If you turn on the news any time, any day, you’re bombarded with stories about climate change and natural disasters, political strife and polarization, and the world poverty that is driving unrest and a migrant crisis. Any one of these issues - not to mention the local problems at home - is too great for any of us to solve. And yet, some of us feel so compelled to do something. But what?

Dawn Brown is Water Services Director at Matrix New World Engineering, a New Jersey based engineering firm specifically focused on environmental and climate related challenges, as well as resilience and sustainability projects.

These are terms we hear a lot in Louisiana and, based here in Baton Rouge, Dawn makes sense of what they actually mean for us.

Matrix was founded in 1990 and opened its Baton Rouge office in 2015. Dawn is an environmental professional who focuses on project management and development with a particular focus is waste permitting and landfills.

A native of Baton Rouge, Dawn was a high school biology teacher before switching careers, and while Dawn now deals with environmental issues, Rebecca Gardner is doing her own part to change the world, helping migrants and disadvantaged women around the globe through Hands Producing Hope, a non profit she founded in 2014.

Hands Producing Hope sells ethically sourced products made by migrant women and women from disadvantaged countries through a retail shop on Government Street in Baton Rouge and through its website and satellite locations. The organization partners with communities through artisan training programs, maternal health education, life skills classes, adult literacy education, business mentoring and more. It's an extraordinary operation.

Rebecca is a native of Baton Rouge who founded Hands Producing Hope because of her passion for helping disadvantaged families and her desire to see long-term sustainable change in impoverished communities.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Brian Pavlich at itsbatonrouge.la.

If you turn on the news any time, any day, you’re bombarded with stories about climate change and natural disasters, political strife and polarization, and the world poverty that is driving unrest and a migrant crisis. Any one of these issues - not to mention the local problems at home - is too great for any of us to solve. And yet, some of us feel so compelled to do something. But what?
Dawn Brown is Water Services Director at <a href="https://mnwe.com/">Matrix New World Engineering</a>, a New Jersey based engineering firm specifically focused on environmental and climate related challenges, as well as resilience and sustainability projects.
These are terms we hear a lot in Louisiana and, based here in Baton Rouge, Dawn makes sense of what they actually mean for us.
Matrix was founded in 1990 and opened its Baton Rouge office in 2015. Dawn is an environmental professional who focuses on project management and development with a particular focus is waste permitting and landfills.
A native of Baton Rouge, Dawn was a high school biology teacher before switching careers, and while Dawn now deals with environmental issues, Rebecca Gardner is doing her own part to change the world, helping migrants and disadvantaged women around the globe through <a href="https://www.handsproducinghope.org/">Hands Producing Hope</a>, a non profit she founded in 2014.
Hands Producing Hope sells ethically sourced products made by migrant women and women from disadvantaged countries through a retail shop on Government Street in Baton Rouge and through its website and satellite locations. The organization partners with communities through artisan training programs, maternal health education, life skills classes, adult literacy education, business mentoring and more. It's an extraordinary operation.
Rebecca is a native of Baton Rouge who founded Hands Producing Hope because of her passion for helping disadvantaged families and her desire to see long-term sustainable change in impoverished communities.
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="https://pavlichphotography.com/">Brian Pavlich</a> at itsbatonrouge.la.

OUT TO LUNCH finds Baton Rouge Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

OUT TO LUNCH finds The Advocate business reporter Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's on the Boulevard. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

OUT TO LUNCH finds The Advocate business reporter Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's on the Boulevard. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

New World of Hope

We live in fractured, divided times where sometimes even simple facts about basic reality are too much for folks to agree on. Partisan politics, social media and the internet serve to divide us and keep us apart. And experts tell us all the time that even though we’re more digitially connected than ever, we’re paradoxically more isolated and lonely.

How do we address this complex challenge? On this edition of Out to Lunch, Stephanie is visiting with two community-engaged local entrepreneurs, one focused on bringing people together, the other on helping them heal.

Sean Braswell is owner of Simple Joe Café, a mid-city diner that serves breakfast and lunch and has positioned itself since opening in 2015 as a community gathering spot. The kind of place where neighbors meet up for home-cooked meals or friends meet weekly for coffee, and just linger and visit in a warm friendly atmosphere.

Sean began his professional career in the military, serving in the Marines and the Navy simultaneously, later went into sales and mortgage brokering, then nursing. Neither was the right fit. Along the way, he worked as a waiter and eventually worked his way up to head staff trainer at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse here in Baton Rouge. And that’s when he realized that opening a restaurant might be the thing.

In the years since it’s opening, Simple Joe has regularly topped the lists of people’s choice awards, like Best of 225.

When he’s not busy at the restaurant, Sean believes in volunteering and giving back to the community he loves so much. 

