Who
The Volunteers
Each Cafe is run by volunteers, from the hosts, to the servers, to the cooks. Each volunteer is a young adult who wants to help people who are homeless, to give back, to create change. Most of them live in New Orleans. The Crescent City Cafe believes that young adults can and will do powerful things when connected with one another to serve their community. We encourage the support of the entire community - we need it to be successful. Please consider partnering with us.
The Leadership Team
Kim Thompson moved to New Orleans the summer after graduating from college to help the city recover from Hurricane Katrina. During her first year in New Orleans, Kim helped rebuild a homeless shelter and was introduced to the struggles of those affected by homelessness and poverty. As a young adult, Kim wants to empower New Orleans’ young adults to serve alongside one other and to create solutions to the issue of homelessness in our community. Kim has a B.S. in Public Relations from Kent State University. She is pursuing an MBA at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business and currently holds a fellowship in social entrepreneurship at the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship. Kim is the Project Manager of the Crescent City Cafe. Contact her if you want to know more about the vision and mission of the Crescent City Cafe, if you’d like to partner with us or if you want to serve on the leadership team.
Georgia McBride was wooed to New Orleans by Loyola University, a relationship that continues to this day. She grew up in Houston but came to Loyola for her undergraduate studies and is now employed by Loyola as the Career Development Coordinator for the Center for Music and Arts Entrepreneurship. She is currently pursuing an MBA from the Joseph A. Butt College of Business at Loyola. Besides a flair for long titles, Georgia is clearly also passionate about music. Georgia has done freelance work for festivals such as Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Voodoo Music Experience and many more! Georgia is the Volunteer Coordinator. Contact her if you are a young adult who lives in New Orleans and want to volunteer for the next cafe.
Tori Paddock traveled the world as an Army Brat and has lived in Germany, Puerto Rico and all over the U.S. Her family settled in New Orleans for Tori’s formative high school years, leaving her with a lasting love of New Orleans’ food, festivals, music, diversity and culture. She moved away for college but returned in 2007 to marry her high-school sweetheart, Craig, a musician in New Orleans. Tori is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management. After working for nearly three years in catering sales at downtown hotels, Tori’s passion for urban youth led her to the teachNOLA program. This fall, Tori will begin working as an elementary school teacher at Langston Hughes Academy. Tori serves the cafe in menu planning and kitchen management.
Heather Pomfret came to New Orleans to help build houses and discovered that New Orleans just feels like home. More than three years later, Heather lives and works in New Orleans and is extremely active in community and social service. Heather was born in the UK, raised in Ohio and studied at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, where she earned a B.S. in Zoology. She began a teaching career in 2009 as a seventh- and eighth-grade science teacher at McGehee School for Girls. Heather coordinates fundraising. Contact her if you would like to serve on the fundraising committee, or if you have in-kind or financial donations.
Laura Rockett loves Louisiana. She grew up in Covington, LA, on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain and went to school at Louisiana State University. She has a degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in advertising and career experience in film and video editing, commercial production, advertising, freelance photography and all things creative! Her college minor of Spanish took her to Spain for a summer, which ranks among her favorite places in the world. When she combines her excellent cooking skills with her creative flair, the Crescent City Cafe gets awesome food that looks cool, too. Laura serves the cafe as chief menu planner and kitchen coordinator, including the Friday prep night prior to each cafe.
Rebecca Taylor spent two years as the team leader for an organization that coordinated relief work in New Orleans. She was part of the first stages of New Orleans’ rebuilding and helped with significant recovery efforts in both the Ninth Ward and Gentilly area. She’s a graduate of James Madison University and holds a degree in elementary education. After her relief work was finished, Rebecca decided to use her much-needed teaching skills in New Orleans. She joined the teachNOLA program and works as a first-grade teacher for Algiers Charter Schools. Rebecca coordinates donor communications. Contact Rebecca if you would like to receive periodic e-mail updates about the Crescent City Cafe.
