Making Good

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/

05 - Sarah Lambeth, Founder of Pretty Coffee Roasting and Whatever Coffee

Sarah is the Founder and Operator of Pretty Coffee Roasting, and Co-founder of Whatever Coffee, located inside Steins Deli. In this episode I talk to Sarah about how she became one of the few female roasters in the country and she ended up with an almost all female supply chain. We also talk about why coffeeshops all have different definitions for coffee drinks that all coffeeshops have on the menu and why baristas ask you so many questions when you order a drink. This was a great conversation! 

Check out Pretty Coffee Roasting - https://www.instagram.com/prettycoffeeroasting/

Check out Whatever Coffee - https://www.instagram.com/itswhatevercoffee/

04 - Hieu, Gabe, and Ron, Operators of Kin

Kin is a ramen shop located steps away from Xavier University where co-founder Hieu went to school. Hieu saw this little yellow building at the corner of 3 busy streets and knew something special should open there. A few years later he purchased the building without any clear plans but eventually opened a delicious restaurant to rave reviews. Within the first 6 months Gabe and Ron joined Hieu and his wife's entreprise. Gabe as one of the main servers and Ron on dishwasher. But the three men quickly ended up becoming business partners and dividing up all the work together to make Kin the success it is today with a clear mission to bring affordable, delicious food to crowds that represent the diversity of New Orleans. 

We talk about the struggles of owning a small business in New Orleans and during the pandemic. We also talk about how customers view our businesses and where our industry needs to get it right once and for all. 

 

Check out Kin on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kinfordindin/

03 - Dr Nicole Caridad Ralston, @Eatenpathnola

Dr Nicole Caridad Ralston runs a highly popular instagram account dedicated to sharing the amazing food all over New Orleans as well as important food history moments. She started blogging and writing about food when she moved to New Orleans in 2012. Dr Caridad was convinced to start her Instagram after a (then) Xavier University student, Eliqua, interviewed her because she loved the food Tumblr (also called Off the Eaten Path NOLA).  

"New Orleans is bound to sink into your soul and belly, and I'm here to help you navigate our food scene! I believe that New Orleans has the greatest food in the country (yup, I said it). We have a rich food history that began with the indigenous people who thrived in the Crescent City before Bienville even stumbled upon us and then got mixed with the cultural traditions of Africans, Creoles, Cajuns, France, and Spain to create our current food scene. New Orleans is also known as the Northernmost point of the Caribbean and as a Cuban-American, I can attest to the similarities. " - Dr Nicole Caridad Ralston

Check out her instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/eatenpathnola/

Check out her website here - https://www.eatenpathnola.com/

 

02 - Kate Estrada, Laughing Buddha Nursery

In 2010, Kate came into the picture when she met Grant at Laughing Buddha (buying red wigglers for her apartment compost bin!). Kate grew up in a rural area south of Madison, Wisconsin, surrounded by conventional corn and soy fields. Her parents always grew a large vegetable garden and composted and as a teenager she spent summers working at a local garden center,  but she never imagined going into gardening or agriculture professionally. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri and held several reporting jobs prior to serving in AmeriCorps and moving to New Orleans in 2009. She worked as a fundraiser in nonprofits and universities for several years before joining Grant at Laughing Buddha and their farm, Local Cooling Farms, in 2016. 

 

Laughing Buddha Nursery