THE GOOD APPLE GALA
CELEBRATES THE INCREDIBLE WORK OF OUR NETWORK AND PARTNERS
Each year, Louisiana Appleseed hosts a Good Apple Gala to celebrate the previous year's work performed. During the Good Apple Gala, Appleseed awards select volunteers who have risen above the typical pro bono commitment with a Pro Bono Good Apple Award. We also take a moment to celebrate pillars within our communities whose daily lives align with Louisiana Appleseed's mission to increase Access to Justice, Opportunity, and Education, with a Social Justice Good Apple Award.
Support for this annual event comes from general donations, event sponsorships, and through our Good Apple Donor-Members.
2022 GOOD APPLE GALA HONOREES
Community Honorees
Our Community Honorees are individuals whose daily work and lives embodies the mission of Louisiana Appleseed to solve problems at their root cause by creating Access to Justice, Opportunity, and Education. Louisiana Appleseed congratulates Mr. Edgar "Dooky" Chase, III; Ms. Cashauna Hill; and Mr. Warner Thomas as this year's Community Honorees.
CPA, Lawyer, Business Dean, Community/ Civic Activist, and Chair of the Board – City of New Orleans Defined Pension Benefit Plan.
Born the only son of Edgar L. “Dooky” Chase Jr. and Leah Lange Chase on May 10, 1949, “Dooky” received many blessings of life in Creole New Orleans. As consequence of his birth-right blessings, his mother and his sisters referred to him as “The Prince” and taught him always to “Stand-Up” against social and economic justice whenever he saw that ugly distortion of his community’s face. Hence, Dooky got involved with the NAACP‘s Youth Committee voter registration initiatives of the 1960s, then in the 1980s with the Committee for a Better New Orleans, Goals to Grow for Louisiana, and in the 1990s with the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Now, a member of The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, Dooky cherishes that titular sense of innocent nobility rooted in Liberty and Love. Currently, he serves on the boards of the Chase Family Foundation and the Fielkow-Chase Youth Education Initiative, plus the boards of the Anti-Defamation League, New Orleans Public Radio (WNOE), Touro Hospital, The New Orleans Culinary and Hospitality Institute (NOCHI), and The New Orleans Opera Association.
Edgar "Dooky" Chase, III
Pro Bono Honorees
Our Pro Bono Honorees have extended themselves above and beyond the typical pro bono commitment to justice. This year's honorees have greatly expanded our network and made significant changes in a particular project. Louisiana Appleseed congratulates Ms. Courtney Nicholson, Ms. Sarah Faris, Ms. Alicia Hall, and Ms. Courtney Dennis; Mr. Charles King; and Mr. Thomas Mitchell as this year's Pro Bono Honorees.
Courtney Nicholson, Sarah Faris, Alicia Hall, and Brittany Dennis provided critical pro bono assistance in the creation of the "Louisiana: Suspended" report with support from the Wilson Foundation. Their work included a synopsis of law that formed the basis for an extensive comparative law component of the report illustrating how Louisiana could match frameworks from our neighboring southern states. This framework became the structure for multiple grassroots organizations in devising their legislative strategies for the 2022 session. They also provided a synopsis of the standard of review, which will provide Louisiana's legislators with substantive information in drafting amendments to the current drivers' license suspension regime.
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Suspended Driver's
License Research Team
2022 GOOD APPLE GALA CO-CHAIRS
Louisiana Appleseed selects gala chairs through a network of recommendations. They are responsible for setting the tone for the year's gala event and assist with logistics and fundraising efforts. They meet periodically over year prior to the event.
Kenn Barnes is a native Louisianan, a graduate of LSU Law, and serves as the Special Counsel of Criminal Justice & Specialty Courts for the Louisiana Supreme Court. As Special Counsel of Criminal Justice and Specialty Courts, his duties include serving on committees on behalf of the Court such as the Louisiana Clean Slate Committee, Drug & Specialty Court Commission, and Justice Reinvestment Implementation Oversight Committee; attending meetings as a liaison of the Court such as attending Louisiana State Law Institute, Louisiana Public Defender Board, and New Orleans City Office of Criminal Justice meetings; and facilitating the execution of court initiatives such as launching a Pretrial Services case management system and program in New Orleans to reduce the use of bail as a condition of release and reduce pretrial detention population at New Orleans’ jail.
Kenn Barnes
Thank You to Our 2022 Gala Sponsors
Louisiana Appleseed Sponsors are integral to our programs. Making up almost 1/3 of Appleseed's total annual budget, sponsors enjoy a host of benefits including invitations to a private event, gift certificates to restaurants, Appleseed gift bags, and more. To learn more about being the core of Louisiana Appleseed, become a gala sponsor today!
Diamond Sponsors
Gold Sponsors
The Chase Family Foundation
Jeannine Sullivan
Silver Sponsors
Adams & Reese, LLC
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana
Herman Herman & Katz, LLC
IBERIABANK | First Horizon
Liskow & Lewis, APLC
Phelps Dunbar, LLP
Bronze Sponsors
Baptist Community Ministries
Louisiana Association for Justice through its sister non-profit entity Bayou Research Institute
Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier & Warshauer, LLC
Juneau David, APLC
Southern University Law Center
Patron Host Committee
Gayle Benson
Bourgeois Bennett, LLC
Judge Paula Brown
The Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Foundation, Inc.
Christy & Michael Harowski
W. Brett Mason
Kathlyn Perez
Sidney Raymond
Hope Spencer
Perrien Stephen
Carlos & Kerii Thomas
Sharonda Williams