Experts Bureau
Find the perfect commentary for your story, from the Lt. Governor and state tourism officials to local charter fishermen and restaurateurs.
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We have an extensive database of industry partners including state officials, local tourism directors, celebrity chefs, world-renowned musicians, artists, actors, neighborhood leaders, fishermen, and, of course, the man on the street.
Contact us and we will help find what you’re looking for, whether it be a live interview or a quote for your story.
Tourism
Assistant Secretary Kyle Edmiston
Louisiana Office of Tourism
Art
Dan Cameron
Prospect New Orleans
Founded in 2008 by Dan Cameron, Prospect New Orleans is the largest biennial of international contemporary art in the United States.
Full Biography
Contact Dan Cameron
Francis Pavy
Artist
A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Francis X Pavy was born in Lafayette on March 2, 1954. As a child, Francis studied art under the direction of Elemore Morgan Jr.
Full Biography
Contact Francis Pavy
George Rodrigue
Artist
George Rodrigue was born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana, the heart of Cajun country. For more than forty years, his work has remained rooted in the familiar milieu of home.
Full Biography
Contact George Rodrigue
Cuisine
Executive Chef John Besh
Besh Restaurant Group
Acclaimed chef John Besh grew up hunting and fishing in Southern Louisiana, learning at an early age the essentials of Louisiana’s rich culinary traditions.
Full Biography
Contact John Besh
Dickie Brennan
Dickie Brennan & Company
As a member of the famed New Orleans restaurant family, Dickie Brennan has spent his life in the hospitality field. His first taste of the industry began at Commander’s Palace under legendary chef Paul Prudhomme.
Full Biography
Contact Dickie Brennan
Ralph Brennan
The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group
Ralph Brennan entered the family business in the early 1980’s after a successful stint as a Certified Public Accountant with Price Waterhouse & Company.
Full Biography
Contact Ralph Brennan
Chef Frank Brigtsen
Brigtsen’s Restaurant
Frank Brigtsen is at the forefront of a new generation of New Orleans chefs who are revitalizing Creole/Acadian cooking. Co-owner of Brigtsen's Restaurant with his wife, Marna...
Full Biography
Contact Chef Frank Brigtsen
Holly Clegg
Healthy Recipe Cookbook Author
Holly Clegg, the "Queen of Quick," is author of the trim&TERRIFIC cookbook series including a diabetic cookbook with the ADA, Eating Well Through Cancer and KIDS COOKING for Mommies.
Full Biography
Contact Holly Clegg
Stephen Domingue
Ragin Cajun Cafe, Hermosa Beach, CA
The Ragin Cajun Cafe opened in 1992, in beautiful Hermosa Beach, California, and continues to serve Gulf seafood.
Full Biography
Contact Stephen Domingue
Bob Guilbeau
Prejean's Restaurant
Located in the heart of French Louisiana, Prejean's Restaurant captures the hearts of all who visit. A delight to all “six” senses, Prejean’s Restaurant satisfies diners with some of the best cuisine available in the south. In a culture famous for delicious flavors, Prejean’s leads the way.
Full Biography
Contact Bob Guilbeau
Chef Donald Link
Herbsaint and Cochon
Inspired by his Grandfather, Donald Link began cooking at a very young age. He was working in the kitchen at age 15 washing dishes and soon began cooking.
Full Biography
Contact Donald Link
Chef Duke LoCicero
Cafe Giovanni
In his 19 years at Cafe' Giovanni, Owner and Chef Duke LoCicero has been bringing worldwide attention to New Orleans Cuisine. Born and raised in New Orleans...
Full Biography
Contact Chef Duke LoCicero
Chef Paul Prudhomme
K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen®
Chef Paul Prudhomme has propelled the distinctive cuisine of his native Louisiana into the international spotlight and continues to push the limits by creating exciting and new American and international dishes.
Full Biography
Contact Chef Paul Prudhomme
Papa Roux
Papa Roux Indianapolis, Indiana
A native of New Orleans East, Papa Roux is a graduate of Marion Abramson Senior High School and the brother of Middendorf’s Seafood Restaurant, Akers, LA, pastry chef Michael Bouvier and New Orleans...
Full Biography
Contact Papa Roux
Music
Michael Doucet
Beausoleil
Michael Doucet is a Cajun fiddler, singer, and songwriter who founded the Cajun band BeauSoleil from Lafayette, Louisiana.
Full Biography
Contact Michael Doucet
Richard “Dickie” Landry
Musician
Born and raised in Cecilia, Louisiana, Richard “Dickie” Landry began singing Gregorian chants at Latin mass services at the age of six, and by age ten, he had picked up his instrument of choice...
