OUR STAFF
Interim Executive Director, Blaze D'Amico
she/her
​Blaze D’Amico is a native New Orleanian with a passion for arts and culture. She has nearly a decade of experience in non-profit education at the Alliance Française and has worked in development for the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Blaze is a graduate from Tulane Law and will soon be awarded an LLM in Art Law. She is dedicated to the people of New Orleans, the art and culture they create, and the non-profits that serve them. ​
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Outreach & Education Coordinator/Instructor, Elysha Rose Diaz
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Communications Manager, Michael Lamendola
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For two decades, Michael has worked in various capacities as a Communications Specialist with artists, musicians, nonprofits and small businesses to ensure their online presence is effective, engaging and relevant by offering affordable a-la-carte marketing, content creation, website development, administration and project management services. She has also produced successful events in New Orleans, San Francisco and New York City. Michael grew up wearing clothes lovingly made by her slow fashion role models; her mother, grandmother and aunts. As an adult, she has always been dedicated to secondhand first - supporting thrift and vintage stores from the Mississippi Gulf Coast to Taos New Mexico in every town she lived or traveled in. She joined ricRACK in 2022 and is very excited to help make an impact in the sustainable fashion industry, textile recycling and waste reduction.​
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Creative Reuse Shop Manager, Shel Roumillat
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Warehouse & In-kind Donations Manager, Alex Myers
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Creative Reuse Shop, Anjle Latiha C
they/them
Anjle is a creative polymath who draws on over 20 years of experience in fiber art, costuming, performance art, theater, music, writing, drawing, and painting to create art that combines story, image, and form. Anjle enjoys the challenge of applying skills across disciplines to develop their own unique approach to their craft. combines story, image, and form. Anjle enjoys the challenge of applying skills across disciplines to develop their own unique approach to their craft.
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Instructor, Carolina Gallop
she/her
Carolina was born in La Ceiba, Honduras and was raised in Boston, MA. She moved to New Orleans from Los Angeles in 1999 where she trained as a Fashion Designer. Carolina enjoys hosting Fashion Show events and had done so since arriving in New Orleans.
Carolina has been teaching adult and children sewing since 2010 and enjoys the “Art of Sewing”. She enjoys the look on her student’s faces when they finally “get it”.
Carolina enjoys working with the Community and likes to meet new people. She is trained in Medical Administration and is also a trained Paramedic. Carolina enjoys teaching and sewing new projects and is currently creating and making hats for an upcoming show in Massachusetts. She leads several adult beginner to intermediate classes.​​
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Instructor, Lorenza De la Puente
she/her
Lorenza De la Puente is a New Orleans native who graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2019 with a Bachelors in Fashion Design. She has spent the last two years working on her Masters in fashion design at Politecnico di Milano. Lorenza loves to crochet, knit, and sew and she is passionate about teaching and working with children.​
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Instructor, Adrienne Morrow
Instructor, Alester Stalling
Instructor, Elysha Rose Diaz
Instructor, Iz Eagles
Instructor, Gala Glyphon
Instructor, Marwan Pleasant
Instructor, Ari Chalew​
OUR BOARD
Board Chair, Beth Burvant
Head of Fundraising Committee, joined June 2021, term concludes 2025
she/her
Beth has had a love for crafting! Raised in Minnesota she learned the lessons of humility and hard work, as well as how to crochet, knit, can, and drive a stick shift in the snow. She has a degree from University of Wi-Madison in Radio, Television, Film Production, and a certificate of Business Management from the Harvard Extension school, with a focus on non-profits. One of her favorite pastimes is playing Barbie Project Runway with her daughters; and yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.
Board Vice Chair, Pamela Wood
Head of Retail Committee, term concludes 2025
she/her
Pamela Wood has worked in the fashion industry in one capacity or another from designer and stylist to costumer in film and t.v. since 2000. Her work can be seen in such productions as Leverage and Queen Sugar. Originally from New York, she began her time in New Orleans working in her other career...fundraising; which she has done as a consultant for 26 years. You can often see her face in ricRack's social media campaigns as the Skinnybillionairess, beckoning and scolding viewers to our retail location to shop and sew.
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Treasurer, Rosane Archery-McGowan
Head of Sustainability Committee, joined June 2021, term concludes 2025.
she/her
Rosane Archery-McGowan is a consultant whose career spans chemical engineering, finance, entrepreneurship and angel investing. She is passionate about climate action, conservation, and impacting our community through volunteering and mentorship. For fun, Rosane enjoys running and walking in nature, sketching, enjoying family and friends, researching new topics,occasionally sewing, and trying her darndest to sing. She has volunteered with ricRACK since 2020 and joined the board in 2021.​
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Secretary, Wendy Celeste
joined October 2023, term concludes October 2026
she/her
Wendy has always had an affinity for arts and crafts. At an early age, she taught herself how to sew starting with a renaissance costume and has been making costumes, jewelry, and accessories ever since. She received her degree in Visual Communications from the Art Institute of Fort Laudable and has worked as a web designer, illustrator, and graphic artist. She now works in movie post-production as an offline editor and junior colorist at Kyotocolor.
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Board Member, Darren Isabelle
Head of Outreach Committee, term concludes 2025
he/him
Darren Isabelle is a native New Orleanian. He grew up in a family of sewers and is a life long costumer. You can find him most festive holidays in the French Quarter costumed from head to toe enjoying New Orleans. He has been the business manager for Urban Earth Design Studios, an Event and Floral Decor Company for over 20 years. He has been involved with ricRACK since 2012, with the Hollywood Thrift Sales and joined the Board of Directors in December 2019.
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Board Member, Elizabeth Townsend-Gard
Returning to the board Sept 1, 2024, term concludes Sept 2027​
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OUR FOUNDER
Founder, Alison Parker
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Alison Parker started her professional career developing and maintaining costumes for the Cirque du Soleil. In recent years she shifted her focus to wardrobe for TV shows like Girls, NCIS New Orleans, and Stephen Soderbergh’s Mosaic, or feature films like Looper, I Am Legend, or The Highwaymen, costuming Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson.
After spending 20 years surrounded by the waste of fabrics and clothing, and finding a lack of sewing resources, Alison Parker knew ricRACK was an organization that needed to exist. Born in Bradford, England, Alison immigrated to the States in 1980, and went on to graduate from the University of Florida with a degree in theatre production, specializing in Costume Design. In November 2019, Alison accomplished her greatest feat by combining her passions, historical costuming, social justice, and repurposing clothing. She created prototypes and patterns, organized sewing circles, and in effect, costumed close to 300+ re-enactors for Dread Scott’s 1811 Slave Rebellion Re-enactment. Her techniques are the most prolific and sustainable used by any costume designer today. When Alison and her husband are not working, they live on their sailboat in Southshore Harbor with Beatrice the Boat Cat and Thibodeaux the dog.