Jazz and Heritage Foundation names new president

Demetric M. Mercadel was recently elected president of the Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Mercadel, who has more than 30 years of experience in the accounting, finance and planning fields, is a senior associate analyst in regulatory & governmental affairs for Entergy New Orleans, Inc. where she’s been since 1981. She also serves as a liaison between Entergy’s regulatory and governmental affairs and customer service teams and assists in all governmental affairs and regulatory projects as needed. She began her career at Entergy in 1981.

The 7th Ward native works with numerous community organizations such as president of the board of directors of the French Market Corporation, secretary of the Upper Pontalba Building Assoc­iation, president of the Corpus Christi-Epiphany Catholic Church Parish Council and serving to coordinate the development of the Corpus Christi-Epiphany Neigh­bor­hood Community Center in the 7th Ward; past 1st vice-president, board of directors of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Inc.; past president of the development board of the Sisters of the Holy Family, president of the American Association of Blacks in Energy Louisiana Chap­ter; treasurer of the Louisiana Cultural Eco­nomy Foundation; board member of St. Augustine High School; and, board member of Young Aud­iences of Louisiana.

MERCADEL

She also served as the volunteer committee chair of the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVI Host Committee in New Orleans, and is a founding member of the Parents of the Alumni Association of St. Augustine High School.

In 2013, Mercadel was inducted into the Louisiana Center for Women & Government’s Hall of Fame She also received “A Metros Salute” that same year from Metro Service Group for her many contributions to the community. The editors of Women of Color magazine honored Demetric as a 2005 Women of Color Technology All Stars and Rising Stars. The awards ceremony was the highpoint of the National Women of Color Business and Tech­no­logy Awards Confer­ence in Atlanta, Georgia, an event that celebrates the achievements and contributions of women of color in business and technology.

Other accomplishments include the 2011 recipient of the Order of St. Louis IX Medallion, 2010 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation Gala honoree for the hard work and commitment to the Foun­dation; the 2013 recipient of the Xavier University Preparatory Remember When Founders Award, 2012 honors for continued service to the Sisters of the Holy Family Development Board, 2004 Role Model Award from the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) , the National Junior Achievement Bronze Leadership Award and the Dryades YMCA Black Achiever in Business and Industry, for serving as a role model for students with the intent to interact and provide career guidance and counseling to the youth of the community.

This article originally published in the September 22, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.