NEW ORLEANS — More than 300 community leaders, corporate partners, volunteers, donors and nonprofits gathered for United Way of Southeast Louisiana’s sold-out 2025-26 Annual Meeting to celebrate progress toward the organization’s bold goal of placing 100,000 individuals living below the ALICE Threshold on a pathway to prosperity by 2035.
Presented by Entergy Corporation, the event highlighted the partnerships, investments and leadership helping create greater opportunity for working families across Southeast Louisiana.
During the meeting, United Way announced its inaugural cohort of ALICE Pathways to Prosperity grantees, representing one of the most significant evolutions in the organization’s community investment strategy in recent years.
2025-26 ALICE Pathways to Prosperity Grantees
- American Red Cross – Louisiana Region
- Bastion Community of Resilience
- Cancer Association of Louisiana
- Child Advocacy Services
- Children’s Bureau
- Clover
- College Beyond
- Community Center of St. Bernard
- CrescentCare
- East St. Tammany Rainbow Child Care Center, Inc.
- Family Violence Program of St. Bernard
- Generation Hope
- Jefferson Community Foundation
- Jewish Family Service of Greater New Orleans
- LA Voz de la Comunidad Foundation
- Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights
- Louisiana Green Corps
- Luke’s House: A Clinic for Healing and Hope
- Lynne’s Legacy Outreach dba Washington Parish STEM
- Metro Centers for Community Advocacy
- New Orleans Career Center
- New Orleans Family Justice Alliance
- New Orleans Youth Alliance
- Northshore Community Foundation
- Our Daily Bread Food Bank of Tangipahoa
- Plaquemines Community CARE Centers Foundation, Inc.
- Puentes New Orleans Inc.
- Reconcile New Orleans, Inc.
- Safe Harbor
- Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana
- Propeller: A Force for Social Innovation
- Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
- Southeast Spouse Abuse Program
- STRIVE International, Inc.
- Tangipahoa Voluntary Council on Aging, Inc.
- The 18th Ward
- The First 72+
- The Good Samaritan Ministry
- The Health and Education Alliance of Louisiana (HEAL)
- The New Orleans Women & Children’s Shelter
- TrainingGrounds, Inc.
- Travelers Aid Society of Greater New Orleans
- unCommon Construction
- Urban League of Louisiana
- Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana
- YMCA of Greater New Orleans
- Youth Service Bureau of St. Tammany
- YouthForce NOLA
With nearly half of Southeast Louisiana households living below the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Threshold, United Way is focused on connecting more families to long-term pathways that lead from crisis to stability and from stability to prosperity. The organization’s Pathways to Prosperity framework aligns community investments, direct services, public policy efforts and strategic partnerships around four interconnected areas of impact: Community Resiliency, Youth Opportunity, Financial Security and Healthy Communities.
“Prosperity is not one program. It’s a pathway,” said Michael Williamson, UWSELA president and CEO. “For some families, that pathway begins with housing support. For others, it’s workforce training, mental health services, financial coaching or childcare. Different doors lead to the same destination: stability, opportunity, and prosperity. Through these investments and partnerships, we’re creating coordinated pathways that help more families move from surviving to thriving.”
The new grantmaking approach is designed to strengthen connections between organizations and services so families can more easily access the support they need to achieve lasting economic mobility.
The annual meeting also marked a transition in volunteer leadership as Meghan Donelon, commercial banking group manager at First Horizon, was introduced as chair of the Board of Trustees for 2026-27. Donelon succeeds outgoing Board Chair Elizabeth Ellison-Frost, community relations manager at Chalmette Refining – PBF Energy, who helped guide the organization through a transformative year focused on launching the pathways framework.
“Creating pathways to opportunity requires collaboration, accountability and a shared commitment to the families we serve,” said Ellison-Frost. “I’m grateful to have helped launch this work as board chair thanks to the community leaders, volunteers, donors, corporate partners, and nonprofit organizations who continue to come together around a common vision for Southeast Louisiana’s future.”
United Way also recognized three retiring board members for their years of service – Elwood Cahill, Lacey Conway and Bryan Scofield – and welcomed five new members to its board of trustees:
- Jose Corrada, Pan-American Life Insurance Group
- Dr. Monique Guillory, Dillard University
- Robby Moss, Hartwig Moss Insurance Agency
- Michael Sawaya, Audubon Nature Institute
- Dr. Tina Tinney, Nunez Community College
The meeting also celebrated the businesses and employees whose generosity powers United Way’s work throughout the year. Workplace campaigns remain one of the region’s strongest examples of community collaboration, helping fund programs and services that connect families to opportunity and support United Way’s bold goal.
“Serving as campaign cabinet chair this year allowed me to personally roll up my sleeves and partner with United Way and so many other supporters to address this work head-on,” said Drew Marsh, chair and chief executive officer of Entergy and 2025-26 Campaign Cabinet Chair. “Entergy will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with United Way through funding, volunteerism and partnership. Because when we show up together, we can transform entire neighborhoods, entire families and entire futures.”
During the program, Marsh introduced Tim Poche, president and CEO of Delta Utilities, as United Way’s 2026-27 Campaign Cabinet Chair and the 2025-26 Top 20 Most Generous Workplaces in Southeast Louisiana.
- Entergy Corporation
- Verizon
- Valero Meraux Refinery
- Pan-American Life Insurance Group
- Shell USA, Inc.
- Chalmette Refining – PBF Energy
- International Paper
- International Matex Tank Terminals
- Delta Utilities
- Freeport-McMoRan, Inc.
- Rain Carbon Inc.
- Ochsner Health
- Red River Bank
- Service Corporation International
- Turner Industries
- Keystone Companies
- Enterprise Mobility
- LCMC Health
- LOOP LLC
- Hancock Whitney
The meeting also recognized several outstanding volunteers and partners, including Julie Stokes, recipient of the Public Policy Award; POLA Marketing, recipient of the Communications Award; the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, recipient of the Community Impact Award; Michelle Delery, recipient of the Edward J. Krause Volunteer of the Year Award; and Heidi Kiesling, recipient of the Lisa Arseneaux Employee Campaign Champion of the Year Award.
Williamson also presented the Board Member of the Year Award to Ellison-Frost in recognition of her leadership and service.
Throughout the event, attendees participated in an interactive ALICE simulation that demonstrated the difficult choices many working families face every month, underscoring the need for stronger pathways to prosperity across the region.
“No single organization can move 100,000 people onto a pathway to prosperity alone,” Williamson said. “But when businesses, nonprofits, volunteers, donors and community leaders unite around a shared goal, we can create lasting change that helps more families achieve stability, opportunity and long-term prosperity.”
Learn more or give at UnitedWaySELA.org.