Welcome To College

Greg Ulland is a seasoned professional with a passion for teamwork, coaching, and teaching. He brings a wealth of experience and success to his pursuits, having won 9 Ohio State Championships in volleyball. Greg's dedication to excellence and his commitment to developing new and innovative approaches to education are evident in his work as a founding member of the Synnovation Lab at Sycamore High School in Cincinnati, OH. This modern school within a school focuses on personalization, community, and authentic learning, reflecting Greg's belief in the importance of empowering students to take control of their own education. With his extensive experience, deep understanding of the field, and unwavering commitment to helping others reach their full potential, Greg is a true asset to any organization he is a part of.

Bivian “Sonny” Lee III, Founder and CEO: As Founder/Executive Director of Son of a Saint, Bivian "Sonny" Lee III has dedicated his life to enhancing the lives of fatherless boys. Prior to founding the Son of a Saint, Sonny served as chief aide to Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans. He was previously the Director of Operations for the New Orleans Zephyrs AAA Baseball Team and Director of the New Orleans Jazz Institute.

Sonny graduated with honors from St. Augustine High School and later earned a degree in Marketing and Management from the University of New Orleans. In 2022, he earned his Executive Master of Nonprofit Administration (EMNA) from the University of Notre Dame. A TEDx speaker on community service, decision-making and the importance of education, Sonny's nonprofit work has been highlighted on CNN, Al Jazeera America, NPR and local television stations and newspapers.

Upon graduating from Loyola University New Orleans, Robert LeBlanc started a record label, Renaissance Records, that evolved into an event planning and guerrilla marketing firm called The Renaissance Initiative. His first hospitality project was music venue Republic New Orleans, with hotel bars LePhare and Loa New Orleans following shortly thereafter. LeBlanc opened his first restaurant, Sylvain, in October 2010. In 2014, he created LeBLANC+SMITH, which is a boutique hospitality portfolio committed to creating excellent 21st Century Southern hospitality experiences to enable all people to live joyful, balanced and fulfilling lives. LeBLANC+SMITH now also includes The Will & The Way, Barrel Proof, Barracuda Taco Bar, Anna’s and boutique hotel The Chloe. Robert is married to Danielle Webb and has two sons, Bear and Will and calls Uptown New Orleans home.

Catherine Todd is a native New Orleanian. It was at Auburn University where she began taking design classes and studied great designers like Saul Bass, Paul Rand and Milton Glaser. Through their work, she discovered how art has the ability to move people, spread ideas, transform and communicate universally. She graduated with a BFA in graphic design, moved back to New Orleans and worked for H agency, a boutique design firm then got a job at what was then MCMedia (now Renaissance Publishing) worked her way up from a designer to art director of the short lived publication, “New Orleans Sports Extra”. Katrina hit then she moved to Atlanta and got a job as a senior designer for Pure Red Creative. It was there she cut her chops as a designer, art director and creative strategist. She was a part of the creative team behind campaigns, as well as branding work and catalog design for major organizations like Mudpie, Duane Reade, Longs Drugs, West Marine, etc… She learned how a creative business operates. What worked and what does not. How she could use her skill set to start her own business. After five plus years in ATL, she moved to Columbus Georgia, where she started her own freelance branding and design business, Mama Roux Studio. Her clients included Turn Services and Associated Terminals, French Quarter Fest, Fancy the Agency, Pure Red Creative, as well as plenty of local New Orleans musicians. After 7 years away, she finally found her way back to New Orleans. She continued to run Mama Roux Studio into the first few years of starting Where Y’Art Works.

In December of 2022, Where y’Art Works celebrated its 9th Anniversary! Originally started as an online marketplace for local artists to sell their work in 2014, the team grew from two to a team of six women working together as a full-service art consulting company that connects organizations and individuals with local artists.

Originally from Ohio, Dr. Carlos Gooden (he/him/his) began his career in admissions 15 years ago as a student tour guide at The University of Toledo. Since then, he has served in a wide range of professional roles overseeing strategic recruitment planning, travel outreach, event planning, and orientation at the undergraduate and graduate level. Dr. Gooden has worked at a variety of institutions from large public universities, to private universities, a Catholic university, and a Historically Black College and University in admissions and marketing roles. He currently serves as the Executive Director of Graduate Business Programs at the University of Houston-Downtown where he oversees admissions for three graduate programs.

