Our People

She has been recognized as one of The Gambit’s 40 under 40, New Orleans Magazine People to Watch and New Orleans City Business Women of the Year.

Before joining Green Coast, Jackie worked for Clean Energy Solutions, Inc. as a senior consultant developing innovative financing strategies for energy efficiency and creating community-utility partnerships for the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance under the Department of Energy BetterBuildings Program.

Jackie also worked for Rebuilding Together, a national non-profit with affiliates in over 200 communities in the United States providing free home repair to low-income homeowners. As an Americorps VISTA, she launched Rebuilding Together's response to Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast.

Jackie holds a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College. She is a board member and past president of the transit policy and advocacy organization Ride New Orleans, a board member of Rebuilding Together New Orleans and teaches as an Adjunct Lecturer in the Tulane Masters of Sustainable Architecture program.

Will has been named an Echoing Green fellow for 2008-10, one of Gambit Magazine’s “40 under 40” for 2009, one of Fast Company’s “10 Coolest Innovators Rebuilding New Orleans” and one of “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs” by Business Week. President Obama named him a Champion of Change in 2011.

Prior to founding Green Coast, he helped plan and/or develop over $150 million in projects in North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, and Massachusetts. For nearly three years, he served as the Organizational Director of the Davidson Housing Coalition, a non-profit affordable housing developer based in Davidson, North Carolina. He has also worked as a green development specialist for New Ecology, Inc.

Will holds a Ph.D. in Regional and Urban Economics and Sustainable Community Development, Masters Degrees in City Planning and Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and degrees in Physics and Cross-Cultural Studies from Davidson College. He lives in New Orleans, LA, with his wife, Rebekah, and their three children.

Lex is also the Principal of Great Oak Development, where he has pursued residential projects in the Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans. Before returning to New Orleans, Lex was a management consultant for twenty-five years in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was also the Principal of Kelso International, a consulting firm that worked with senior executives and Boards of Directors of Fortune 500-scale companies. His engagements were multi-year, multifunction, on-site and integrated into his clients’ management teams. For two years, he owned and served as Chairman of the Board of Viking Systems, Inc. He began his career as an Assistant Professor of Finance and Economics at Boston University’s School of Management. Lex helped found Beacon Angels, a Boston angel investor group that invested over $3 million in start-up and growing companies while he was a member.

Lex holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Masters in Economics from Queen Mary College, University of London, and an A.B. in Sociology from Princeton University. He is a member of the Louisiana Boards of Boys Town and the Trust for Public Land.

Before joining Green Coast, Sarah spent four years in public accounting with Ernst & Young, LLP. During that time, she designed and executed audit procedures to satisfy financial reporting requirements for clients ranging from publicly traded companies to privately-held small businesses throughout southeast Louisiana and south Mississippi.

Sarah is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Louisiana and holds a Masters in Accounting from the University of New Orleans (2010) and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee (2009).

She lives Uptown with her husband, Matt, and their vivacious daughter Elizabeth.

Previously, Joe worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) as a senior engineer in the Buildings Program. Joe led the design and implementation of experiments and research on advanced cooling technologies, including energy recovery ventilators, desiccant dehumidifiers and evaporative cooling. Additionally, Joe worked as a consultant to NREL on energy efficiency projects in New Orleans and Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning monitoring projects around the country. Joe started his professional career working at De La Salle High School in New Orleans as a math teacher and soccer coach.

Joe holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and a B.S. & A. in Math and Philosophy from Regis College in Denver, CO. Joe was born and raised in New Orleans and spends his free time playing soccer, sailing on Lake Pontchartrain, riding his bike, fishing in the marshes and off the coast of SE Louisiana and perfecting the art of making gumbo.

Joe holds a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University and a B.S. & A. in Math and Philosophy from Regis College. Joe lives in New Orleans.

Prior to his current role, Rafe worked with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency where he managed the SFMTA’s Transit Oriented Development initiatives. Key projects included a first-of-its-kind development combining housing and a new electric bus maintenance facility, as well as an affordable housing development above a new subway station. Rafe has also worked as a project manager for an affordable housing developer and as a senior consultant for an urban planning firm where he played a key role in a number of recovery planning initiatives following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Rafe has a Master in Urban and Environmental Planning degree from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Rafe has been a board member of transit advocacy organization Ride New Orleans and City Works, an urban planning non-profit. Rafe lives in New Orleans with his wife, Sarah, and son, RJ.

