quality of teaching and the parents' involvement in their children's education.  One visitor noted "it was the best place I've been to!  The children are motivated!  The teachers are brilliant!" 

The exchange of knowledge worked both ways as the visitors talked about the school system in Nigeria, the training programs in Egypt, and the difficulties learning to write in English in Ecuador.  St. Paul's students were very excited to learn first-hand how to write "welcome" in Arabic, admire a beautiful hijab, and receive a card from a Chinese teacher.

NOCDC thanks Merry Sorrells, Head of School, and Lisa Davis, Director of Institutional Advancement, as well as all of the teachers, students, and parents who made the visit such a wonderful experience.

25th Judicial District of Plaquemines Parish, Office of the District Attorney - Mr. Charles J. Ballay, District Attorney; Ms. Mary Jane Tesvich, Domestic Violence Coordinator

504ward - Ms. Jessica White, Executive Director

Mr. Mark Abraham, Seafood Processor

America's WETLAND Foundation - Mr. John Hill, Senior Media Consultant and Former Journalist

American Red Cross, Southeast New Orleans Chapter - Ms. Kay Wilkins, CEO; Mr. Bill Salmeron, Disaster Director

Bridge House Inc. - Mrs. Else Pedersen-Wasson, Executive Director

Broadmoor Improvement Association - Ms. LaToya Cantrell, President

Café Reconcile - Sister Mary Lou Specha, Executive Director; Mr. David Giardina, General Manager

Cajun Grain - Mr. Kurt Unkel, Owner

Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans - Ms. Eva Hurst-SanMartin, Public Safety Coordinator

Common Good - Mr. Michael Cowan, Founding Executive Director

Community Center of St. Bernard - Mr. Ben Trussell, Volunteer Coordinator

Council of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (CADA) - Ms. Italia Castillo-Duran, Director of Hispanic Services

Delgado Community College - Mr. Gregory Mason, Interim Vice Chancellor for Organizational Effectiveness and Innovation; Dean Warren Puneky, Business and Technology Division; Mr. Matthew Sweeney, Program Coordinator of Community Care Initiative; Ms. Amy Schlegel, Service Learning Coordinator; Mr. Tim Stamm, Director of Curriculum and Program Development

Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy - Mr. Ky Luu, Executive Director; Ms. Vicky Lattone, Program Manager

Dredging Supply Company, Inc. - Mr. William Wetta,

CEO

Drop-In Center - Ms. Elizabeth Jones, Senior Program Coordinator; Ms. Jessie Kittele, Volunteer

The Edible Schoolyard - Ms. Kelly Regan, Community and Volunteer Coordinator

EngageNOLA - Mr. Michael Grodsky, Steering Committee Member

Mr. Adley Dyson, Commercial Shrimper

Family Justice Center - Ms. Mary Claire Landry, Director

The Gambit Weekly - Ms. Jeanne Foster, Marketing Director; Ms. Missy Wilkinson, Special Sections Editor

Gentilly Landfill - Ms. Dana Stumpf, President

Global Green Holy Cross Project - Mr. John Dorsey, Community Outreach Coordinator

Good Work Network - Ms. Phyllis Cassidy, Executive Director

Grace King High School - Mr. Alfred Johnson, Principal

Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association - Ms. Mavis Early, Executive Director; Mr. Bill Langkopp, Executive Vice President

Gulf Coast Restoration Network - Mr. Aaron Viles, Campaign Director

Housing Authority of New Orleans - Ms. Laura Tuggle, General Counsel

Idea Village - Ms. Nicky Henriquez Mast, IV Networks Manager

Imagination Movers - Ms. Kati Johnston, Line Producer

Interim LSU Public Hospital HOP Clinic - Ms. Catherine M. Appe, Marketing Director; Ms. Lynn Besch, M.D., Chief of the HIV Division of Infectious Diseases, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine; Mr. David L. Little, Jr., Program Director; Ms. Sheryl Wilson, RN Supervisor; Ms. Trinell Merricks, Lead Social Worker; Ms. Kirsten Darbyshire, Grants Coordinator

International House Hotel - Mr. Jack Gordon, Executive Sales Manager

International Project for Nonprofit Leadership - Ms. Pat Evans, University of New Orleans Professor
 

