Emcee

Rick Mekdessie

Rick is the founder of Crowd9 Agency, which provides guidance and resources to startups and growing businesses seeking to raise capital through marketing campaigns on any crowdfunding platform.  Prior to launching Crowd9, Rick served as CEO of eGov Systems and spent more than 25 years working closely with state and local government agencies to design, develop, …

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victoria Armstrong

Victoria Armstrong is Co-Owner of Award Winning Film Company – 4thFLR Creative Agency and Founder of Curate for Women Who Work. She has an extensive background in marketing, communications, and film production. She is a graduate of Southern University and recent graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Cohort. Victoria uses film to highlight women …

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Tonnisha Ellis

As the policy and research project manager, Tonnisha is the staff lead for education and workforce development, focusing on the cradle to career public education and leading the organization and implementing the annual program of work with BRAC’s policy agenda education. Additionally, Tonnisha will engage in advocacy activities with local and state elected officials and …

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Anna Johnson

After receiving her B.S. in Mass Communication from Southeastern Louisiana, Anna worked in various roles for radio, newspaper and marketing before receiving her M.A. in Organizational Communication from Louisiana State University. Anna is a 2020 Boys & Girls Club Great Futures Gala Honoree, and a 2019 WCW Award Recipient, where she received accolades for her …

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Heidi Melancon

Heidi Melancon is the Assistant State Director of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC) Network.  She is responsible for operations and programmatic services for the statewide network and serves as a liaison across the state.  She brings over 30 years of experience in management, business development, consulting, and entrepreneurial program development.  Heidi began her career with …

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