She has managed development and construction projects ranging from new construction and rehabilitations of single-family houses to large mixed-use multifamily buildings. Recently, she oversaw all aspects of the re-development of the Greenway Apartments and commercial spaces at 2606 St. Louis Street. Gina monitored the construction, verifying the construction was high quality and performed to the specifications. Gina has managed the historic tax credit process at Green Coast Enterprises, which is valued at $52.5M in Qualified Rehabilitation Expenditures (QRE). She successfully expanded the Lower Central Business District to include 234 Loyola and the additional boundary into the district.

Gina holds a Masters in Sustainable Real Estate Development from Tulane University and a B.A. in Historic Preservation and Community Development from the College of Charleston.

She is the Treasurer for Energy Wise Alliance, a Louisiana energy education non-profit. Volunteers as a coach for Girls on the Run New Orleans and is a 2019 City Business Honoree for Real Estate Development. Gina lives in New Orleans with her husband.

Prior to working at Green Coast, Stephanie was a Partner with the ReGen group, where she served as a sustainability consultant on residential, commercial, and multi-family projects. She also acted as construction manager and project manager on efforts ranging from solar energy installations to LEED-certified new construction and renovation.

Earlier, Stephanie worked as a sustainable design consultant at FutureProof, where she was a LEED consultant on two military base repurposing projects and various commercial and residential projects. She also worked as a program manager for the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.

Stephanie holds a B.A. in Visual Arts with a Concentration in Architecture and a Minor in Environmental Science from Fordham University.

John holds a Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development from Tulane University and is a proud member of the inaugural class. He also obtained a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

John is active in the local chapter of Urban Land Institute and enjoys touring new development projects. He was selected to be an Economic Development Ambassador by the New Orleans Business Alliance. In his free time, John enjoys a microbrewed beer around town, has completed a couple half marathons, and read way too much about audiophile stereo equipment during the Pandemic. He wishes that he could magically convert his music collection on compact disc to vinyl!

As a sustainability specialist with experience in ENERGY STAR and LEED certification, Corporate Responsibility program implementation, resource efficiency, climate policy and sustainable international development, Jared has helped to provide long-term value to organizations in various industries and communities in the U.S and abroad. Prior to joining GCE Services in October 2017, Jared worked with Green City Force as Program Director where he was responsible for managing all aspects of the AmeriCorps-affiliated youth development program to deliver sustainability projects, including energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction, urban farming, and water conservation, throughout New York City public housing.

Jared holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Engineering from Villanova University with a concentration in infrastructure and the built environment, a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Indiana State University. He is a LEED Green Associate and Qualified Commissioning Process Provider (QCxP).

Shelley graduated in 2004 from Louisiana State University with a BS in Business Administration, with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. She then received an MBA from the University of New Orleans in 2022.

At the age of 16, he accepted his first job in the hospitality industry and knew right away that he wanted to make it a career. He previously held positions with Lifestyle Revolutions Group, BRG Hospitality, Commanders Palace, The Eiffel Society, The Ace Hotel, and The Pythian Market, to name a few.

Brandon leads the clean energy food and beverage outreach at Green Coast Enterprises and plays a key role in the development of the company's new hospitality consulting division.

Prior to working at Green Coast, Andre was a web developer at Search Influence where he specialized in SEO. In 2016 Andre decided to pursue a career in construction management and enrolled in the Delgado Construction Management Technology associates program hoping to make the leap to a company like Green Coast Enterprises. He joined our team in 2018.

Andre holds a B.A. in Visual Arts from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Andre is a hot sauce aficionado who enjoys renovating his house in Gentilly where he lives with his wife, Laura and their two children, Asher and Logan.

Prior to joining Green Coast, Jake was a bartender and manager at several establishments across New Orleans, including four years at Bar 1908 within the Green Coast Enterprises-developed historic Pythian building. In 2022, Jake decided to pursue a career in the sustainable real estate and green energy industries, landing the internship that ultimately led to him joining Green Coast Enterprises full-time.

Jake holds a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Political Science from Auburn University. He currently lives in Mid City New Orleans, where he spends his free time enjoying the city's bikeability and rich cultural and architectural landscape.