Ani DiFranco is an American singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco’s music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe.

DiFranco supports many social and political movements by performing benefit concerts, appearing on benefit albums and speaking at rallies. Through the Righteous Babe Foundation, DiFranco has backed grassroots cultural and political organizations supporting causes including abortion rights and LGBT visibility. She counts American folk singer and songwriter Pete Seeger among her mentors.

DiFranco released a memoir, No Walls and the Recurring Dream, in 2019, via Viking Books and made The New York Times Best Seller List.

In 2021, DiFranco released the album Revolutionary Love. She has been a board member since ???

Bio coming soon

As soon as Bryant Watson could reach, he played his father’s sparkly orange drum kit in a Canton, Ohio basement. Surrounded by a family of musicians, Watson grew up listening to hip hop, soul, R&B, jazz, fusion, and many other styles. Thoroughly immersed, he began gigging at at age 14 and teaching after school music lessons at age 15, creating a strong foundation of musicianship. With an anchor in jazz, Watson expanded his range of performance to rock, hip hop, R&B, Blues, Latin jazz, and Afro Cuban.

After moving to Cleveland in 2013, he gained experience playing in Greek and Chinese ensembles while obtaining a BA in Music Education at Cleveland State University.

In 2017, Watson moved to New Orleans where he plays with many musicians, including Daria and the Hip Drops, NOLA Dukes, and Michael Watson and the Alchemy.

When Watson is not performing, he teaches at The Roots of Music and The Roots of Music Studio Academy. His lessons span music production, musicianship, drum set, piano, music theory, and music history. He finds great joy in passing down his knowledge and tools to future artists

Carmelitia Coleman Agee, Senior Manager of Project Management and Consulting, has been with Transact Campus, Inc. (formerly Blackboard Transact) for 10 years. She has over 20 years of experience in higher education both as a university administrator and consultant. In her role with Transact Campus, Inc. she leads project managers of cross-functional project teams in all phases of software implementations, driving delivery of security, payments, and e-commerce technology and process engagements. She is adept at cultivating business relationships with clients, executive management, vendors, and employees across all levels of various organizations. Her passion is helping and guiding students through their educational journey to a bright future. She has experience with fundraising and creating scholarship programs for students to pursue their dreams in education.

Bio coming soon

Bio coming soon

Derrick was born and raised in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans. A drummer since the age of 5, Derrick is a professional musician and major contributor to the music industry. Since the 1990s, Derrick has performed as the snare drummer with the 2012 Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band.

Derrick believes strongly that music is a powerful force for good. By instilling invaluable skills and self-discipline, music education can provide youth with the foundation to make positive life choices. He has extensive experience with our city’s school marching bands having served as the marching band drum instructor at both high school and middle school levels.

Derrick’s belief in the future of New Orleans and to the preservation and celebration of its great cultural and musical heritage led him to found the Roots of Music. His commitment to improving the life choices of youth in New Orleans and to the success of the program have led to national recognition for the Roots of Music and its leader:

• In 2009, Derrick was named a Top Ten CNN Hero
• In 2010, Derrick was an Energizer Bunny Hall of Fame Top Ten Finalist
• In 2011, Derrick won a Blue Cross Blue Shield Angel Award for outstanding volunteer services on behalf of Louisiana’s Children

Matt Sakakeeny studies the intersections of music, race, and power. He is the author of Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans (Duke Press, 2013) and articles in several edited collections and journals, including Ethnomusicology, Black Music Research Journal, and Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and Society. He is co-author of Keywords in Sound (Duke Press, 2015) and his work consistently troubles the boundaries between music and sound. He is also co-author of Remaking New Orleans: Beyond Exceptionalism and Authenticity (Duke Press, 2019), exemplifying how his studies of the region go beyond music. Matt has received grants from the National Science Foundation, Awards to Louisiana Artists and Scholars, and the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South, and awards from the Society for Ethnomusicology, the Popular Music Section of SEM, and Tulane University’s Center for Public Service. As part of his community-engaged research, Matt is a board member for Roots of Music and the Dinerral Shavers Educational Fund, and has published in media outlets such as Oxford American and NPR’s All Things Considered. He is also the guitarist and bandleader of Los Po-Boy-Citos and released a solo album in 2018 as The Lonely Birds.

Edward Lee Johnson Sr. was born to the parents of Elmer Lee Johnson and Gwendolyn R. Johnson (Willis). At the age of eight he received his first drumming job where he later became the main drummer at the age of eleven. He attended Sarah T. Reed Sr. High School where he played football and played in the marching band. After graduating, Edward continued playing for the local churches and doing gigs around the U.S. He made the decision to attend college at Southern University at New Orleans where he started his studies in music. He also attended South Carolina State University and has played drums for various artists such as Bishop Paul Morton, Tremaine Hawkins, and filled in on drums for the late Rance Allen. He currently teaches at Worley Middle School and The Roots of Music after school program.

