Your Story
Discover the stories that inspire and fuel our passion to promote policies that empower individuals to flourish. Each story not only represents the core issues we advocate for but also embodies the spirit of freedom that drives every action we take at Pelican Institute to remove barriers to opportunity.
Shannon Mejia-Flores, Denham Springs Parent
“My oldest daughter, Sierra, was born in 2007. She was beautiful and the best thing that [...]
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Randy Boudreaux, New Orleans Lawyer
“I was born and raised in the New Orleans area and have been a lawyer since 1995. For years, I did [...]
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Faith Crocker, Barksdale Air Force Base Senior Airman
Faith Crocker believes in service. The daughter of a Baptist pastor, she grew up with a deep [...]
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Jessica Miller, New Orleans Barber
“I started as a barber in 2014. My license expired in New York and I renewed it since then. [...]
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Jennifer Menard, Mobile Cosmetologist
“My elderly clients are my absolute favorite. I just adore them.” “My reason [...]
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Samantha Custer, Livingston Parish Parent
“I grew up in public school, which is one of the reasons I chose private school for my [...]
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Daltonio Elaire, Former Mobile Barber
“I’ve been cutting hair since I was 12 years old. I got my license when I was [...]
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Candy Billiot, Retired Hairdresser
“I have always loved cutting hair. As a child, my sisters would get mad when I cut their dolls’ [...]
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Hillary Halstead-Scott and Brad Scott, Small Business Owners
“This is crushing liability.” “Louisiana makes it extremely hard to do business in the state [...]
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Brandon Trosclair, Grocery Store Owner
Meet Brandon Trosclair. Brandon is a proud Louisianan and business owner who is standing up against [...]
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Ursula Newell-Davis, Social Worker
“My motto is changing lives one client at a time.” “I’ve been a social worker for [...]
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Kathy Baldridge, President of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners
Kathy Baldridge is a family Nurse Practitioner in Pineville, LA. She is also the President of the [...]
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Jarett & Kallie Landry, The Gym of New Iberia
Jarett and Kallie Landry are a husband and wife team who own The Gym of New Iberia, LLC. In this [...]
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Jose Villeda, JLV Construction
Jose Villeda came to America in search of opportunity. He moved to New Orleans, began working, and [...]
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David Cohen and Chris Hayes, Louisiana’s Tattoo Industry
As part of our “Faces of the Shutdown” series, we interviewed tattoo artists David [...]
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