Kindred Spirits
Speakers : 2023 Joint Chapter Meeting
Heather Veneziano
"Signaling Life: Decoding the Cities of the Dead"
Sunday, Sept. 24, 8:15 am
Heather Veneziano is an architectural historian and cultural heritage advisor with the preservation-consulting firm of Gambrel & Peak, as well as a Professor of Practice within the Historic Preservation program of Tulane School of Architecture.
Veneziano is also an award-winning author, an accomplished editor, and a contributor to several published works focused on cemetery studies and the architecture of the Gulf South. Her research and expertise are focused on cultural heritage sites, vernacular architecture and deathscapes, with a strong emphasis on historic preservation and placemaking.
She currently serves on the Executive Council of the Louisiana Historical Society, the Vieux Carré Commission, and is the co-chair of the Louisiana Chapter of the Association for Gravestone Studies.
Elizabeth Schexnyder
"Building a Museum in Carville, LA"
Monday, Sept. 25, 12:00 pm
Facts about Elizabeth Schexnyder:
- Native to south Louisiana, Lafayette Parish (Cajun-French background)
- Lifelong learner, recent anglophile, avid gardener, cat whisperer, and new chicken & duck mama.
- Education:
- BA (summa cum laude) UL-Lafayette in Arts & Humanities
- LSU (summa cum laude) LSU-Baton Rouge Library Sci and Archives Mgmt.
- Career experience:
- Newcomb Art Dept media librarian
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation library program facilitator
- She first came to Carville in 1997 as a grad student. Returned in 2021 to become 1st and only museum curator to date.
- In between, she spent a year at Kalaupapa, Hawaii as curator for the Park Service at the leprosy settlement on Molokai.
Thomas A. LaVeist
"Presentation Title TBA"
Monday, September 25, 3:00 pm
Sunday, September 24, 5:30 pm there will be a screening of Dr. LaVeist's documentary THE SKIN YOU'RE IN.
Dr. LaVeist's research and writing has focused on three broad thematic research questions: 1) What are the social and behavioral factors that predict the timing of various related health outcomes (e.g. access and utilization of health services, mortality, entrance into nursing home?); 2) What are the social and behavioral factors that explain race differences in health outcomes?; and 3) What has been the impact of social policy on the health and quality of life of African Americans? His work includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis. LaVeist seeks to develop an orienting framework in the development of policy and interventions to address race disparities in health-related outcomes. Specific areas of expertise include: U.S. health and social policy, the role of race in health research, social factors contributing to mortality, longevity and life expectancy, quantitative and demographic analysis and access, and utilization of health services.