Ms. Felicia Kahn - Citizen Activist

LA Green Corps - Ms. Suzy Mason, Program Director

Launch Pad - Mr. Barre Tanguis, Owner; Ms. Megan Hargroder, Community Manager

Levees.org - Ms. Sandy Rosenthal, Founder

Louisiana Economic Development Office of

 Entertainment Industry Development - Mr. Christopher Stelly, Director for Film and Television

Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry - Ms. Carrie Castille, Deputy Assistant Commissioner; Todd Parker, Assistant Commissioner for Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Mr. Brad Spicer, Assistant Commissioner for Soil and Water Conservation

Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality - Dr. Vladimir Appeaning, Deputy Secretary; Mr. Beau Brock, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Compliance; Mr. Chris Piehler, Administrator

Louisiana Public Health Institute - Ms. Susan Bergson, Program Manager

Louisiana State Legislature - Rep. Walker Hines, State Representative

Louisiana State University Agricultural Center - Dr. Carl Motsenbocker, Professor

Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Rice Research Station - Dr. Steven Linscombe, Professor and Director; Dr. Xueyan Sha, Associate Professor

Louisiana State University Aquaculture Station - Dr. Gregory Lutz, Specialist and Professor of Aquaculture

Louisiana State University - School of Architecture - Ms. Jori Ann Erdmann, Professor

Lowernine.org - Mr. Matt Grigsby, Project Manager

Loyola University Center for Environmental Communication - Dr. Robert Thomas, Director

Loyola University Department of Criminal Justice - Dr. Vincenzo Sainato, Assistant Professor and Department Director

Loyola University Office of Service Learning- Ms. Kelly Brotzman, Director

Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation - Mr. Daniel Nguyen, Environmental Justice Coordinator and Viet Village Urban Farm Project Manager

Mayor's Office of Emergency Preparedness - Mr. Stephen Murphy, Planning Section Chief

Masjid Abu-Bakr Al-Siddiq - Imam Omar Suleiman

Metropolitan Center for Women and Children - Mr. Wayne Barnes, Community Educator

Mr. Larry Miller, Former Dock Owner

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Inc. - Mr. Ron Usner, Home Ownership Center Director

New Orleans African - American Museum of Art, Culture and History - Ms. Ashanti George Paulin, Museum Attendant

New Orleans Office of Film and Video - Ms. Katie Gunnell, Director; Ms. Caroll Morton, Office Coordinator

New Orleans Police Department - Mr. Janssen Valencia, Officer and Hispanic Liaison for Human Trafficking Division

New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board - Mr. Joseph Becker, General Superintendant; Ms. Madeline Goddard, P.E., Deputy General Superintendent

Office of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu - Ms. Valerie Matron, Mayoral Fellow/International Relations; Mrs. Mary Beth Romig, Public Relations and Special Projects Director; Ms. Brooke Smith, Advisor to Mayor for Social Innovation and International Relations

Office of Senator David Vitter - Mr. David Doss, Regional Director

Second Line Stages - Mr. Kevin Murphy, CEO

Sidcat Strategies - Mr. Sid Arroyo, CEO

Sierra Club Delta Chapter - Mr. Darryl Malek-Wiley, Regional Representative

Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance - Mr. David Conner

Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority - Mr. Timothy Doody, President

Mr. Ricky Spriggens - Commercial Shrimper

St. Paul's Episcopal School - Ms. Merry Sorrells, Head of School; Ms. Lisa Davis, Development Director

Thelensnola.org - Mr. Matt Davis, Journalist

The Times-Picayune - Mr. Mark Schleifstein, Investigative Reporter

Tulane University - Dr. Michael Bernstein, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Brian Mitchell, Associate Provost and Professor

Tulane University Center for Public Service - Ms. Amanda Buberger, Assistant Director; Ms. Katie Houck, Assistant Director of Student Training and Leadership; Dr. Agnieszka Nance, Assistant Director of Faculty Training and Support; Ms. Bessie Goggins, Senior Program Coordinator; Mr. Michael Pizzolatto, Program Manager; Dr. Khazhgery "Jerry" Shakov, Professor of Practice of the Department of Physics

