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Meet our Board

Lance Query - President
Dr. Lance Query is the Dean of Libraries emeritus and Academic Information Resources at Tulane University. He received the M.A. and Ph.D degrees in Latin American History from Indiana University, Bloomington, and an M.A. in Library Science from the University of Chicago. Dr. Query previously served as Dean of University Libraries at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI; and Assistant University Librarian and Acting University Librarian at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. He was appointed special consultant for administration to the New Orleans Public Library and has served as organizational consultant for the Amistad Research Center. Dr. Query was also a consultant with Sears, Roebuck and Company, Chicago, assisting with reorganizing their corporate libraries during a business restructuring period.   
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Joanne Rinardo - Vice President
Ms. Rinardo is a partner in the firm whose area of practice is concentrated in all aspects of Employment Law. She is experienced handling claims involving Title VII, age discrimination, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as general employment claims. 
Ms. Rinardo successfully defended 60 EEOC and/or comparable state agency charges in a tri-state area over a two-year period in that no findings of "cause" were issued against the client. She has also successfully defended numerous civil service appeals.  Ms. Rinardo provides consultation to her clients on employment practices, provides training to employees regarding employment issues, develops employment policies, and assists employers with both single and large number terminations. She often speaks to businesses and other organizations on various areas of employment law.

Ms. Rinardo also practices in the area of Educational Law. She has represented both small independent grammar, middle and high schools, as well as a large state university in all types of employment matters, as well as student related issues. She has a Ph.D. in Education and has taught graduate courses in Educational Law. For almost twenty years, Ms. Rinardo worked as the administrator in a local school system during which time she supervised approximately 75 employees. During her tenure with the local school system, she served on the management bargaining team for two contracts that addressed the concerns of over 10,000 employees.

Ms. Rinardo is a graduate of Loyola University School of Law where she was a member of the Loyola Law Review. While attending Loyola, she won the Warren E. Mouledoux Award for ethics and received the highest grade in both Ethics and Educational Law. After graduation in 1995, she clerked for two years for the Honorable Moon Landrieu, 4th Circuit Court of Appeal, State of Louisiana.

Erika Wimby May, M.Ed - Secretary
Erika Wimby May has sixteen years of experience with federally funded programs in Education and Workforce Development.  She holds a Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration with a minor in Curriculum & Instruction and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, both from the University of New Orleans.
 
Over the years, Erika’s career has reflected her deep passion for service.  Through the US Department of Education, she has helped many student populations—from secondary to post-secondary—realize college readiness and college success.  Through the Department of Labor, she has cultivated academic, career technical training and soft skills within young adults; the skills required to succeed in today’s workforce.   Her professional experience includes public & private academic institutions as well as the business sector, with particular expertise in skills & leadership development, academic program & project management, strategic planning & program evaluation and research & data analysis.
 
Erika’s professional career has culminated into her new role as proprietor of Consult Logix, a success strategies and human development company geared towards educating and training students and the workforce.  In this role, she empowers individuals to become forward thinkers and peak performers in their lives and organizations.
 
Erika also serves as a member of the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans, where she organizes and spearheads their annual conference. She believes that all individuals, no matter their age or ability can learn; it's a life-long process.

Lynn Parker - Treasurer 
Dr. Lynn Parker is a child psychologist in private practice and is the Learning Consultant for Loyola University.  She earned her PhD from Auburn University and interned and was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins Medical Center .  Dr. Parker served as the Director of Psychology at Children’s Hospital for 10 years prior to entering private practice.  She served on clinical faculties of LSUHSC and Tulane University, supervising graduate students.  She participated in the development of new school initiatives as a prior board member of the Chartwell School, serving children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and as the coordinator of evaluations at  Desire Street Academy, serving underserved students.   She has a special interest and expertise in evaluating children and young adults with learning disabilities to assist in curriculum planning.

Teri Hunter - Immediate Past President
Teri Hunter has been a professional in education for 30 years.  She holds a bachelor's degree in child study, a master's degree in applied child development, and multiple teaching certifications all received from Tufts University in Massachusetts .

Teri has been a classroom teacher and a school administrator and is currently a learning specialist at Trinity Episcopal School, a position she has held for the past 17 years. Additionally, she consults  for a local child psychologist. Her primary areas of interest include early intervention, learning difficulties, teacher training and collaboration, and parent support. Her publications have focused on various aspects of early intervention.

Teri also serves on the board of Sophie B. Wright Charter School.

