Making Good

24 - Jen & Nora, Wellness Project New Orleans

Jen and Nora launched the worker-led mental health non-profit Wellness Project New Orleans in 2022. They believe in their ability to empower a better system in how non-profits operate and respect the workers that make it happen. Full disclosure: I am a board member of this organization. Listen to this episode to learn more about the mental health help process in New Orleans and why the leaders in this organization believes they can make it easier and more equitable. 

Check out Wellness Project New Orleans: https://wpno.org/

 

 

23 - Caroline Bell, Cafe Grumpy co-Founder

Caroline Bell is the co-founder of Cafe Grumpy. This NYC based coffee roasting and coffee shop has been serving up some of the most delicious coffee! Church Alley Cafe has served Cafe Grumpy since 2015 as our main espresso and cold brew. Caroline and I talk about what it takes to grow a large company from one too-small shop and how to handle business when things go wrong. I loved this conversation because Caroline is always so open, trusting, and communicative about the challenges and successes of small business. 

Check out Cafe Grumpy: https://www.instagram.com/cafegrumpy/ 

 

 

23- Reneé Blanchard, Church Alley Cafe & Grocery

Today's episode is about Church Alley Cafe & Grocery. It digs into our mission for our small business and where the name Making Good came from for this podcast. Learn a little more about why Church Alley exists and what makes it so special! 

www.churchalley.store

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. 

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.