Dream State Panel Engages Students: Donald Cravins, Jr., Dr. Adren Wilson and Rep. Walt Leger III

MEET DONALD CRAVINS, JR.

Donald Cravins, Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director of the Washington Bureau at National Urban League

Don Cravins, Jr. serves as the National Urban League’s Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director of the Washington Bureau. Cravins leads the development of the National Urban League’s policy, research, and advocacy agenda, while expending the organization’s impact and influence inside the Capital Beltway.

Since 1998, Cravins has been a practicing attorney and a member of the Louisiana Bar Association. In 2004, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 2006, Cravins was elected to the Louisiana Senate. During his tenure in the Louisiana Senate, Cravins was heavily involved in post-Hurricane Katrina issues as the Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee and was an active member of the Juvenile Justice Commission of Louisiana.

Cravins also served as Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and as Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana.

Cravins is a native of Southwest Louisiana; a graduate of Teurlings Catholic High, Louisiana State University and Southern University Law Center.

Don attended LYS in 1988 and 1989 and served on LYS staff from 1990-1997. Don has also been named to the LYS Hall of Fame and he serves as a member of the LYS Advisory Committee.

He is married to Attorney Yvette Puckett Cravins and they have three children, 2nd Year JC Dominique, Trey and Chloe.

MEET DR. ADREN WILSON

Dr. Adren O. Wilson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor John Bel Edwards

Dr. Adren Wilson is a talented national leader committed to equity and justice. He currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor John Bel Edwards.  Most recently, Dr. Wilson served as the national CEO of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps national service program.

A native of rural Louisiana who himself grew up in extreme poverty, Dr. Wilson has held an escalating series of leadership positions as a national CEO, community leader, administrator, and reformer working to lift individuals, families, and communities out of poverty.

Prior to joining Public Allies in 2014, he led workforce development and community college retention efforts as Gulf Coast Regional Director for Single Stop USA. Previously, he developed transformational leaders for public schools as Executive Director of New Leaders Greater New Orleans; worked to end persistent poverty in the South by leading the Equity and Inclusion Campaign; and as National Director of Youth and Student Leadership at The Children’s Defense Fund.

Wilson earned a Master in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and he has a doctorate in Public Policy from the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University. He received Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Political Science from Louisiana State University.

Dr. Wilson is also a member of the LYS family, having been honored as a Roddy Richard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient in 2001.

MEET WALTER "WALT" J. LEGER, III

Walt Leger, Speaker Pro Tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives and State Rep, District 91

Walter “Walt” J. Leger III is Speaker Pro Tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Representative for New Orleans’ District 91. He is also a civil litigator with the law firm of Leger & Shaw, where he has practiced law since 2006.

He is a proud graduate of Louisiana State University and Tulane Law School. Following law school, Walt served as a felony prosecutor in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office, where he earned a reputation as a skilled and fair-minded prosecutor. In the fall of 2007, Walt was first elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives and then re-elected without opposition in 2011 and 2015.

He was unanimously chosen by his colleagues to serve as the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2012 and again in 2016, the youngest member to ever hold this position. Walt has many legislative achievements he is proud of, including the creation of the Criminal Justice Reinvestment Program and the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund.

He is committed to making New Orleans and Louisiana a better place to live, especially as he and his wife, Danielle, raise their two young daughters, Cate and Caroline.

 

Terrence Simien Opens Dream State with a Cultural Showcase!

“There is no such thing as a ‘can’t happen’, dream big and don’t be embarrassed by about dreaming big because the dream is where it all starts. You know what makes that dream a reality... perseverance.”

Terrence not only shared his extensive experiences traveling the world, he taught our delegation a few French phrases and instilled pride in our great state of Louisiana.  He enlisted two delegates to join him on the rub board and entertained the delegation with a little Zydeco! Thank you Terrance Simien for sharing your time and talent with us!   

MEET TERRANCE SIMIEN 

Terrance Simien is zydeco musician, vocalist and songwriter. He and his band, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience,  won the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album for 2008.

