NOLAbound Applicant Details

In what city do you currently reside?

San Francisco, CA

What do you love the most about where you live?

There’s so much to love about San Francisco! I moved here from Nebraska for school at 18, but I always say I became an adult here. SF is my playground, my sanctuary, my Never-Never Land. Above all though, what makes this home is the community of creative, motivated and unique individuals that surrounds me. Not a day goes by that I don’t experience a stimulating conversation, have a moment of inspiration, or stop in awe to appreciate the beauty of this place. Oh, and did I mention great restaurants, amazing yoga, and oh-so-danceable music? Yea, that too.

In what other cities have you lived?

n/a

What is/was your favorite city and why?

I’m lucky enough to live in my favorite city. So rather than go on for another 100 words about San Francisco, I’ll talk about my second favorite city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I spent two weeks there on a backpacking trip in 2010 and fell in love with Brazilian design aesthetic, white sand beaches, San Francisco-like terrain and Açai smoothies. But again, it all comes back to people. I became friends with several “Cariocas” who welcomed me into their circle of friends and introduced me to a side of the city I would never have found on my own.

What do you hope to gain from NOLAbound?

New Orleans fascinates me on so many levels, and I find myself constantly evangelizing on the city’s behalf. Through participating in NOLABound, I hope to experience a new side of New Orleans and understand more of what’s possible there in a practical business sense. The first thing I noticed when I first visited last year was the possibility I saw all around me, and the creative energy that is seemingly bursting at the seams. While I hadn’t thought of it in this light before, I’m intrigued at the idea of New Orleans as a start-up town.

What is your overall opinion of New Orleans?

The best way I know how describe New Orleans is that it’s a place incredibly rich in texture, culture, history and flavors of about every kind. More so than any other place I have visited in the U.S., for sure. When people ask me what I love about New Orleans (and believe me, I’m asked a lot!), the first thing I always say is, “the way I feel when I’m there.” It’s deeper than the jaw-dropping architecture, coma-inducing food and unique culture. There’s an essence to New Orleans that somehow energizes and calms me at the same time.

Single most important issue facing New Orleans?

The way I see it, New Orleans walks a difficult line between the past and the future. How does a place as rooted in the past as NOLA preserve—and be proud of—it’s history, while staying ahead of the curve on issues like sustainability, technology and social services? The challenge is to transform the city’s deep roots into a sustainable trajectory toward the future. I deeply respect the fact that Katrina was a devastating and disrupting time but I also wonder if the issues NOLABound addresses have simply been brought to light faster than they would have otherwise.

Community Response: