Rebecca Otten

Clara Kreutziger

Clara is a current second-year student studying marine biology at the University of Washington, Seattle Interdisciplinary Honors College. There, she works within the Dean’s office of the UW College of the Environment in addition to serving on the Student Advisory Council. After moving to New Orleans from New York City in 2019, she graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School with Summa Cum Laude in 2022. Throughout her four years working at Grow Dat, she has been a VISIONS facilitator, memorial garden construction and management intern, Assistant Crew Leader in the Leadership Program, Assistant Crew Leader in the SEED Project program, and a crew member.
Pronouns: she/her

Kristen is the Executive Director of Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights—a nonprofit law office that defends and advocates for incarcerated youth throughout the state of Louisiana. Born and raised in New Orleans, Kristen has over a decade of social and criminal justice experience, with a specific focus on youth justice.
Prior to joining LCCR, Kristen was a partner at Rome, Butler, and Rome where she practiced criminal defense in Louisiana. In addition to her work as an attorney, Kristen spent time in Shanghai, China teaching U.S. Constitutional Law at Shanghai International Studies University.
Kristen holds a BA in Political Science from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, an English Law Certificate from The London School of Economics and Political Science in London, England and a Juris Doctor from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She is a certified holistic doula and uses her birthwork to inform how she helps Louisiana families navigate interwoven systems that - from conception - define young people’s life outcomes.

Audrey Stewart is an advocate, educator, birth worker and mother. Originally from Mississippi, she has lived in New Orleans for more than a decade. Over the past 15 years, she has advocated for a just hurricane recovery; led a variety of criminal justice, educational equity, and reproductive justice initiatives; and supported dozens of birthing families as a perinatal health and breastfeeding advocate, doula, and student midwife. Audrey is an abolitionist. She serves as a faculty member on the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative and is a member of the Healthy Moms Healthy Babies Advisory Council. She is the former co-editor of the New Orleans Parents Guide to Public Schools and served as the interim local director at the New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice. She is the former advocacy director for the ACLU of Louisiana. Audrey is passionate about building a world where all families can birth safely and with dignity.
Pronouns: she/her

Dr. Alex Torres brings over a decade of experience advancing culturally sustaining and healing-centered education across public schools and higher education in the Deep South. As a former English Learner teacher working with undocumented students, she organized alongside teachers, youth, and community partners to expand resources and support. Her doctoral research at LSU used ethnographic methods to explore the educational needs of undocumented English Learners through a framework of desire and resiliency.
Alex helped co-found the Baton Rouge Immigrant Rights Coalition, collaborated closely with the Louisiana Organization for Refugees and Immigrants, and served as the inaugural Latinx Director at Louisiana State University. She is also a co-founder of the educational justice nonprofit Humanities Amped, where she serves as an advisor for the Adelante Leadership Program. In addition, Alex is the Residencies Coordinator at the Windcall Institute, supporting transformative rest retreats for organizers, and works as a certified professional coach and research consultant with the Amped Institute.
Born in Mexico City and raised undocumented in rural Mississippi, Alex has called South Louisiana home since 2014. She believes deeply in the power of young people, intergenerational relationship-building, and the understanding that personal healing is inseparable from collective liberation.

Dana Blandin is the Deputy Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, bringing over a decade of experience working with organizations to develop and manage operational processes. Dana moved to New Orleans in 2017 after being drawn to the passion and potential of the New Orleans entrepreneurial community and has played a role in supporting growing businesses ever since. She is a founding member of Growhaus Studio, a digital marketing and design company, where she also held the title of Director of Business Operations for six years. Dana holds a BA in Organizational Management and Business Law, from the University of Miami, School of Business and is a SHRM-Senior Certified Professional specializing in HR practices. She is an avid lover of food, the outdoors, cooking with friends, and her garden. Dana is looking forward to bringing her passion for food systems and food access into her role as a board member at Grow Dat.
Pronouns: she/her