Full Biography
Contact Richard “Dickie” Landry
Terrance Simien
Musician
For nearly 30 years, Grammy award winning artist Terrance Simien, 8th generation Louisiana Creole has been shattering the myths about what his indigenous Zydeco music...
Full Biography
Contact Terrance Simien
Seafood
Pat Fahey
Ameripure Oysters
AmeriPure is a oyster processing company, based in Franklin, Louisiana, is one of America’s largest suppliers of half-shell Gulf oysters to grocery store chains and restaurants across America...
Full Biography
Contact Pat Fahey
Davis Savoy
Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association
The Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association (LCFA) strives to be the primary resource, advocate and proponent for the crawfish industry. It is a state-wide, private-sector...
Full Biography
Contact Davis Savoy
Ewell Smith
Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board
In 1984, the State of Louisiana created the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board to support their vast historical commercial fisheries industry
Full Biography
Contact Ewell Smith
Kevin Voison
Motivatit Seafoods, Inc. - www.HorizonRelief.org
Kevin Voison, an eighth generation oyster-man who has witnessed the way day laborers and other essential employees who literally do the dirty work of seafood processing continually fall...
Full Biography
Contact Kevin Voison
Mike Voisin
Motivatit Seafoods, Inc.
Motivatit seafoods, based in Houma, Louisiana, is the home of Gold Band Oysters®. Motivatit is a family owned business, established in 1971 in Houma...
Full Biography
Contact Mike Voisin
Coastal Accommodations, Attractions and Restaurants
Freida Awre
The German-American Culture Center
p. 504.433.5924 / 504.931.3616
Neil Castaldi
Nottoway Plantation
Nottoway is the largest remaining antebellum mansion in the Southern United States and rests grandly along Louisiana's Great River Road in White Castle...
Full Biography
Contact Neil Castaldi
Chris Costello
Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association
Founded in 1972, the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association’s (FMIA) motto is "Helping to make the Marigny a better place to live, work, and play."
Full Biography
Contact Chris Costello
Foster Creppel
Woodland Plantation
Just 40 minutes south of New Orleans, Woodland Plantation and Spirits Hall offer outstanding service and cuisine in a unique setting rich in history, culture and natural beauty.
Full Biography
Contact Foster Creppel
Phil Frost
Baton Rouge Zoo
Over the past almost thirty-eight years, the Baton Rouge Zoo has grown to become the #1 year around family attraction in Baton Rouge.
Full Biography
Contact Phil Frost
Byron Marinovich
Black Velvet Oyster Bar and Grill
Located in Buras, Louisiana, the Black Velvet Oyster Bar and Grill serves fresh Louisiana seafood daily. The restaurant has been affected by the BP oil spill...
Full Biography
Contact Byron Marinovich
Joan Stromeyer
Lighthouse Lodge & Villas
Venice is called by many, the finest fishing destination in the United States. And their guests appreciate that since 1998, Lighthouse Lodge Motel is one of the best place to stay.
Full Biography
Contact Joan Stromeyer
Ann R. Tuennerman
Tales of Cocktail Founder
Tales of the Cocktail is what happens when a love for well-crafted cocktails and the city of New Orleans meet a relentless entrepreneurial spirit. That is Ann Tuennerman.
Full Biography
Contact Ann R. Tuennerman
Sport Fishing and Charter Tours
Captain Daryl Carpenter
Louisiana Charter Boat Association
The Louisiana Charter Boat Association was created to protect and promote the development and preservation of the fishing guide industry in Louisiana.
Full Biography
Contact Captain Daryl Carpenter
Capt’n Sammie Faulk
Gotta Go Charters, Lake Calcasieu
Gotta Go Charters is on of Calcasieu’s premier charter fishing and hunting guides. Stay at one of our beautiful Guest Houses on Calcasieu Lake and enjoy...
Full Biography
Contact Capt’n Sammie Faulk
Captain Bill Lake
Bayou Guide Service, Houma
South Louisiana produces the finest Redfish and Speckled Trout fishing in the World. Come and experience the excitement of Saltwater Fishing...
Full Biography
Contact Captain Bill Lake
Tom Moorman, Ph.D.
Ducks Unlimited Southern Region, Director of Conservation Planning, Head of DU's Gulf Coast Response Team
Dr. Moorman has 25 years of experience in Gulf Coast wetlands restoration and management. He also has conducted research...
Full Biography
Contact Tom Moorman
Business and Economic Development
GiGi Burke
Burke Brokerage
A Greater New Orleans Area real estate company, Burke Brokerage provides the most comprehensive information...
Full Biography
Contact GiGi Burke
Beth Galante
Global Green Director of New Orleans Resource Center & Office
Beth Galante is responsible for the operation of Global Green's New Orleans Resource Center & Office, supervision of the Holy Cross Project...
Full Biography
Contact Beth Galante
Coastal Environmental and Political Issues
Dr. Ed Chervenak
University of New Orleans professor of Political Science
Dr. Chervenak can provide analysis on the politics of the oil disaster and its various implications...
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Ed Chervenak
Quenton Dokken
Ph.D., Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Inc.
In May of 1990, private citizens representing fisheries, business, industry, tourism, agriculture, and environmental conservation came together to form the Gulf of Mexico Foundation...
Full Biography
Contact Quenton Dokken, Ph.D.
Dr. Ioannis Georgiou
University of New Orleans Director of Coastal and Environmental Hydrodynamics Lab
Dr. Ioannis specializes in hydrology and coastal surge.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Ioannis Georgiou
Dr. John Kiefer
University of New Orleans professor of Political Science
Dr. Kiefer is an expert in emergency management. He can discuss how emergency managers at all levels have handled this crisis...
Full Biography
Contact Dr. John Kiefer
Dr. Mark Kulp
University of New Orleans Coastal Geologist
Dr. Kulp’s areas of specialty include sediment loading, northern gulf coast, barrier islands and wetlands.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Mark Kulp
Dr. Bhaskar Kura
University of New Orleans Environmental Engineer
Dr. Kura is an expert in air quality and is doing air quality research on the oil spill.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Bhaskar Kura
Dr. Shirley Laska
University of New Orleans professor of Sociology
Dr. Laska is the Director Emerita of UNO's Center for Hazards Assessment, Response and Technology (CHART).
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Shirley Laska
Dr. John Lopez, Ph. D
Coastal Sustainability, Program Director, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation Save Our Coast
Dr. John Lopez is a coastal scientist who has been LPBF’s Director of the Coastal Sustainability Program since June 2005.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. John Lopez
Dr. Ivan Miestchovich
Professor of Finance and Director Institute for Economic Development and Real Estate Research
Dr. Miestchovich can discuss the effects either the drilling moratorium or the oil disaster is having on local businesses.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Ivan Miestchovich
Anne Milling
Women of the Storm
Women of the Storm has harnessed the latest in social media techniques as it seeks to capture hundreds of thousands of e-signatures that its members will take to Congress...
Full Biography
Contact Anne Milling
Dr. Marty O'Connell
Expert from the University of New Orleans
Marty is an expert on the fish population and has extensively researched the presence of lemon sharks in the Chandaleur Islands.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Marty O'Connell
Steven Peyronnin
Executive Director of Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
Steven Peyronnin is the Executive Director for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana. The Coalition is a statewide advocacy organization focusing on coastal policy and public affairs ...
Full Biography
Contact Steven Peyronnin
Dr. Denise Reed
University of New Orleans Coastal Ecologist and Interim Director of Pontchartrain Center for Environmental Sciences
Dr. Reed has been one of the most widely quoted wetlands experts since the oil spill started.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Denise Reed
Robert A. Thomas
Ph.D., Center for Environmental Communication, Loyola University New Orleans
Robert A. Thomas is the director of the Center for Environmental Communications at Loyola. He served three years as the interim director of the School of Mass Communication.
Full Biography
Contact Robert A. Thomas, Ph.D.
Chris Schieble
Operations Manager-Coastal Education and Research Facility (CERF)
The facility is operated by UNO at Chef Menteur Pass near Venetian Isles. Chris and his team test water quality and marine life in Lake Pontchartrain.
Full Biography
Contact Chris Schieble
Dr. Elizabeth "Birdie" Shirtcliff
University of New Orleans professor of Psychology
Dr. Shirtcliff is an expert in stress. She can address how the stress changes the way the body functions during times of crisis.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Elizabeth "Birdie" Shirtcliff
Dr. Tom Soniat
University of New Orleans Biologist
Dr. Soniat has expertise in oysters, fisheries dynamics and disease ecology.
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Tom Soniat
Dr. Matt Tarr
University of New Orleans Chair of Chemistry Department
Dr. Tarr is doing experiments with oil taken from the surface of the water. He has brought the oil back to his lab to see how...
Full Biography
Contact Dr. Matt Tarr
Robert R. Twilley, Ph.D
LSU Director and Professor
Dr. Twilley’s research has focused on systems ecology and biogeochemistry of coastal wetlands both in the Gulf of Mexico and throughout Latin America.
Full Biography
Contact Robert R. Twilley
Dr. John Williams
Director of the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration
Dr. Williams can talk about the research his group is doing on the oil disaster's effects on New Orleans' hospitality industry
Full Biography
Contact Dr. John Williams
