Brett Davis - Founding Director
Brett is a native New Orleanian and graduate of Trinity Episcopal School, Isidore Newman, the College of Charleston and the Louisiana State University Master of Landscape Architecture program. While receiving his secondary degree, he was a research assistant in the Coastal Sustainability Studio, an interdisciplinary laboratory focused on reducing the causes and effects associated with coastal land loss. In 2013 he started a design business, Land Cover, that is still in operation, to help clients revitalize buildings and vacant lots in historically significant neighborhoods around New Orleans. Eventually, his lifelong passion for nature and travel lead him to attempt to solve an environmental problem unique to his hometown, Mardi Gras waste, and in 2018 Grounds Krewe was formed. Brett lives in the building where he grew up, formerly his family’s African Art Gallery, on Magazine street in uptown.
Hannah Pittman - Operations
Hannah moved to New Orleans in 2021 from her hometown of Fairhope, Alabama on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. She has a diverse background that includes a degree in Conservation Ecology, studies in Environmental Politics and Policies and time working in Financial Management. She has also spent the past 10 years running her own marketing firm and currently sits on the Board of Earth Day Mobile Bay. Hannah is elated to bring her work to New Orleans where she hopes to connect ideas and people to share conservation efforts across the Greater Gulf Coast. “Our ecosystems don’t have defined borders, we are all connected, and I hope to share this understanding in order to spark positive change in the actions we take as individuals.” Hannah likes solving complex problems, dancing, writing, drawing, wearing butterfly wings and napping in the sunshine with her two lovely children.
Jeffrey Schwartz - Board Secretary
Jeff is the Director of Economic Development for the City of New Orleans. Previously, he served as founding Executive Director of Broad Community Connections, a non-profit community development organization that promotes the revitalization of Broad Street and its surrounding neighborhoods in New Orleans. He has a Master of City Planning degree from MIT, where he studied City Design & Development and Housing & Community Economic Development, and wrote his thesis on fresh food access in New Orleans before and after Katrina. He is actively involved with planning and transportation issues, serving on the boards of the Regional Planning Commission, Industrial Development Board, Ride New Orleans, the Trust for Public Land, and the Friends of Lafitte Greenway. Jeff loves his hometown and works to promote its long-term sustainability and vitality, especially when it involves innovating on local traditions and assets.
Joe Marin - Board Treasurer
Joe grew up in Algiers, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, and returned to New Orleans to work locally for a product design consultancy based in Silicon Valley. From engineering design to closet organization, he's passionate about finding creative solutions to challenging problems. Joe believes we should be good stewards of the planet through smart and responsible decision making and resource management. He's excited to support the mission of the non-profit in bringing about a positive shift in local traditions to reduce their environmental impact, while building on the positive feelings that come with festival culture. In his spare time, he enjoys playing soccer, supporting his neighborhood breweries, and do-it-yourselfing.
Blainey Kern - Board Member
Blainey Kern is a New Orleans native and daughter of the famous float builder, Blaine Kern. Blainey grew up immersed in Mardi Gras culture. As a child she played among the floats with painters, sculptors and builders and learned how to build papier-mâché props and work with fiberglass. Blainey studied art at Loyola University in New Orleans, then earned her Masters degree in Sculpture from Rhode Island School of Design. She currently owns and operates a gallery on Magazine St., Blainey’s World, of her clay sculpture, jewelry, painting, drawings and collage work. She is passionate about improving the parade experience and reducing the waste they create.
Theresa Young - Board Member
Theresa Young is the founder of GreenGenuity, a sustainability services and consulting company. After 20 years of event, film, TV and commercial production experience, she started the company in response to a growing need for better sustainability solutions in those industries. Working on music festivals all over the United States, including 18 years at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Young has gained a unique insight into the challenges of implementing recycling efforts at large events. She continues to put her experience to work providing real solutions to the urgent threat entertainment productions pose to the environment.
Suzannah Powell - Board Member
Suzannah Powell, professionally known as Boyfriend, has spent the last decade writing and producing music for Big Freedia, Pussy Riot, The Revivalists, Galactic, Slayyyter, Charli XCX, and Rebecca Black to name a few. She's co-produced original music commissioned by Lady Gaga and for major motion pictures like Space Jam 2. Her over the top live shows have earned her critical acclaim from Rolling Stone and a feature in Sony Pictures' Grammy Award winning Jazz Fest Documentary. She was appointed as Sustainability Adviser to the Krewe of Freret, an annual musically themed parade that includes a Mardi Gras float constructed in her likeness. This honor provides her with a unique perspective on the traditions and celebrations that make Mardi Gras so special, and the importance of addressing the severe sustainability issues entrenched in current Mardi Gras culture.