Paul Barron 
Professor Barron's teaching interests are in the fields of labor law, commercial law, and alternative dispute resolution. He has written articles in these areas, as well as a book and supplements on the topic of federal regulation of real estate. He is a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators and of the arbitration panel of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the arbitration and mediation panels of the American Arbitration Association. Professor Barron regularly acts as an arbitrator and mediator. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of The Banking Law Journal and is a two-time recipient of the Felix Frankfurter Distinguished Teaching Award. During 2000-01 and again in 2006-07, he served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for Tulane University. From 2007 to February 2009, he served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Technology Services for the University.

In addition to his work in academia, Paul has been very involved in the governance of Lusher Charter School.  He currently is the Vice President of Advocates for Arts Based Education and he is quite proud of the contribution that Lusher has made to the community.


Steven Bain 
Steven Bain is a Louisiana attorney working primarily in the areas of elder law, special needs planning, probate, and mediation. He assists clients address the issues of aging and disability, including complex health care decisions, public benefit needs, long term care planning, Medicaid planning, and estate planning. Steven also advises parents of children with disabilities on their special planning needs and assists in personal injury settlement planning. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Academy of Special Needs Planners. Steven received his J.D. degree from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center and also serves on the Board of Directors of United Cerebral Palsy of Greater New Orleans and Touro Synagogue and is a member of  the Greater New Orleans Regional Advisory Council of the Alzheimer’s Association. He has co-authored a reference book for the general public concerning the issues of Louisiana successions titled Guiding Those Left Behind in Louisiana: Settling the Affairs of Your Loved One.

Lou Good
Lou, a native New Orleanian, has operated Fiber-Seal, an interior maintenance company in New Orleans since 1979 and since 1982 managed the University Village Shopping Center.  Lou earned his B.S. at LSU in Construction Technology.

Lou's wife Susan also works at Fiber-Seal. Their daughter Jennifer and husband Lee Zurik together with their 2 daughters and their son Jeff and his wife Caroline all live in New Orleans. Lou has served on the boards of Touro Synagogue where he served as its President and chaired the restoration of its 100 year-old structure, Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans, Isidore Newman School, Touro Infirmary and the Legacy Donor Foundation.


Quincy Crawford

Marshall Lee
Dr. Marshall Mkononi Lee received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI. He is a Yoruba Priest initiated through the Lukumi tradition of Cuba. He has worked as a Psychotherapist and/or taught at a number of universities, including the University of Michigan, City College of New York, Baruch College (CUNY), Long Island University, Rutgers University, Xavier University in New Orleans, and Tulane University. Dr. Lee was a clinician and an administrator in a large mental Health Clinic in Harlem and a staff psychologist for an outpatient clinic in a hospital in Brooklyn, NY. He had an active private practice in Harlem and Gramercy Park in New York City. 

He is the author of numerous articles dealing with issues related to African American culture and psychology. He has been written about and/or published in Black Issues in Higher Education, Jet, Essence, The Crisis, and Ebony Man. Dr. Lee has also lived and taught for three years in Tanzania, East Africa. His insights and perceptiveness into the issues related to contemporary African America have developed as a result of his active involvement in politics and culture spanning the last thirty years. 

Keisha Means

Gary Sernovitz
Gary Sernovitz is a managing director at Lime Rock, an oil- and gas-focused private equity firm. He began his career as an oil equity research analyst at Goldman Sachs.  He is a graduate of Cornell University.  Besides The Green and the Black, his account of the U.S. shale revolution, he has written two novels, Great American Plain and The Contrarians, as well as essays and reviews for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker online, and n+1, among others.  A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a longtime resident of New York City, he now lives in New Orleans with his wife and daughter.


Shannon Jones Couhig
Shannon is the director of operations and special projects for the Office of the President Emeritus at Tulane University.  In that role, she works with Dr. Scott Cowen on his community-related efforts, oversees all of the initiatives undertaken by the office, and manages the fundraising campaign that is currently underway at the Cowen Institute.  Shannon was the founding executive director of the Cowen Institute, a ‘think and do tank’ based at Tulane that objectively researches and reports on public education, motivates youth achievement through college and career programs, and inspires innovation and influence through purposeful collaborations with education, community and employer partners.  Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, she handled project management for the Mayor’s Bring New Orleans Back Commission’s Education Committee. Prior to that, Shannon spent five years as the Product Manager for Broadband Products at Cox Communications, a national telecommunications firm.  She managed product strategy, development, marketing, and finance for the company’s broadband products.

Shannon has served on the boards of the Louisiana SPCA, Louisiana Appleseed, and the Foundation for Math and Science Education.  She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Tulane University.  





Board Meeting documents can be found here.                                                                     Cypress Academy is located at 4217 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119.  We
                                                                                                                                              can be reached at 504-383-3337.
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