Photographer Ben Depp Receives 2026 COHN | GNOF | NOLA | ARTS Award
Courtesy of Billiot Photography & Video
The Greater New Orleans Foundation recognized New Orleans-based photographer Ben Depp as the COHN | GNOF | NOLA | ARTS Award recipient, selected by the program’s advisory committee, and presented him with a $13,000 honorarium at the 6th Annual COHN | GNOF | NOLA | ARTS Awards on October 13 at the Marigny Opera House. The Foundation also awarded grants to 12 local nonprofit arts organizations. The annual awards program is made possible through a generous bequest from Marianne and Dr. Isidore Cohn, Jr.
The annual award is presented to an individual artist or group from our region whose work in the visual arts, performance, music, or culinary arts is judged to best exemplify how the arts can challenge and inspire us, and in doing so, enrich our lives. Past honorees include Aron Belka, artist (2021); MaPó Kinnord, sculptor and educator (2022); Dave Hurlbert, theatre impresario and co-founder of the Marigny Opera (2023); Dr. Michael White, Jazz clarinetist and educator (2024); and Arvinder Vilkhu, President & Executive Chef of Saffron Nola (2025).
“We are delighted to recognize Ben Depp as the 2026 COHN | GNOF | NOLA | ARTS Award winner,” said Andy Kopplin, President and CEO, Greater New Orleans Foundation. “Through his striking and deeply observant work, Ben captures both the beauty and fragility of South Louisiana’s coastal landscapes. His photography invites us to see these places more clearly and reinforces the importance of protecting the environment that shapes our communities and culture.”
“What I find compelling about Ben Depp’s work is that it moves beyond simple documentation. In his more atmospheric images, the landscape is revealed as an otherworldly abstraction —dramatic images that invite us to pause, to reconsider places we think we know well,” said Ian J. Cohn. “In this regard, his work continues a tradition of photographers whose work transcends the literal, images which compel the viewer to reconsider the subject and their relationship to it. Swamps and wetlands that we might otherwise take for granted assume a very different character through his lens.”
Courtesy of Billiot Photography & Video
Foundation Convenes Leaders to Discuss BioDistrict Housing Market Study
Community leaders, housing practitioners, and public sector partners gathered on October 9 for the BioDistrict Housing Convening, hosted by the Greater New Orleans Foundation and Enterprise Community Partners, to discuss strategies for preserving and expanding affordable workforce housing in the New Orleans BioDistrict and surrounding neighborhoods.
As the redevelopment of Charity Hospital and the broader BioDistrict advance health care, education, scientific research and innovation, small business development, and employment opportunities, we have a historic opportunity to create new jobs, diversify our economy, and strengthen our city. At the same time, anticipated growth underscores the need to act now to preserve affordability, prevent displacement, and ensure that longtime residents and the workforce powering the district’s future can continue to call these neighborhoods home.
During the program, Foundation President and CEO Andy Kopplin and Sara Patenaude, PhD, Director, Policy Solutions – Southeast at the Reinvestment Fund, provided an overview of the BioDistrict Housing Market Study, which was developed in collaboration with the Reinvestment Fund. The study examines market change, displacement risk, and opportunities for housing production, preservation, and targeted investment.
Panelists helped connect the data to actionable solutions and shared perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing the district and adjacent neighborhoods, including: Michelle Whetton with Enterprise Community Partners (moderator), Brenda Breaux with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, Damon Burns with the Finance Authority of New Orleans, Terri North with the Providence Community Housing, and Paul Irons with the New Orleans Restoration Properties.
The Foundation also introduced its plans to build a new Housing Fund, a privately funded source of flexible, low-cost capital for affordable housing being developed in partnership with Enterprise to prevent displacement and protect workforce housing in the BioDistrict and surrounding neighborhoods.
How the Foundation is Helping Build the Construction Industry’s Workforce
Ethan Oddo, Division Manager at Rotolo Consultants, Inc. (RCI), works with a trainee at the Interview Day hosted by the regional Construction Sector Partnership, convened by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, in May 2026. | Courtesy of Billiot Photography & Video
Recently, the regional Construction Sector Partnership, launched by the Foundation, was highlighted by Biz New Orleans. The article features an interview and hiring day that the Foundation and its partners hosted in May, bringing six construction companies together with job seekers from nine education and training providers. Nearly 60% of participants moved forward in the interview process, leading to at least 12 hires.
One of those hires was Tavorean Johnson, who now works for Rotolo Consultants, Inc. (RCI), after participating in the hiring day and completing a training program with the Louisiana Green Corps. His days at RCI have included everything from irrigation and landscaping to traveling across Louisiana and neighboring states for projects. Along the way, Johnson has gained new skills and opportunities for career advancement. His journey demonstrates the power of connecting employers, training providers, and job seekers through a shared workforce strategy.
The article also recognizes RCI and Louisiana Green Corps for their partnership with the Foundation. RCI has consistently shown up as an employer partner — supporting Louisiana Green Corps participants prepare through mock interviews, sharing what employers are looking for and working alongside other construction companies to strengthen the industry’s talent pipeline.
