Board of Directors

MICHAEL A. BALASCIO

Michael A. Balascio is a member of the law firm Barrasso Usdin Kupperman Freeman & Sarver, L.L.C. His practice concentrates on securities litigation and arbitration, insurance coverage and bad faith cases, and complex commercial litigation. Michael leads the firm’s pro bono initiatives and is a member of its diversity committee. He was a lead attorney in a lawsuit successfully challenging efforts to interfere with the implementation of BESE-approved academic standards in Louisiana. Michael received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and he previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lance M. Africk of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He has a master’s degree in teaching from Johns Hopkins University and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College. Before law school, Michael was a teacher in Baltimore City with Teach For America. Michael lives in New Orleans with his wife and two daughters.

SHERICE CLARK

Sherice Clark is a Kindergarten teacher at W. Smith Elementary School in St. Bernard Parish where she is the Grade Level Chairperson and a member of the School Improvement Committee and Leadership Team. She holds an Early Childhood Education degree from Southern University at New Orleans. During Clark’s 10 years in education she has performed various management roles by implementing policies and procedures and working closely with classroom staff to ensure quality professional performance. Mrs. Clark has experience with maintaining compliance for Head Start Performance Standards, Council on Accreditation, LA Quality Ratings Systems and other state programs. Mrs. Clark is the parent of KIPP New Orleans Schools alumnus, Justin Clark, who enrolled at KIPP Central City Academy in 5th grade in 2008 and graduated from KIPP Renaissance High School in 2016. Justin attends Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Mrs. Clark is a resident of Orleans Parish.

BARRETT GREEN

Barrett Green is Vice President and Treasurer of Entergy Corporation. In that role, he oversees Entergy’s capital raising activities, cash & investment management activities and insurance and risk management programs. He has held numerous leadership and strategy positions in Entergy over twenty-five years, most recently executing Entergy’s exit from the merchant power business. Barrett has a bachelor degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Mississippi, master’s degrees from Va Tech and the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He served five years on active duty with the US Navy in the Naval Reactors program and graduated from the Bettis Reactor Engineering School. He is a native of Franklinton, Louisiana and lives in New Orleans with his wife Janice. They have two adult children, Carter and Sanders.

SHANA HANDY

Shana Handy is a dedicated nursing student on her path toward becoming a Licensed Registered Nurse, armed with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. Throughout her professional journey, Ms. Handy has amassed over 13 years of experience in various fields, including customer service, veterinary care, and nursing. Furthermore, she boasts a wealth of medical certifications. Beyond her professional pursuits, Ms. Handy takes great pride in her role as the parent to three children, One is currently enrolled at KIPP Believe, while another is a proud graduate of KIPP Renaissance High School, which is now Frederick A. Douglass High School.

BRUCE V. HURLEY, JR.

Bruce V. Hurley Jr., MD, MPH, is an Emergency Medicine Physician at University Medical Center and Slidell Memorial Hospital. He also serves as Clinical Faculty at the LSU Emergency Medicine Residency training program. He graduated from Archbishop Rummel High School and completed undergraduate training in cellular and molecular biology at Louisiana Tech University. Following his undergraduate experience, he enrolled in the master's of public health program at Tulane University in epidemiology, and while there, took part in a summer internship at the National Institutes of Health. He then worked for the state of Louisiana in the Office of Public Health in Lafayette. Following his two years of work experience, he was accepted into Temple University School of Medicine. After several years in Philadelphia, New Orleans called him home and he completed residency training in Emergency Medicine and was selected as Chief Resident in his final year of training. Currently, he has continued his involvement in LSU and UMCNO as a Clinical Faculty in Emergency Medicine. He lives in New Orleans with his wife Ilsa Leon MD and his son Bruce V. Hurley III (Trey).

REGGIE JACKSON

Reggie Jackson is Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Entergy Services, LLC and is an officer of numerous Entergy subsidiaries. He has held numerous leadership positions at Entergy including vice president and general auditor, director of real estate and security, and director of supply chain. Prior to joining Entergy, he worked in public accounting for KPMG. Reggie is a native New Orleanian and graduate of John F. Kennedy High School. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Loyola University and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Xavier University. Reggie is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Information Systems Auditor. He is a member of several professional organizations including the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors, and Information Systems Audit and Control Association. Reggie resides in Orleans Parish with his wife, son, and daughter.

