Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans continues to learn and teach powerful lessons in equity and urban planning. Over the past two decades, city residents have wondered who the urban planning process is designed to benefit and who makes the final decisions on the Master Plan.
At this year’s Morrison Lecture, nationally renowned urban planner David Dixon—who helped draft the city’s post-Katrina Master Plan—will reframe the story of recovery: not as a saga of missteps or a quest for perfection, but as the pursuit of an achievable, community-centered vision. Dixon will explore what was learned, and how New Orleans is uniquely positioned for success thanks to its history, cultural diversity, and strong neighborhood identities. Following the keynote, a panel of local community leaders will reflect on their roles during the recovery and discuss ongoing opportunities for growth.
David Dixon, FAIA Stantec’s Urban Places Fellow
Tasked with leading the city’s post-Katrina Master Plan, Dixon has said that working with the great people of New Orleans remains his most rewarding professional experience. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) awarded Dixon the Institute’s Thomas Jefferson Medal for “a lifetime of creating livable neighborhoods, vibrant civic spaces, and vital downtowns.” Residential Architecture Magazine named Dixon to their Hall of Fame as “the person we call to ask about cities.” He has received the American Planning Association’s (APA) Hard-Won Victory Award for his New Orleans work, and more than three dozen awards from the Congress for the New Urbanism, the International Downtown Association, and similar organizations.
B. Mitchell, Co-Executive Director and Director of Operations, Broadmoor Improvement Association
With over a decade of leadership experience, B. Mitchell is mission-driven and passionate about creating
meaning change and opportunities in communities. Currently serving as the Co-Executive Director of the
Broadmoor Improvement Association, Mitchell specializes in strategic planning, financial sustainability,
and community engagement. His background spans public education, nonprofit leadership, and
operations where he has led organizational transformations and built strong cross-sector partnerships. A
graduate of Southern University, Mitchell also holds multiple certifications in education, finance, and
HR, and thrives at the intersection of people, strategy, and impact.
Marla Nelson, PhD Freeport Professorship in Urban & Public Affairs
Marla Nelson, Ph.D., holds the Freeport Professorship in Urban & Public Affairs. Dr. Nelson is an
Associate Professor in the Department of Planning and Urban Studies at the University of New Orleans where she teaches and conducts research in local economic development, community development, and urban revitalization. Nelson’s recent work on New Orleans addresses planning and policy
interventions to deal with vacant and abandoned property and the difficulties city officials have faced in translating the desire for a safer, better city into policies that could direct a just redevelopment. She has been published in Cityscape, the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Economic Development Quarterly, the Journal of Urban Affairs, the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Planning Practice and Research, and Urban Studies. Active in local and national organizations, Nelson is member of the national and Louisiana chapters of the American Planning Association (APA), the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), Planners Network, the Urban Affairs Association Governing Board, and the Vacant Property Research Network
Advisory Board, and serves on the board of two community based organizations in New Orleans. Nelson received her BA in economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and her MCRP and PhD in urban planning and policy development from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Mayra Pineda President and CEO, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana
Mayra Pineda is a local businesswoman and the President and CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, where she has worked tirelessly to develop strong and long-lasting business relationships between Louisiana, the Hispanic community, and Latin America. She is a former Consul
General of Honduras in New Orleans, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama and a Subway Franchise owner for 25 years. Pineda is a current board member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation, City Park Conservancy, City of New Orleans Health Task Force, Boy Scouts of America
Southeast Louisiana Council, and the Historic New Orleans Collection. Pineda was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and received a BA in Business Administration from the Académie de Langues et de Commerce in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Jacob Haight and Mary Meek Morrison Memorial Lecture addresses topics in historic preservation and honors two longtime Vieux Carré residents, who were also ardent and tireless advocates for its preservation. Beginning in the 1930s and for decades following, the couple was in the vanguard of advancing preservation legislation and raising public awareness of issues in historic preservation. The mission of the Morrison Lecture is to bring insight to the strengths and challenges of the Vieux Carré from various disciplines to educate about the value of preservation, and the lectures to have relevance to the Vieux Carré as a Living Historic District. Previous Morrison lectures have included presentations from Pratt W. Cassity Jr. (2002 and 2014), Ed McMahon (2003), Anthony M. Tung (2006), Gregory B. Free (2008), Stanley A. Lowe (2010), Kirk Cordell (2012), Calder Loth (2016) and Costas Christ (2018).
This lecture is presented as a partnership between VCPORA, the Vieux Carré Commission Foundation, and The Historic New Orleans Collection.