Simien is an eighth generation Creole from one of the earliest Creole families documented to have settled in the Mallet area of St. Landry Parish.

In the early 1980s, Simien was a youth in his early 20's and one of only two emerging zydeco artists leading a band and performing their indigenous zydeco roots music.

Simien and his band have toured internationally, presenting over 7000 live performances in more than 40 countries, and released dozens of solo recordings and collaborations  

Simien and his business partner/wife, Cynthia, are active in Creole music education and advocacy. They created the "Creole for Kidz & The History of Zydeco" performing arts program, which provides informational performances to K-12 students, teachers and parents.

Simien is considered to be one of the most gifted vocalists, engaging performers and innovative recording artists in American roots music.

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome Introduces LYS Political Parties

“In order to lead you must listen, learn from those around you, and always be willing to serve others, especially in the realm of politics. Above everything, regardless of political affiliation, an accomplished leader is one who is seen as a trustworthy face in a room where nothing is absolute.”

MEET MAYOR PRESIDENT SHARON WESTON BROOME

Sharon Weston Broome was sworn in as the Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish on January 2 of 2017. She is the first woman to be elected as the leader of our capital city of Louisiana. Since the campaign trail, her focus has been to unite the citizenry around the common goals of equality in education, economic development, justice, housing, and other quality ways of life.

Prior to her current post, Broome served as a Baton Rouge Metro Council Member; Louisiana State Representative; and Louisiana State Senator. While in the legislature, she became the first woman to be elected by her peers as Speaker Pro Tempore and President Pro Tempore of the House and Senate.

Mayor-President Broome is a member of Star Hill Church, and is happily married to Marvin Broome. They are the proud parents of three children and three grandchildren.

Congratulations Dr. Jan Lancaster 2018 No Man Is An Island Award Winner!

In 2012, the Louisiana Youth Seminar Board of Directors established the “No Man is an Island Award”. The award was established to honor an Outstanding Delegate Alumni who exemplified the ideals of LYS and who has made exceptional contributions to something greater than him or herself since his/her year as a delegate at LYS.

Dr. Jan Daniel Lancaster graduated from Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, then received her Bachelor's Degree from Louisiana State University in Education. After teaching for several years, she then received her Master's Degree from UNO and eventually her Doctorate from the University of Memphis. Serving in many different

Lancaster is pictured as an LYS delegate third from left.

capacities, Dr. Lancaster has been an educational leader in New Orleans for many years. She's served as a teacher and vice principal, a principal in both public and private schools, and served as a professor and the chair of the education department at the University of Holy Cross. Most recently, she served as the Superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

After her 6-year tenure as Superintendent, Dr. Lancaster stepped down in the summer of 2017 and opened her own company, JDL Innovative Solutions. Today, she travels across the country sharing her knowledge of running schools and school districts, presenting on an array of topics, and assisting in creating/implementing strategic plans. She continues to be an advocate of education and works to create educational systems that produce the leaders of tomorrow.

Dr. Lancaster attended LYS in the summer of 1975  from Ursuline Academy in New Orleans.

Dr. Beverly Brooks Thompson Welcomes the Delegation

Meet Dr. Beverly Brooks Thompson 

Beverly Brooks Thompson, President and Executive Counsel, Brooks Thompson Consulting        

Beverly Brooks Thompson is a published academic and practitioner in the field of philanthropic leadership.  She holds a Doctorate in Human Resource Development specializing in Organizational Leadership with more than 20 years of fundraising campaign experience.  Beverly is the founder of Brooks Thompson Consulting, an international fundraising advising and philanthropic management consulting firm.

She was recognized by the Baton Rouge Business Report in the 2008 class of Top Forty under 40 and 2018 class of Most Influential Women in Business, has been recognized as the Marketer of the Year by Sales and Marketing Association, and was named the 2017 Alumna of the Yearby Louisiana State University College of Human Science and Education.