Amanda Hargrove is Director and Chief Financial Officer of Hope Community Services, a mental health services agency that provides individual and family therapy, medication management, psychiatric support and treatment to children and adults.

Hope primarily serves people in East Baton Rouge parish, though in the years since Covid it has branched out to offer telehealth services as well, which has enabled it to reach a broader service area.

Amanda and her partner in Hope, Monica Parker, founded the agency in 2014. 

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

We live in fractured, divided times where sometimes even simple facts about basic reality are too much for folks to agree on. Partisan politics, social media and the internet serve to divide us and keep us apart. And experts tell us all the time that even though we’re more digitially connected than ever, we’re paradoxically more isolated and lonely.
How do we address this complex challenge? On this edition of Out to Lunch, Stephanie is visiting with two community-engaged local entrepreneurs, one focused on bringing people together, the other on helping them heal.
Sean Braswell is owner of <a href="https://www.simplejoecafe.biz/">Simple Joe Café</a>, a mid-city diner that serves breakfast and lunch and has positioned itself since opening in 2015 as a community gathering spot. The kind of place where neighbors meet up for home-cooked meals or friends meet weekly for coffee, and just linger and visit in a warm friendly atmosphere.
Sean began his professional career in the military, serving in the Marines and the Navy simultaneously, later went into sales and mortgage brokering, then nursing. Neither was the right fit. Along the way, he worked as a waiter and eventually worked his way up to head staff trainer at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse here in Baton Rouge. And that’s when he realized that opening a restaurant might be the thing.
In the years since it’s opening, Simple Joe has regularly topped the lists of people’s choice awards, like Best of 225.
When he’s not busy at the restaurant, Sean believes in volunteering and giving back to the community he loves so much. 
Amanda Hargrove is Director and Chief Financial Officer of <a href="https://www.hopecsinc.com/">Hope Community Services</a>, a mental health services agency that provides individual and family therapy, medication management, psychiatric support and treatment to children and adults.
Hope primarily serves people in East Baton Rouge parish, though in the years since Covid it has branched out to offer telehealth services as well, which has enabled it to reach a broader service area.
Amanda and her partner in Hope, Monica Parker, founded the agency in 2014. 
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a> at <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2024/12/02/cafe-hope/">itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

Cafe Hope

"All the world's a stage," as Shakespeare famously wrote, and we are "merely players" performing roles, today as professionals or politicians or teachers in a classroom of students. or parents modeling behavior for their children. 

In an era when traditional media, social media, and ever-present modes of telecommunications determine how these roles and personas are received and perceived, crafting images, honing messages, and telling stories around them has given rise to entire industries.

Stuart Feigley is president of Feigley Communications, a Baton Rouge strategic marketing agency that specializes in creating ad campaigns across a wide spectrum of industries, including healthcare, education and government. Stewart co-founded the firm in 2006, and in the years since, Feigley Communications has handled such high profile local cleints as LSU, the La Dept of Health, and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber among others.

Stuart is a native of Baton Rouge with 36 years experience in the field. After graduating from the LSU Manship School of Communications he went off to big national firms in Dallas and Ohio, where he worked for large corporate clients. He came home in 2006 to found Wright Feigley Communciations with the late Jeff Wright, rebranding the firm as Feigley Communications in 2016. 

While Stuart is helping clients on the figurative stage, Sarah Klocke is working with people on the real stage – as in theater. Sarah is Executive Director of Theatre Baton Rouge, which has been delighting audiences in Baton rouge since 1946 with dramas, comedies and beloved Broadway musicals.

You may remember we interviewed Sarah’s predecessor Jenny Ballard on this show a while back. Sarah took her place in October 2023, as the organization was struggling to recover from the pandemic and the financial challenges it wrought on performing arts organizations across the country.

Sarah came to Baton Rouge most recently from St Mary’s College in Omaha Nebraska, where she was the program director of theater and communications.

Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

"All the world's a stage," as Shakespeare famously wrote, and we are "merely players" performing roles, today as professionals or politicians or teachers in a classroom of students. or parents modeling behavior for their children. 
In an era when traditional media, social media, and ever-present modes of telecommunications determine how these roles and personas are received and perceived, crafting images, honing messages, and telling stories around them has given rise to entire industries.
Stuart Feigley is president of <a href="https://feigleycommunications.com/">Feigley Communications</a>, a Baton Rouge strategic marketing agency that specializes in creating ad campaigns across a wide spectrum of industries, including healthcare, education and government. Stewart co-founded the firm in 2006, and in the years since, Feigley Communications has handled such high profile local cleints as LSU, the La Dept of Health, and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber among others.
Stuart is a native of Baton Rouge with 36 years experience in the field. After graduating from the <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/manship/index.php">LSU Manship School of Communications</a> he went off to big national firms in Dallas and Ohio, where he worked for large corporate clients. He came home in 2006 to found Wright Feigley Communciations with the late Jeff Wright, rebranding the firm as Feigley Communications in 2016. 
While Stuart is helping clients on the figurative stage, Sarah Klocke is working with people on the real stage – as in theater. Sarah is Executive Director of <a href="https://theatrebr.org/">Theatre Baton Rouge</a>, which has been delighting audiences in Baton rouge since 1946 with dramas, comedies and beloved Broadway musicals.
You may remember <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2021/12/22/mermaid-theater/">we interviewed Sarah’s predecessor Jenny Ballard</a> on this show a while back. Sarah took her place in October 2023, as the organization was struggling to recover from the pandemic and the financial challenges it wrought on performing arts organizations across the country.
Sarah came to Baton Rouge most recently from St Mary’s College in Omaha Nebraska, where she was the program director of theater and communications.
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a> at <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2024/11/18/merely-players/">itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

Merely Players

Making a business plan is an essential part of launching a new business. But it’s not a skill an aspiring business owner necessarily has. Which is where Camille Terk comes in. Writing business plans is literally what she does for a living. Her firm, Terk Consulting, is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in business planning.

Camille founded her firm in 2005 and in the nearly two decades since has served over 700 clients, helping them draft business plans and pitch-decks to present to investors and lenders. All told, she estimates she has helped her clients raise more than $350 million.

Camille has an MBA, is based in New Orleans, and is one of the few firms specifically focused on doing business plans for small business. She counts among her clients some of our previous guests on this show, including: Falaya, Marex Services, Resource Environmental Solutions and Speedy Eats. 

If somebody went to Camille and told her they wanted to open a vegan restaurant in Zachary Louisiana, I don’t know what Camille would say but she might suggest that that doesn’t immediately look like a recipe for success, right? Maybe a poboy shop or a Bar B Q restaurant, but vegan. In Zachary?

Well, Neshia Rowe opened Golden Vegan restaurant in Zachary in 2022, after launching the concept from her home in 2021. Was it a success? Sure was! And still is. In fact it’s turned out to be such a success that Neshia has since opened two more Golden Vegan restaurants – one at LSU and the other at Southern University.

Neshia will be the first to admit that Zachary was an unlikely locale for her first restaurant. She says she founded it there because the area didn't have a lot of healthy food options and the concept behind her menu is to educate her customers about healthy eating, to help them gradually transition from a diet of fast food and fatty food to plant-based options that don’t deprive and taste great.

And, talking of great tasting food, Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.la.

Making a business plan is an essential part of launching a new business. But it’s not a skill an aspiring business owner necessarily has. Which is where Camille Terk comes in. Writing business plans is literally what she does for a living. Her firm, <a href="https://terkconsulting.com/">Terk Consulting</a>, is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in business planning.
Camille founded her firm in 2005 and in the nearly two decades since has served over 700 clients, helping them draft business plans and pitch-decks to present to investors and lenders. All told, she estimates she has helped her clients raise more than $350 million.
Camille has an MBA, is based in New Orleans, and is one of the few firms specifically focused on doing business plans for small business. She counts among her clients some of our previous guests on this show, including: <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2021/02/24/no-debt-no-broker/">Falaya</a>, Marex Services, Resource Environmental Solutions and <a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2022/02/23/super-cheesy/">Speedy Eats</a>. 
If somebody went to Camille and told her they wanted to open a vegan restaurant in Zachary Louisiana, I don’t know what Camille would say but she might suggest that that doesn’t immediately look like a recipe for success, right? Maybe a poboy shop or a Bar B Q restaurant, but vegan. In Zachary?
Well, Neshia Rowe opened<a href="https://www.goldenveganbr.com/"> Golden Vegan restaurant</a> in Zachary in 2022, after launching the concept from her home in 2021. Was it a success? Sure was! And still is. In fact it’s turned out to be such a success that Neshia has since opened two more Golden Vegan restaurants – one at LSU and the other at Southern University.
Neshia will be the first to admit that Zachary was an unlikely locale for her first restaurant. She says she founded it there because the area didn't have a lot of healthy food options and the concept behind her menu is to educate her customers about healthy eating, to help them gradually transition from a diet of fast food and fatty food to plant-based options that don’t deprive and taste great.
And, talking of great tasting food, Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://www.mansursontheboulevard.com/main/home">Mansurs on the Boulevard</a>. You can find photos from this show by <a href="http://albaledomedia.com/">Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez</a> at<a href="https://itsbatonrouge.la/2024/11/11/golden-business-plan/"> itsbatonrouge.la</a>.

New World of Hope

In 1 playlist(s)

It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

Social links

Follow podcast

Recent clips