News Post

The SJA Diversity Club celebrated Black History Month with a special Leah Chase-inspired lunch on February 23. Students, faculty and staff enjoyed three recipes from Dooky Chase’s Restaurant prepared by the SAGE Dining Services staff: Creole Red Beans with Sausage and Ham; Creole Green Beans with Ham and Potatoes; and Gumbo Des Herbes, one of her most famous dishes. 

Senior MorganDee Hawkins is chair for the SJA Diversity Club’s Black History Month celebration. “As an all-girls Catholic school, we feel a special connection to Leah Chase’s story,” she said. “She attended St. Mary’s Academy in New Orleans, a Catholic school for Black girls founded by the Sisters of the Holy Family. Her education in a faith-based, all-girls environment helped shape the strong, resilient leader she became. Honoring her allows our students to see how faith, education, leadership and service can come together to create lasting impact.”

Chef Chase, affectionately known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, also served as inspiration for our special lunch because of her role as a cultural leader who used her restaurant as a gathering place during the Civil Rights Movement. “She exemplified courage, grace and a commitment to uplifting her community, values we strive to instill in our students,” Hawkins explained. 

On February 25, the Diversity Club hosted a table talk entitled “Honoring Her. Empowering Us: Conversations in Color.” The experience took place on the Investar Quad during all lunch hours.

Students enjoyed the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with distinguished women of color from our community and beyond. These leaders shared their journeys, offered words of wisdom and answered questions.

Our thanks to these professional women for sharing their time and lived experiences to nurture and inspire the next generation of female leaders: 

• Valencia Anderson and Michelle Anderson, the mother-daughter team behind Crafted Nibbles, specializing in custom charcuterie boards
• Dr. Tyra Davis Brown, a veterinarian, educator and mentor dedicated to advancing veterinary medicine
• Renada Deschamp, a leadership strategist, speaker and founder of FD Paige Consultants, helping organizations and communities build values-anchored cultures
• Andrea Brew Harrison, who began her career as an elementary school librarian and evolved into the innovative role of instructional technology coordinator at a virtual K-12 school
• Lakeisha Robichaux, an organizational development strategist, CEO, speaker and author with more than 23 years of experience leading business transformation and sustainable growth
• Shonel Branch-LeDuff, an educational leader who currently serves as director of high schools for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System
• Dr. Kristin Robair-Hyde, a career educator who has authored scholarly works on student and leadership development and currently serves as district curriculum coordinator for East Baton Rouge Parish Schools
• Dr. Shanna Warner, associate dental director at CareSouth Medical and Dental and a part-time corrections dentist at East Baton Rouge Parish Prison