Making Good

21 - Emily Meyer, Emily Makes Stuff

Emily Meyer is a former Church Alley Cafe & Grocery employee. But she is also a creative, DIYer, personal stylist, dog mom, and much more. She is always trying new things, making new things, and learning new things! I love and admire her dedication to following her curiosity always. This is what we talked about. It was a great conversation about how to find and follow your curiosity. 

Find Emily on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/too.many.emilys/, and on her website: https://www.emilymakesstuff.com/, interest: https://www.pinterest.com/emilymakesstuff/

 

 

Season 3 Introduction

Trailer for Season 3

 

Hello friends! Its’ me Renee! Founder and owner of Church Alley Cafe & Grocery. Season three is launching Tuesday September 19 And this time I’m doing it a bit different. 

This season has more episodes. It’s a mix of interviews and educational content. I’ve added shorter episodes on nutrition and health. You may already know this, but during the pandemic, I went back to school to become a registered dietitian and this summer I launched Church Alley’s first nutritional coaching services. 

 

Over the next year we will add additional nutrition and health services to our menu. And so these short episodes are the first few snippets of how Church Alley will be expanding in the years to come.

 

 The rest of season 3 will be interviews with folks I find interesting, asking them how they learn and explore the world around us. Including former employee Emily! Shes coming back to tell us about this amazing project shes doing called 30 days of something new. It’s a great challenge to expand your habits, likes (maybe some dislikes), expand your perspectives, and literally just do things you’ve never done before for a month straight. 

I also interview some of my professors about hunger rates in Louisiana, WIC, and sustaining curiosity when you are busy busy busy, like so many of us are these days. 

I hope you’ll listen! Episodes will be released every Tuesday morning 11 minutes after midnight throughout the Fall.

14 - Salon 22, Women Centered Co-Working & Networking Organization

Replay From 2022 -

I spoke with three of the founding members of Salon22. Christa, Fey, and Mariska shared their vision for this new women's co-working space and discussed how their own journeys have impacted their mission to create this mission-directed space. 

Salon22's mission is to be an agent of change in New Orleans, shifting the balance of power in our beloved city. This diverse group of women is intent on creating a beautiful space for like-minded women from all walks of life to find commonality, belonging, and opportunities for political, professional, and personal collaboration. Salon22 is a space for speaking up and out.

Their intent is to create an inclusive space for women+ no matter their gender expression (including identifying outside the gender binary), racial and cultural background, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, or economic standing.

 

12 - Emily McElrath, Pivotal PT and Wellness

Emily McElrath is my physical therapist. She helped me go from constant mobility issues from an ongoing injury to weight lifting pain-free. We talk about the pelvic floor, weight lifting, and the right workouts throughout your menstrual cycle.  

Emily is a native of New Orleans and received her undergraduate Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training at the University of Southern Mississippi. She then went on to attain her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of St. Augustine in St. Augustine, FL.  Emily is a former collegiate runner turned Crossfitter who has a passion for helping people optimize performance. She is highly trained in Sports/Orthopedics and Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy and has first-hand experience modifying HIIT exercises for the pregnant and postpartum athletes to ensure they are able to continue their desired activity injury free. 

You can learn more about Emily's company Pivotal PT and Wellness here! 

13 - Ruthie Winston, Winston & Associates

Ruthie Winston is one of New Orleans's only certified appraisers. She runs Winston & Associates. Ruthie began her appraisal education in 1987 with the American Society of Appraisers. She has been compliant with the Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice (USPAP) since 1989 and completed the Appraisers Association of America NYU Appraisal Studies Program in 1990. Ruthie joined the International Society of Appraisers in 2006 and holds designations in Fine Art and Antiques & Residential Contents, achieving a Certification in Personal Property (CAPP) in 2011. She is also an auctioneer in Lousiana. 

It was so interesting talking with her about an industry I really knew nothing about. 

11 - Lelia Gowland, Speaker, Writer, and Negotiator

Lelia Gowland is a sought-after speaker and writer on authenticity, compassion, and connection. Described as “the confidence fairy godmother we all need,” Lelia uses dynamic storytelling and personal vulnerability so we all feel less alone.

 

She is the author of "You Got This: The Ultimate Negotiation Guide for Professional Women" Lelia recently wrote an article about her marriage and consensual non-monogamy in the Huffington Post titled: "Married With A Toddler, I appear Straight. I'm Finally Ready to Stop Hiding My Identity". Lelia also spoke about her polyamorous eight-year marriage on The Only One podcast. You can listen here. 

Lelia is also a friend who offers sweet compliments and will purchase a dozen croissants from your store while wearing your business' t-shirt and then offer more sweet compliments. This is a great conversation that touches on some bigger issues, such living in the impacts of climate change and being your loud, goofy, proud self. 

10 - Katie Witry, Witry Collective

Katie co-founded the Witry Collective with the vision that collaboration across various industries within real estate is the key to having a more effective and integrated approach. The firm specializes in residential, mixed-use, investment, and commercial properties in the historic districts of New Orleans. As a graduate of Loyola University with a degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies, she attributes her ability to drive meaningful change today to her passion for equity and civil leadership. Currently, she is a mentor at the Loyola University College of Business Executive Mentorship Program and an Executive Board member of the Preservation Resource Center.

I met Katie while we were both enrolled in the Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Businesses program. 

09- Anne Rolfes, Louisiana Bucket Brigade

Louisiana Bucket Brigade was founded by Anne Rolfes in 2000. Anne began her career in Nigeria, collaborating with local communities to address oil companies’ destruction of the Niger Delta. She returned to Louisiana in 2000 and collaborated with women along Cancer Alley to found the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.

Anne was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana, where many people made their fortunes in the oil industry. She has seen the wealth and the poverty created by oil production and seeks a phase-out of fossil fuels in her lifetime. She has a Masters in International Development from Tulane and has twice testified before Congress. Her work has been recognized by local and national awards, including the Jane Bagley Lehman Award for Public Advocacy and the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leader Award.

08 - Reneé Blanchard and Ella Campbell, Church Alley Cafe

In this last episode of Season 1 of Making Good, Reneé talks with Ella Campbell, Church Alley's social media manager about rolling with the punches of owning a small business. We discuss the new changes at Church Alley Cafe & Grocer. We also get into the details about making financial decisions and different types of loans for restaurants. Lots of great tips for other business owners. Plus we talk my favorite restaurants and why I have a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi's in my backyard. 

Ella is a local musician and artist. You can check out her work here: 

https://www.instagram.com/ellabystarlight/

https://www.raymondstreetruckus.com/

 

07 - Tippy Tippens, Goods That Matter

Goods that Matter creates everyday design goods, with extraordinary impact. Tippy Tippens is the Chief Eternal Optimist of Goods that Matter and founder of the GOOD Shop. She is a social entrepreneur, designer, and consultant who is passionate about building sustainable and equitable growth; making the objects that we live with, work for us instead of against us; and fighting climate change.  In September of 2010, she moved from Brooklyn to New Orleans after the BP Oil Spill in order to create BirdProject Soap. Matter got its start on Kickstarter & Tippy is a 2011 alumni of Propeller’s Fellowship & New Ventures Accelerator program. She was inspired to form the company upon developing BirdProject, where she saw the need for socially inspired eco-products that poetically fulfill our basic needs.

You can learn more about all the products Tippy designs and produces at https://www.goodsthatmatter.com/