Erica Spruille is a passionate advocate for community programming with over 10 years of experience in fundraising and donor management. A born and raised NOLA native, her post-Katrina transition from an illustrious corporate career to a successful nonprofit career was to remove societal barriers to success, create spaces for youth to flourish, and ensure the longevity of New Orleans’ cultural legacy. Spruille is a proud Warren Easton Fundamental Senior High School graduate and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Economics from The Southern University of New Orleans. She enjoys parading and participates with two of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras krewes each year.

Jade Brown Russell bio coming soon

Bio coming soon

Jeffrey Seymour bio coming soon

Julian Herbert bio coming soon

Karon Reese got her real estate license while working on a Ph.D. in literature at the University of Arkansas in 2004. She quickly discovered that she loves the exhilaration that comes with helping people find one of their big loves-their homes. She went on to become a top producer, getting her broker’s license a few years later. She moved to New Orleans in 2011 and fell hard and fast in love with the city. When she’s not listing and selling the gorgeous architecture of New Orleans she’s hosting Mardi Gras parade parties, not missing a day of Jazz Fest, and frequenting all of the city’s great restaurants. Karon serves as a board member of the New Orleans Film Society, as vice president of Friends of the New Orleans Library, and assists with fundraising for the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights. She’s a member of two krewes, two book clubs, and is a faithful yogi.

Source:
https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/567ff4d47e54f701001ec4f5

A New Orleans native with more than 25 years of experience as a music educator, Mr. Rawlins currently serves as Director of Bands at Lake Forest Charter Blue Ribbon School.. Mr. Rawlins has been a part of The Roots of Music for 15 years. Mr. Rawlins has had the opportunity to be a participant of The Tournament of Roses parade on 2 different occasions. He’s a co-founder of the NewOrleans Allstar high school band, which allowed hundreds of students across the city of New Orleans to participate in and enjoy being a part of an elite marching band. Mr. Rawlins’ resume includes experience planning and directing both festival and Madi Gras krewe parades, as well as other community events. Lawrence is a former member of Southern University HumanJukebox Marching Band and serves as the Alumni Band Director on occasion. His knowledge and experience of music and band culture of the city has allowed him to be a resource to his fellow peers and many others. Lawrence’s passion is educating others of music foundation and fundamentals to keep the music culture of the city passing on from one generation to the next.

From decades of work as a band director and music educator, as well as decades of engaging with some of the most important cultural institutions of New Orleans, Mr. Lawrence brings a wealth of experience and deep connections to Louisiana’s music, student musician and cultural communities to the ROM team.

Mary McCullough bio coming soon

Dr. Patrick Bordnick is the Dean of the Tulane University School of Social Work. Dr. Bordnick has over twenty years of experience in clinical and laboratory research on cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, amphetamine, heroin, and nicotine addiction. Research interest areas include clinical medication trials, treatment development, human laboratory studies, behavioral disorders, health/behavioral health, virtual reality, and mobile data collection. Dr. Bordnick has been the principal investigator on a NIH/NIDA R24 Center grant.  In 2004 he received an international award for outstanding scientific merit in VR drug abuse research from the Canada Chair in Cyber Psychology.

Dr. Bordnick is a pioneer in the use of virtual reality for substance abuse assessment and intervention. From 2007-2016, Dr. Bordnick was the Director of the Virtual Reality Clinical Research Lab (VRCRL) at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. The VRCRL under Dr. Bordnick’s direction developed virtual environments for alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, heroin and other behavioral disorders. The hallmark of his work has led to improvements in teaching, research therapies and integrated healthcare.

Dr. Bordnick envisions a world where humans interact seamlessly with technology, to improve teaching, research, therapy, and aid in knowledge building. Using technology to solve real world problems has been the hallmark of his work.  VRCRL Projects included: Virtual reality systems for assessing drug use triggers and craving, Virtual reality treatment software for nicotine and alcohol dependence, Virtual reality programs for studying drug use contexts, and clinical teaching systems based on artificial intelligence platforms.

source: https://news.tulane.edu/bio/patrick-bordnick

For over twenty years as a percussion instructor, Mr. Shoan Ruffin has made an impact in the lives of countless students in the New Orleans area and beyond. Though most notable for being the long time drum instructor at John F. Kennedy High School, Mr. Ruffin has worked with many drum sections past and present, such as Andrew J. Bell Junior High and Sarah T. Reed Senior High. He currently works with the drum sections at St. Augustine Senior High, The Roots of Music and Talladega College.

Will Snowden bio coming soon

With a background in arts and crafts from a young age, Windi Sebren moved to New Orleans in 2000 and went to work at the region’s largest Mardi Gras supplier as a graphic designer. After seven years of Carnival immersion, she switched tracks entirely and worked for New Orleans’s oldest operating bookshop for over two years, then began an eight-year stint at a beloved local woman-owned boutique as shipping manager, social media guru, website overseer, and Jill of all trades. During the 2020 Carnival season, Windi joined The Roots of Music as their Marketing and Social Media Manager and has not looked back. She is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and divides her time between New Orleans and Shreveport.