Lessons from New Orleans: A Recovery Convening - St. Louis REALTORS
900 N Tucker BlvdSt. Louis, MO
Friday, August 7 • 8 AM - 10 AM
Overview
Leaders who helped rebuild New Orleans bring 20 years of recovery lessons to St. Louis. A next step for the St. Louis region.
Over Twenty years ago, New Orleans faced the question St. Louis faces today: how does a community rebuild; not just its buildings, but its people, its trust, and its economy?
Fourteen months after the May 2025 tornado devastated North St. Louis, we are bringing that twenty-year answer home. Two of the leaders who assisted in rebuild New Orleans; practitioners who worked in recovery on the ground, helped restored neighborhoods, and bringing transformative community investment like the Whole Foods-anchored revitalization of the Broad Street corridor, are coming to St. Louis for a honest conversation about what long-term recovery really takes.
New Orleans is our closest mirror: a majority-Black city, a disaster that hit hardest in historically disinvested neighborhoods, a recovery that tested, and taught an entire generation of community leaders. Their lessons on trust, displacement, federal funding, and economic rebuilding are the lessons North St. Louis needs right now.
Public Convening – Friday, August 7 | 8:00–10:00 a.m. |
Join us for a public convening featuring two fireside conversations with our New Orleans practitioners: Building Trust Through Long-Term Recovery and Building Economic Mobility Through Community Investment. The program will also include reflections from the Civic Collaboration Fellows' experiential learning journey to New Orleans, an introduction to their Asset Protection Initiative, and a call to action with one concrete next step for every participant to help advance St. Louis's long-term recovery.
WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY
· The honest timeline: what recovery looks like at month 14, year 5, and year 20 from people who lived it in New Orleans
· The trust factor: how New Orleans rebuilt community trust through two decades of long-term recovery
· The money map: federal recovery funding, housing trust fund models, insurance realities, and how community investment gets anchored
· The asset protection playbook: practical steps North St. Louis property owners can take today
· A takeaway assignment: every attendee leaves with one written commitment and a 50-day call to action; this convening ends with an ask, not a thank-you
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Civic, business, philanthropic, and real estate leaders; funders; policymakers; neighborhood advocates; residents, small businesses, and property owners of tornado-impacted neighborhoods; and anyone with a stake in how North St. Louis rebuilds.
Hosted by St. Louis REALTORS® in partnership with the Civic Collaboration Fellows, University of Missouri Extension – St. Louis. Presented with the generous support of our sponsors.
Sponsors:
St. Louis REALTORS®
Civic Collaboration Fellows
University of Missouri Extension – St. Louis
TechSTL
Lineup
Dasjon Jordan
Earl Randall III
2 hours, all ages, In person
Doors at 7:30 AM
Location
900 N Tucker Blvd
St. Louis, MO 63101
Driving, Public transport, Biking, Walking
Agenda
07:40 AM - 08:10 AM
Breakfast and Networking
08:10 AM - 08:15 AM
Welcome and "What We Saw"
08:20 AM - 08:50 AM
Fireside Chat - Building Trust Through Long-Term Recovery
Organized by