Dr. Gooden holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of Toledo. Most recently he completed his Ph.D. in Educational Administration at the University of New Orleans where he researched admissions policies and access at urban, public institutions.

Gerard Ramos is the Co-Founder of Revelry Labs, Revelry Venture Partners, and ROAM.

With over two decades of company-building experience, Gerard has held multiple ops, tech, and product advisory and leadership roles in budding startups in Silicon Valley, London, and New York. He was an early employee and played an instrumental part in developing the online and technology infrastructure at Zappos (acquired by Amazon) and Williams Sonoma. Gerard is also an active angel investor and philanthropist in the New Orleans community. His passion for travel and the outdoors has led to ROAM where he’s transforming outdoor recreation hospitality.

Friday KEYNOTE…fired up to have back in the house from !

Antonio Neves is an entrepreneur, the author of four books including the international bestseller Stop Living on Autopilot, 50 Ways To Excel In Your First Job (and In Life), and 50 Things Every College Student Should Know. He’s also host of the chart-topping The Antonio Neves Show podcast, an award-winning journalist (NBC, PBS, BET), and a world-renowned speaker. A first-generation college student, Antonio was an NCAA Division I student-athlete and earned a Master’s degree from Columbia University. Antonio regularly appears on the NBC TODAY Show and other top media outlets.

Dr. Girgrah is the Chief Wellness Officer at Ochsner Health. He leads the efforts of the Office of Professional Well-Being (OPW) at Ochsner Health which is charged with improving the professional fulfillment of their employed physicians and APPs focusing on enhanced practice efficiency and personal and team resilience and building an organizational culture that promotes provider well-being. Dr. Girgrah received both his medical degree and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. He has specialist certification in both gastroenterology and internal medicine with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is a practicing transplant hepatologist and also serves at the Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at Ochsner Health.

Functional Movement | Holistic Health |
Cancer Awareness Enthusiast

Jessica Huneycutt is a yoga instructor for the New Orleans Saints, a single mom, and someone whose life has been dramatically affected by cancer.

The NFL featured Jessica in their annual Crucial Catch battle against cancer, they explore Jessica's story - from her family history to all the ways she and the Saints have been there for each other.

Here is link to video:

https://www.nfl.com/videos/crucial-catch-saints-yoga-instructor-jessica-huneycutt-details-her-battle-with-c

Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, Simon is a life consultant specializing in coaching Coaches, CEOs, Business owners, and Teams throughout sports, business, entrepreneurship, and startup growth as an added value partner to developing companies and franchises.

As a former collegiate and professional athlete and the son of an experienced professional athlete/collegiate coach and C-Suite level executive mother, Simon has always been around high-level and high-functioning groups of individuals that set the expectation of success.

With a winning blue-collar background in athletics and executive coaching, Simon's passion for leadership and desire to impact people enable him to stay committed to creating a lifestyle of faith, family, and success. At the same time, he aims to help others be aware of and update the internal narrative that positively or negatively impacts them, their business, and their family as a professional problem solver and listener.

Simon is excited to continue his passion for helping people and coaching through his work with tapmental.

Kevin Phillips has had a long and successful 29-year career in enrollment management and admissions, serving at four different colleges and universities with increasing levels of responsibility.

Kevin is currently the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, NC. Since joining Lees-McRae in September 2019, Kevin has overseen new initiatives that have led to a significant increase in applications and enrollments for first-year and transfer students. In this time, Lees-McRae has seen three of its largest four classes ever. In addition, he is leading a team that is currently developing many new partnerships with the North Carolina Community College system, including the establishment of Guaranteed Admission Programs and Program-to-Program Articulation Agreements.

Prior to arriving at Lees-McRae, Kevin served as the Senior Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. With his previous roles there as both the Director of Undergraduate Admissions and the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management, he experienced tremendous application and enrollment growth that saw full-time undergraduate enrollment rise from under 2,000 to over 5,000 today. The last three enrolling classes at the university were the three largest in its nearly 100-year history.

A former college basketball player, Kevin is widely known as an innovator and forward thinker. He has significant expertise in event planning, marketing, quality service initiatives, public speaking, financial aid leveraging, social media strategies, athletics, and Esports. With a team approach, he has helped to develop numerous successful enrollment management professionals over the years. He is a member of NACAC, NAFSA, NAGAP, and AIRC.