At its simplest, a sector partnership brings companies in the same industry together with the organizations preparing people for those jobs. Employers identify shared workforce challenges, training providers bring their expertise and understanding of local talent. Together, they develop practical solutions that better align workforce training with industry demand. A sector partnership works best when companies aren’t simply asked to hire at the end of the process but help design career pathways from the start. To read the full article, click here.
Join us Tonight for Southeast Louisiana Adaptation Forum Meet-Up
For the ninth consecutive year, Hancock Whitney and the Greater New Orleans Foundation are offering $200,000 in competitive grants to nonprofit organizations working to improve financial literacy, build wealth, or prepare individuals for higher-paying jobs through skills training and job placement. The Foundation manages the grant application process, while Hancock Whitney reviews applications and awards grants based on a competitive review of community impact and program effectiveness.
“Nonprofits are on the front lines of creating opportunities and improving the quality of life across our region. Through our partnership with Hancock Whitney, the Opportunity Grant program equips organizations with the tools, resources, and support they need to increase their impact and sustain their work over time,” said Andy Kopplin, Greater New Orleans Foundation President & CEO. “When we invest in these organizations, we help create stronger neighborhoods, a better-prepared workforce, and greater opportunity for future generations.”
Now through October 30, eligible 501(c)(3) organizations located in one of Hancock Whitney’s 34 assessment areas may apply for competitive grants of up to $25,000 through the Greater New Orleans Foundation online application portal. The Bank and Foundation encourage organizations serving underserved and low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities to apply. To learn more, click here.
BioDistrict Startup Informuta Wins $1.25M NSF Grant
Courtesy of Informuta
Informuta, a New Orleans biotechnology company based in the BioDistrict and developing technology to predict antibiotic resistance during treatment, has received a $1.25 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant, one of about 80 Phase II awards NSF makes annually nationwide, will support clinical studies and testing of the company’s antibiotic resistance forecasting platform in hospital settings. The two-year grant follows Informuta’s earlier NSF Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I grant.
Informuta’s success reflects the growing momentum of the New Orleans BioDistrict, a long-term initiative the Greater New Orleans Foundation has helped advance since 2018. The Foundation made a generational commitment to catalyzing the growth of a dynamic, job-creating, and equitable biosciences innovation district, beginning with an additional report on the district’s potential. It subsequently led successful efforts to activate the BioDistrict and secure economic development district funding from the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana to support its work.
Then the Foundation spearheaded the fundraising effort for the BioDistrict’s 2024 strategic master plan, which identified the redevelopment of Charity Hospital, the launch of Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine, and Louisiana State University (LSU) pursuit of a National Cancer Institute designation as three catalytic priorities for the district’s future growth. Foundation President and CEO Andy Kopplin serves as chair of the BioDistrict’s board.
Grantee Spotlight: André Cailloux Center Honors Namesake
Courtesy of the André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice
The André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice (ACC), in partnership with the Krewe of Red Beans, will honor the ACC’s namesake, Captain André Cailloux, with a free community procession and second line on November 14 starting at Beanlandia at 10 am and ending at the ACC at 3 pm. The procession will move down Bayou Road in the way of Captain Cailloux’s funeral in 1863 and will focus on reclaiming the public memory of New Orleans in the Civil War and Reconstruction and remembering Captain André Cailloux and the 1,800 men of color who were the first to join the Union Army.
Cailloux was a free Black man, businessman, and leader of the Friends of Order, an Afro-Catholic mutual aid brotherhood that had spent years purchasing the freedom of the enslaved. He enlisted with the 1st Louisiana Native Guard in 1862 and was one of the first Black Union officers to die in combat, while leading a charge at the Siege of Port Hudson in 1863. When his body was returned to New Orleans, thousands lined the streets and his funeral procession was one of the largest the city had ever seen. Learn more about “Reckoning and Remembrance” here.
The ACC was established with support from the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Strategic Restructuring and Mergers Fund. This fund helps nonprofits scale their impact and provides the tools, training and “Mission Accelerator” grants needed to navigate everything from reimagined operations to full-scale mergers.
Courtesy of WWL-TV
As a reminder, Election Day is coming up on November 3. Voters across the state will be casting ballots on 10 constitutional amendments as well as for seats in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, on the Louisiana Public Service Commission and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, judges in civil and criminal district courts, and more.
Early voting runs from October 20-27 — excluding October 25 — from 8:30 am-6 pm. To view your early voting location based on parish, click here. On Election Day, voters must vote at their designated polling places, which you can find here.
In races with more than two candidates, any candidate who receives more than 50% of the total vote in the November 3 election will be elected outright. If no one receives a majority of the votes in a race, there will be a runoff election on December 12 between the two top candidates. The deadline to register to vote in the runoff is November 12 if registering in person or by mail, or November 21 if registering online. For other voting information, click here.