Shawon Jackson Bernard is one of the founders of the Lower 9th Ward Voter’s Coalition. She believes that each citizen has the responsibility to actively engage in government through voting and purposeful participation. She is an attorney and owner of Bernard Law Firm LLC in New Orleans. She graduated from Southern University Law Center with her Juris Doctorate degree. She is a graduate of the University of New Orleans where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership. She also received her Post- Certification in Secondary Education and Master of Computer Information Systems degree from Southern University at New Orleans. Shawon serves as Vice-President of the Family Justice Legal Center, and a member of the Governor’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Advisory Board. 

Lou Anne White has been a member of the Lower 9th Ward Voter’s Coalition for the past 4 years. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Louvis Services, a nonprofit affordable housing developer that is building housing for people who are experiencing homelessness. Lou Anne is an experienced community mediator, facilitator, and trainer. Lou Anne is an expert in supportive housing and has the experience and led organizations that serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and children in foster care. She has provided technical assistance around the country to public agencies, developers, community-based organizations, and property management companies to build capacity in housing people who are homeless.  Lou Anne is a graduate of Indiana University, attended Pepperdine University Law School with a focus on Conflict Resolution, completed the Creating Neighborhood Development program at Southern University in Baton Rouge and the Community Development Finance program at the University of New Orleans.

Arthur Johnson has been a member of the Lower 9th Ward Voter’s Coalition for five years. He was born in the Nation’s Capital but his roots are in New Orleans and date back to visits with his grandmother who lived in the Lower Ninth Ward on Forstall Street. He grew up in Washington, DC, and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from George Washington University and the University of the District of Columbia, respectively. He relocated to New Orleans in 1999 where he has established himself as an accomplished fundraising professional and non-profit leader with a number of educational institutions and non-profit organizations. This has included work with Tulane and Xavier Universities and the New Orleans Public Schools. More recently, he has served as Regional Vice President for Major Gifts with the American Heart Association, Director for the Office of Development for Episcopal Community Services of Louisiana, and Chief Development Officer for Operation Reach. As CSED’s Chief Executive Officer, he is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organization and works closely with staff and volunteers to advance CSED’s key initiatives focused on Food Security, the Natural Environment and the Built Environment. Also, he has served on the Board of New Harmony High School, a state charter school focused on environmental and resilience, providing opportunities to explore and development young minds and leaders of the future! Arthur was selected as the winner of the 2019 Paul and Joyce Aicher Leadership in Democracy Award. 

Meriam Hodge has been a member of the Lower 9th Ward Voter’s Coalition since November 2018 and accepted the nomination and position of Historian in Feb. 2021. Her home was in the Lower 9th Ward from birth to adulthood, in advance of a career in Telecommunications out of state. Meriam visited each year, identifying changes and sharing in tragedies. Family and neighborhood roots secure her relationship to the Lower 9, to New Orleans, and our State. She retired in 2013 and returned to Louisiana in 2018. Her time and effort in the Voter’s Coalition are spent supporting ways to emphasize the power of the vote. Meriam’s parents promoted a high priority on education and responsibility. With this perspective, she works toward helping to increase informed voter participation. Voter turnout numbers are low in the Lower 9. But the numbers are moving up with voter registrations. She credits the rise to the Voter’s Coalition’s welcomed presence in the community, led by the President and VP. Furnishing Registration Drives, Get Out the Vote campaigns, Canvassing, Seminars, Forums, and actions with partnerships at the community level, are some of the effective ways the L9thWVC uses to capture more interest in voter registration and participation.

Willie Calhoun is one of the founders of the Lower 9th Ward Voter’s Coalition. He is a long-time resident of the Lower 9th Ward, an ordained and licensed minister, a US Air Force Veteran, and a retiree of the Federal Aviation Administrator. Rev. Calhoun is a leader in the Lower 9th Ward Community and is proud of his work to build MLK High School on the old Lawless High School site and brought the Regional/Urban Design Assistance Team Program to the community. Rev. Calhoun is working to rebuild the Lower 9 after Hurricanes Betsy and Katrina. In addition to the Voter’s Coalition, he is also a board member of the Renaissance Project, Step Up Louisiana, Lower Ninth Ward School Advisory Group, Lower 9 Coalition, The Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Association, 9th Ward Ministerial Alliance, and L9 Economic Development District. He is also working on the Table Connect Group which consists of four tables/groups that discuss housing, infrastructure, economic development, and culture.