By Glenis M. Scott, Jr., MPH Dillard University 2026 Top 40 Under 40 Honoree There is something powerful about returning to the places that helped shape us—not simply to remember what we received, but to ask what we can now give back. For Glenis M. Scott, Jr., MPH, being selected as a Dillard University 2026 Top 40 Under 40 honoree is one of those full-circle moments. A New Orleans native and 2016 Dillard public health graduate, Scott has built his career around community hea

What follows came to me in the liminal space between waking and dream—a gray, uncertain place I found myself returning to again and again. At first, I went there only to understand it. Over time, I began to listen. In that place, movement became sound. Sound became light. Light became shape, memory, image, and language. The more I explored, the more it seemed that I was not simply imagining something, but receiving it—following fragments of music, sensation, and thought as th

Apparently, a birthday is supposed to last one day. I have reviewed the paperwork and rejected that proposal. My birthday is September 6, I am once again commencing what I have decided to call my bureaucratic birthday celebration: a wonderfully overextended period in which I give away as much of my published work as Amazon will allow me to, put a few other books at 99 cents, and encourage people to read, write, experiment, argue with ideas, talk with characters, try exercises

When people hear “data storytelling,” they sometimes imagine charts behaving themselves and numbers lining up in tidy little rows, ready to explain the world. But local data rarely arrives that clean. It arrives partial, uneven, shaped by timing, trust, fear, disclosure, documentation, and all the things human beings carry into a room before they ever answer a question. That is exactly why this work matters. Our next Data Storytelling for Cultural Creatives session, Reading

We’re excited to share our Data Storytelling flyer and invite you to help spread the word. This is a hands-on chance to learn practical ways to turn numbers and lived experience into clear stories that support planning, advocacy, and community impact. How you can help Share the flyer with colleagues, partners, and community members Post it on listservs, newsletters, and social media Circulate within your organizations and coalitions Event: Data Storytelling Presentation (UNO

In New Orleans, storytelling is more than art—it’s connection. We’re honored to welcome Dr. April Goggans as the Crown Legacy Program’s 2026 Storyteller Fellow . A family physician, writer, and speaker, Dr. Goggans brings a rare blend of clinical insight, lived experience with chronic illness, and community-centered language that heals. Her fellowship project— Therapeutic Society (TS) —invites us to rebuild connection to self, each other, and the world we share. “When we re

We’re thrilled to share big news: The Crown Legacy Program has been awarded a Level 2 grant from the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund (NOTCF) to launch Parish Stories: Data-to-Story Labs—a citywide initiative that helps cultural creatives turn local datasets into living culture. What is Parish Stories? Parish Stories is a multiday-cohort creative lab based in neighborhood venues—community spaces, cultural centers, and cafés across New Orleans. Participants explore local

We’re happy to announce the publication of Navigating an AI-Driven World: A Cultural Creative’s Guide to Thriving Beyond the Algorithm...

Another local effort aligned with Crown Legacy’s mission to keep value, credit, and opportunity with the communities we serve. Just Say...