| Rick Heydinger Honored by New Orleans City Council for his work in NOLA
In March, Rick Heydinger, PSG Partner Emeritus was recognized by proclamation of the New Orleans City Council for his work to help rebuild the City post-Katrina. Rick has been working tirelessly to aide rebuilding efforts in New Orleans since he went to New Orleans on behalf of PSG in 2006.
Rick’s relationship with New Orleans began when he coordinated the 2006 PSG Network Conference held in April of that year. In 2005, PSG was working with the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (DCRT) when Katrina hit. The hurricane necessitated a redirection of our work with DCRT and prompted a decision to hold our annual meeting in New Orleans so that the meeting could support our client and their efforts to rebuild New Orleans, the heart of the state’s tourism industry. Rick was the leader of the Network Meeting in every respect – coordinating, planning and logistics, building relationships in New Orleans and ensuring that the meeting delivered something of value for the City of New Orleans.
At the Network Meeting, six design labs were held over two days to help address some of the critical issues the city was facing post-Katrina. The five topics were: housing, procurement, New Orleans diaspora, accountability to citizens, financing the rebuilding, and rebuilding the social fabric of the City. The labs were compiled into a single report that is still being utilized today by the public and non-profit sectors. Meeting participants also toured the Ninth Ward, had a memorable meeting with St. Barnard’s firefighters to hear about their Katrina experiences, and engaged in a citywide clean-up. In spearheading the meeting, Rick connected with many individuals and resources in the New Orleans community – cultural, non-profit and government that made the meeting very rich for all involved. Rick has continued to develop the relationships that began with the planning of the Network Meeting.
An important new relationship developed with Shades of Praise, a New Orleans inter-racial gospel choir that performed at the Network Meeting and their director Michael Cowan. Cowan also serves as the co-founder and Executive Director of Common Good, a coalition of 97 spiritual, cultural and human service organizations in New Orleans that are working together to reweave the social fabric of the city. Rick has been serving pro-bono as a strategic advisor to Cowan in his work with Common Good. So far, Common Good has successfully built coalitions around crime and worked to secure approval for hiring the City’s first inspector general who has broad authority to address corruption in the City.
Rick has also worked with Cowan to bring Shades of Praise to the Twin Cities for a weekend of performances hosted by seven local churches. The Shades gave concerts at three churches, with each followed by a dinner or reception and discussion about how to build “the beloved community.” Over 700 people attended these three events. These events served as the launch for a broader effort, Raising Our Voices, which intends to support inter-church initiatives in St. Paul. Thanks to a match from the Pohlad Family Foundation, more than $17,000 was raised to support Shades of Praise and it’s mission of rededication and reconciliation in Louisiana.
Rick’s work with Cowan led to an introduction to New Orleans Councilman James Carter, a former public defender and likely candidate for mayor. Carter and Cowan are both committed to learning about best practices in other cities, so Rick arranged for them to visit the Twin Cities on two occasions. During the two visits, Cowan and Carter participated in a series of discussions about best practices in policing, housing, economic development, governance, politics and the intersection with stakeholder interests. Similar visits may take place in the future.
In addition to this work, Rick has visited New Orleans on two other occasions with his church to do home restoration. The group’s experiences have been made deeper by Rick’s connections in New Orleans creating opportunities for the groups to meet with leaders from government, non-profits, and business while visiting the city.
As you can see, Rick’s recognition by the New Orleans City Council was richly deserved. PSG is very proud of his commitment and grateful for the wonderful experience he created for our partners and Network members in New Orleans in April of 2006
Lorraine Becomes a Candidate!
PSG is very excited that Partner Lorraine Chang has decided to take the big leap and run for political office. Lorraine is running for a non-partisan seat on the new Learning Community Coordinating Council in Omaha, Nebraska. Check out her campaign website: http://www.changforlearningcommunity.com/
 The Learning Community is a brand new concept that was created by the Nebraska State Legislature in 2006. Its purpose is to create more opportunities for student success through strategic collaboration among the 11 school districts in Douglas and Sarpy Counties. Lorraine is passionate about education and believes that the new Learning Community presents an unprecedented opportunity to build on the strengths of the individual school districts and to create new pathways of success for all students. Good Luck Lorraine!
Laurie Ohmann appointed to Board of National Domestic Abuse Shelter Organization
Laurie Ohmann has been appointed to the Board of Governors of National Day One, LLC. The goal of National Day One is to help victims of domestic abuse secure safe shelter within 24 hours of their decision to flee the abuser. With one phone call, a victim is directly connected to the shelter nearest her location. Advocates then arrange for housing at that shelter or, if the shelter is full, access information about housing availability with other providers through a secure website without forcing the victim to make additional calls in that critical period for personal safety. Day One is a program provided through Cornerstone and has been operational in Minnesota for more than 13 years. Laurie at various times has served on the boards of Day One Minnesota (The Day One Center, Inc.) and Cornerstone. Through Day One National, LLC, the service is being expanded across the country.
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