Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
×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.
Arkesha Baquet
Arkesha Baquet
×Bryant Watson
Music Instructor
Bryant Watson
×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
Cedric Richmond
Cedric Richmond
×Congressman Cedric Richmond is the consummate public servant. He was elected to Congress in 2010, proudly serving the people of Louisiana’s Second Congressional District. Richmond was re-elected to six successive two-year terms. While in Congress, he served on the House Committee on Small Business, Judiciary, Homeland Security, and the all-powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. In recognition of Congressman Richmond’s tireless work to deliver on social justice and to push corporate America to address the absence of black representation at the highest levels of business, he was elected as the youngest person to ever Chair the Congressional Black Caucus.
Following a successful Congressional career, Richmond joined the Biden Administration in 2021, as Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. In that role he directly engaged with constituencies that ranged from the top CEO’s to Civil Rights Leaders to Youth Advocates.
Before serving in Congress, Richmond practiced law in New Orleans. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Tulane University School of Law and is a graduate of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Program for Senior Executives in Government. He has also received Honorary Doctorate degrees from Southern University A&M in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
Richmond is active in the community and a highly sought-after public speaker. He is married to Raquel Richmond, father of Cedric Richmond Jr., and is an avid golfer.
Chris Rankins
Music Instructor
Daniel O. Conwill
Derrick Tabb
Founder / Executive Director
Derrick Tabb
×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
Ed Johnson
Music Instructor
Ed Johnson
×Erica Spruille
Director of Development
Erica Spruille
×Jade Brown Russell
Jade Brown Russell
×Jade serves as a consultant to several public and private agencies on strategic planning, diversity, equity and inclusion, policy development and other business solutions, including the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Parish of East Baton Rouge-City of Baton Rouge, the City of Chattanooga, City of Pittsburgh, Plaquemines Port and Harbor Terminal, New Orleans Family and Justice Center, and Baton Rouge Recreation (BREC). Jade is also the outside general counsel for the Finance Authority of New Orleans and Crescent City Community Land Trust in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Jade’s philosophy on building an equitable ecosystem includes a multi-strategy approach to include dismantling systemic racism, promoting racial equity and building the capacity of people for economic and social resilience. Through her personal entrepreneurial journey, one recurring theme became apparent: Black Americans have never had an equal ability to reap the benefits of business ownership. Jade is the Founder of Maroon Inc. and Maroon Workspace, which builds solutions to foster innovation, collaborate with black-owned businesses, and embrace equity through a community of kinship, alliance and power.
Jaron “Bear” Williams
Music Instructor
Jeffrey Goldring
Jeffrey Goldring
×Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jeff Goldring attended and graduated from Tulane University in 1989 with a BA in Business. He also attended Newman School from K-12, graduating in 1985. During his career in the distilling industry, he has helped grow his family business into the largest distiller in North America. Jeffrey has been a donor from the very beginning and is just getting involved as a board member in 2023, but he loves the organization and its mission. Even though Goldring works around liquor he is in long term recovery and has not had a drink or drug in 22 years.
Jeffrey Seymour
Treasurer
Julian Herbert
President
Karon Reese
Secretary
Karon Reese
×Source:
https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/567ff4d47e54f701001ec4f5
Lawrence Rawlins
Artistic Director
Lawrence Rawlins
×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
Mary McCullough
×Matt Sakakeeny
Matt Sakakeeny
×Patrick Bordnick
Patrick Bordnick
×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.
Shoan Ruffin
Senior Music Instructor
Shoan Ruffin
×Veronique Dorsey
Music Instructor
Will Snowden
Vice President