EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

 

Randy Fertel – Executive Producer

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Energized by a passion for weaving ideas and people together, Randy Fertel is president of the Fertel Foundation, which supports projects related to the arts and education – especially those from which new communities and insights may emerge and those that challenge entrenched communities of power. Among its many philanthropic and environmental projects, the Foundation is a co-sponsor with The Nation Institute of the Ridenhour Prizes, which annually awards three $10,000 prizes to whistleblowers and others who speak truth to power. Fertel is also president of The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, which in the wake of Hurricane Katrina awarded over a million dollars to New Orleans schools and educational initiatives. A specialist in the literature of the Vietnam War, with a Ph.D in English Literature from Harvard University, Fertel has taught English Literature at Harvard University, Tulane University, LeMoyne College, the University of New Orleans, and The New School University in New York.  His memoir The Gorilla Man and the Empress of Steak was published in 2011, followed by a collection of essays entitled A Taste for Chaos: The Art of Literary Improvisation in 2015.

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Alexa Georges – Executive Producer

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Alexa Georges is a native New Orleanian who studied communications and international communications in Washington, D.C. A cultural philanthropist and executive producer, Alexa has been a major supporter of arts and culture in New Orleans through her involvement and fundraising efforts for various non-profit cultural organizations.. She co-founded the Sweet Art Katrina fund in 2006, a re-granting program for artists in the Gulf Coast region who were gravely affected by Hurricane Katrina. She was honored in New Orleans in 2007 as a “Sweet Art” by the Contemporary Arts Center of New York for her contribution to the recovery of New Orleans’ art and cultural scene and for drawing international attention to the impact of Hurricane Katrina. She has served as a trustee on numerous boards including the New Orleans Film Society where she served has served as board president and was honored as their celluloid hero in 2022.