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There’s always folks who are looking at us and trying to determine, ‘is it safe to make investments here?’ And we’ve got a responsibility to ourselves, to the country that’s invested so much in us, to the people around the world who love us, to make sure that New Orleans is here for the future
Andy Kopplin, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.
New Orleans is an extraordinary place that has experienced more than its fair share of adversity. Living below sea level where the mouth of the Mississippi River meets the Gulf Coast, residents have become adept at mitigating a variety of water-related challenges, from the inundation of tropical storms and subsidence to the scarcity issues of saltwater intrusion.
There’s a lot we can learn from the people and leaders of New Orleans. The city’s pride in its wealth of culture was on display to the nation recently in the pageantry of Super Bowl LIX. But the spirit of New Orleans may be most evident in the way the city has pioneered a model of urban resilience that addresses future social, economic, and environmental risks.
Future-oriented action, with all its challenges, is the core focus of Ten Across and the focus of today’s episode with Greater New Orleans Foundation CEO Andy Kopplin.
To commemorate their 100-year anniversary, the Foundation recently hosted a “Next 100 Years Challenge,” offering a $1.2 million investment in 10 different resilience project proposals across Southern Louisiana. The community has already seen significant returns on this initial investment, offering a compelling example for local and regional support of stronger communities in a changing climate.
Related articles and resources:
“New Orleans Was Called Resilient After Attack. It Didn’t Need the Reminder” (The New York Times, January 2025)
“Ideas: Stop Telling New Orleans To Shut Up and Be Resilient” (Time Magazine, January 2025)
“Past and Future Resilience Along the Mississippi with Boyce Upholt” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, January 2025)
“Want to Understand the Future of U.S. Climate Resilience? Look to the Gulf Coast” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, December 2024)
“Sunk Costs, Sunken City: The Story of New Orleans with Richard Campanella” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, June 2023)
“Responding to Inevitable Disasters with Juliette Kayyem” (Ten Across Conversations podcast, November 2022)
Guest Speaker
Andy Kopplin is the president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. He successfully led the Foundation’s initiative to grow its assets to over $500 million by its 100-year anniversary in 2023 and is deeply involved in the Foundation’s civic leadership project to create a dynamic and equitable BioDistrict in downtown New Orleans. From 2005 to 2008, Andy was the founding executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the agency charged with leading recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Prior to that, Andy was chief of staff for Louisiana Governors Mike Foster and Kathleen Blanco.