Tulane University Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Dr. Michael J. Blum, Assistant Professor and Head of Department

Tulane University Department of Economics - Mr. John Edwards Ph.D., Associate Professor

Tulane University Law School - Domestic Violence Clinic - Ms. Tania Tetlow, Director and Associate Professor of Law

Tulane University Office of Undergraduate Admission- Ms. Valerie Calenda, Associate Director of Admissions

Tulane University School of Architecture - Ms. Alexandra Stroud, Director of the Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development Program; Mr. Byron Mouton, Director of Urban Build

Urban League of Greater New Orleans Women's Business Resource Center - Ms. Angele VonDerPool, Program Director

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Mr. Lawrence Cutno and Mr. Mark Spillers, Team New Orleans; Ms. Carol Wittkamp, Executive Assistant

U.S. Attorney's Office Eastern District of Louisiana - Mr. Brian Klebba, Assistant U.S. Attorney and Project Safe Childhood Coordinator

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol - Mr. Mark Choina, Assistant Port Director; Mr. Michael J. Ruiz, Chief Customs and Border Patrol Officer

United States Geological Survey - National Wetlands Research Center - Dr. Scott Wilson; Emergency Response Coordinator and Chief

University of New Orleans - Dr. Edward E. Chervenak, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Undergraduate Coordinator; Professor Robert Dupont, Associate Professor of History; Dr. Merrill Johnson, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

University of New Orleans College of Engineering - Dr. Norman Whitley, Associate Dean for Student and Undergraduate Affairs

University of New Orleans Department of Film Theater and Communication Arts - Mr. Laszlo Fulop, Instructor

University of New Orleans Department of Urban Studies - Mr. James R. Amdal, Merritt C. Becker Maritime and Intermodal Transportation Center (MITC) Director; Dr. John L. Renne, Associate Director of Early Research Professor of Planning and Urban Studies, Director of UNO Transportation Institute

University of New Orleans Intensive English Language Program - Ms. Alea Cot, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Education; Ms. Dana Criswell, Coordinator and Immigration Advisor for the Division of International Education

Waggonner & Ball Architects - Mr. Mac Ball, Principal

Women of the Storm - Ms. Rebecca Currence, Executive Board Member

WWL Radio - Mr. Dave Cohen, News Director

WWL-TV - Dr. Michael Perlstein, Managing Editor

WYES-TV - Ms. Ashli Richard, Associate Producer

Xavier University Center for Student Leadership and Service - Mrs. Typhanie Jasper-Butler, Director; Ms. Christy Lagarde, Assistant Director of Student & Community Engagement; Ms. Kendra Warren, Site Coordinator of Service Learning; Dr. Mark A. Gstohl, Associate Professor

Thank you to all who welcomed visitors with home hospitality, sightseeing, or transportation from September through November, 2010.

Ms. Susannah Coolidge and Mr. Fredric Diegel hosted three Nigerian visitors studying University Administration in their home for dinner.

Ms. Rosemarie Fowler hosted seven visitors studying NGOs and Civic Activism in her home for dinner.

Ms. Jen Ponce and Mr. Peter Gardener hosted one Icelandic visitor and one Dutch visitor studying Global Health Issues for dinner at a local restaurant.
 

Mr. Lee Gary and Ms. Jennifer Gary hosted six Russian visitors in their home for dinner.

Dr. Louis and Mrs. Janie Glade hosted eight visitors studying NGOs and Civic Activism in their home for dinner.

Mr. Robert and Mrs. Wendy Grubb hosted two Nigerian visitors studying University Administration in their home for dinner.

Mr. Keith and Mrs. Machelle Hall hosted three Nigerian visitors studying University Administration in their home for dinner.

Dr. Rosen Irving and Ms. Carol Lise hosted an Armenian visitor studying Global Health Issues in their home from dinner.

Ms. Gladis Santosrosa hosted an Estonian visitor studying Global Health Issues in her home for dinner. 

Dr. Mohammad and Dr. Tasneim Suleman hosted six Pakistani visitors studying Watershed Management in their home for dinner.
 

Ms. Jo Ann Testa and Mr. Jim Hebert hosted six Russian visitors in their home for dinner.