LLEANA LEDET

Ileana Ledet is a Business Development Manager with Entergy Louisiana. In this role, she works with state, regional and local economic development partners in attracting new jobs and capital investment. Her work involves driving new initiatives to help build the communities served by Entergy in the New Orleans and Bayou regions. Ileana previously served as an Economic Development Representative with the U.S Economic Development Administration and prior to that was the Senior Vice President of Policy at Greater New Orleans, Inc (GNO, Inc.) where she worked on advancing policies to create a thriving regional economy. Before joining GNO, Inc., Ileana served as Deputy Commissioner of Public Affairs for the Louisiana Department of Insurance. She also managed communications and stakeholder engagement at the Louisiana Department of Education as the Public Information Director. Ileana graduated from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Nancy M. Marsiglia Institute of Justice and served as the Vice-Chair of the Jefferson Ready Start Network advancing early childhood education, as well as on the River Region Board of Directors. She is a native of New Orleans and lives here with her husband and two children.

JAY MUSSELL

Jay Mussell, PhD is a Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at LSUHSC-New Orleans. He teaches a wide variety of learners from all over the Health Sciences Center including, medical, dental, graduate, and allied health students and medical and dental residents. Growing up in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, he began is journey south in Baltimore where he received his BA and PhD from Johns Hopkins University. While a graduate student he received a grant from the National Science Foundation enabling him to teach in Baltimore at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School for a year to develop his teaching skills. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the McKusick-Nathans Institute in Baltimore he moved to Charleston, South Carolina where he participated in two additional postdoctoral fellowships at the Medical University of South Carolina. In January of 2010, he accepted a faculty position at LSUHSC-NO and never looked back. A passionate member of the community, he can even be seen bringing joy to New Orleans during the Carnival season as a member of the 610 Stompers since 2012. He lives in New Orleans with his partner Amy and his kids Connor and Beatrice.

CIANJANAE PURVIS

Cianjanae Purvis joined KIPP Central City’s founding class as a fifth grader in 2007 and graduated from KIPP Renaissance High School in 2015. As a Posse scholar, Cianjanae received a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and a master’s degree in Health Administration from Tulane University. Currently, Cianjanae works as a Data Coordinator at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, where she supports the Louisiana Cancer Prevention and Control Programs in their mission to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates of preventable cancers in Louisiana through early detection. Before her role at LSU, Cianjanae worked as a Clinical Data Analyst, where she worked closely with federally qualified health centers on process improvement and quality initiatives across the state of Louisiana. Cianjanae lives in New Orleans with her family.

RAVI SANGISETTY

LARRY WASHINGTON, CHAIR

Larry Washington is the President of Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans. He brings more than 10 years of nonprofit management experience from serving in many different roles at Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas, as well as at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston. During his career at Junior Achievement, he has managed annual program delivery to nearly 80,000 students in over 20 school districts throughout southeast Texas. Most recently as the Fort Bend County Director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, Washington managed a three club, county-wide operation. Larry has expertise in strategic program expansion, fund development and in cultivating collaborative partnerships. Washington is himself a product of Junior Achievement, a native of Houston, as well as a graduate of the University of Houston and the Penn State Executive Management Program.

DANIELLE S. WILLIS, CPA, VICE CHAIR

Danielle S. Willis, CPA is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of New Orleans East Hospital. As CFO, Danielle has executive responsibility over financial operations including accounting, budget management, financial planning, reimbursement and revenue cycle. As CAO, Danielle manages a wide range of strategic planning, business development, and daily hospital operations responsibilities. Danielle possesses over ten years of finance and accounting experience including roles in public accounting, financial accounting and reporting and financial planning, forecasting and budgeting. Danielle is a native New Orleanian, and has earned both a Bachelor's and Master's Degree from Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. Danielle is also a Certified Public Accountant licensed in both Louisiana and Mississippi.