Biz Talks Biz New Orleans

A member of the Biz New Orleans New & Notables class of 2024, Dr. Christopher Lege became the official CEO of Touro in April. A 20-year primary care physician at Touro prior to this appointment, Lege talks about his move into the realm of hospital administration at a time when Touro is recovering from the pandemic and focusing in on new programs for the fastest-growing demographic in the region.

In April, a wind turbine and its components arrived in Louisiana after a transatlantic journey from Ireland. Gulf Wind Technology is preparing the onshore turbine for installation at the Port Fourchon Coastal Wetlands Park. Initial deployment and testing of the equipment is slated to begin late this year. GWT founder James Martin leads Biz New Orleans on an audio tour of the new gear at his company’s headquarters at Avondale Global Gateway.Note: The final minutes of this conversation were cut from this podcast because background noise made the audio hard to understand.

Electric grids in Louisiana and nationwide are aging. Meanwhile, extreme weather events are increasing. That means utilities need to invest in new technologies to prevent dangerous and expensive power outages during and after storms. On this week’s episode, Tulane professor Fariba Mamaghani shares her research on the subject.

For the second year in a row, a lucky high school senior received a free car thanks to an organization called NOLA Black Wall Street. The organization's main mission, however, is lowering the enormous racial wealth gap in the region. How are they doing this? Founder Goldie Gasper shares all the details, including big news for next year's giveaway. 

In this week’s episode, Pastor Shawn Anglim, a clergy leader with Together New Orleans, talks about the origin and status of the Community Lighthouse project. An initiative of Together New Orleans, the project aims to provide commercial-scale solar power and back-up battery capacity to 86 congregations and community institutions throughout the city. These will provide cooling and heating stations, charging stations, food distribution, oxygen exchange, light medical equipment, and other critical services. So far, Together New Orleans opened the first 11 as part of its pilot of 16 lighthouses.

Based on the 2009 hit animated film "The Princess and the Frog," Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens June 28 at Walt Disney World Florida. "Biz Talks" team members Kelly Massicot and Kim Singletary attended the media preview, along with many well-known New Orleanians. In this week's episode, they share their take on the three-day event that drew media from around the world.