Gene Meneray is Co-Founder of The Ella Project, a pro bono legal, business development, and cultural advocacy organization. A native New Orleanian and graduate of Tulane University, Gene 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). He 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. Gene is also the Director of the Louisiana Crafts Guild, and serves as on the Louisiana State Arts Council.