Gene Meneray

Gene Meneray is cofounder of The Ella Project, a pro bono legal, business development and cultural advocacy organization. A native New Orleanian and graduate of Tulane University, Meneray worked for more than a decade as director of artist services at the Arts Council of New Orleans. He has also worked for Thomas Mann Design and for Young Aspirations/Young Artists (YAYA). Meneray has served multiple times as a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the Arts, and as a juror for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Festival Internationale de Louisiane, and numerous other art shows and festivals. From 2011-2017, he taught arts business in the graduate school at the University of New Orleans Arts Administration program. He has been a panelist and moderator for events including the World Cultural Economic Forum, American Bar Association Conference on Pro Bono, the Music Cities Summit in Toronto and the Sociable City Summit. Meneray is the director of the Louisiana Crafts Guild and serves on the Louisiana State Arts Council. (Board term: 2020-2025)