Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies

05/29/2026

To close out , we want to spotlight and uplift Paige Watson, a 13-year-old Jamaican climate advocate using her voice to speak up for young people navigating the realities of climate change. 🌍🇯🇲💭✨

During the 13th IAAH World Congress on Adolescent Health (), we had the pleasure of hearing Paige during the opening plenary as she shared an adolescent perspective on how climate change impacts the mental health of youth living through these catastrophic environmental changes; especially those in low to middle-income countries that contribute the least to climate issues but tend to suffer the worst. 🌪️🌊🔥

As she expertly states, “Climate change becomes just another weight added to an already overwhelming mental load instead of the urgent global crisis it truly is.” In her powerful speech, Paige speaks to the stress, anxiety, hopelessness, and emotional exhaustion many young people are carrying while balancing school pressures, personal struggles, and uncertainty about the future.

Young people are paying attention 👀 and they deserve to be heard 🗣️💚 So tag a young climate advocate you know of so we can follow them and shout out their work!

This Mental Health Awareness Month, we must recognize that climate justice is mental health justice, too! 🤝🌱

05/25/2026

To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we’re throwing it back to a moment that changed history 🌏✨If you missed it, Suluafi Brianna Fruean from The Coconet TV explains it perfectly in this video 🎥🌊

On July 24, 2025, after years of organizing, advocacy, and relentless community action, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark climate ruling affirming that governments have a legal responsibility to protect people and the planet from the harms of climate change ⚖️🌱 What started as an idea from students in Vanuatu 🇻🇺 grew into a global movement led by Pacific youth, Indigenous organizers, legal advocates, and frontline communities demanding climate justice for the people impacted first and worst! ✊🏽🌺

This victory would not have been possible without the work of Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, Blue Ocean Law, Vishal Prasad, Cynthia Houniuhi, Julian Aguon (a friend of one of our staff members!), Brianna Fruean, and so many others who fought to make sure vulnerable island nations were heard on the world stage. 🌊🤍

Their advocacy reminds us that protecting culture, land, water, and future generations is community care 🫶🏽🌍 And when Pacific communities fight for climate justice, we all benefit. To close out we leave you with a phrase in Samoan: “Malo le galue. Malo le tauivi. Malo le finau,” which means "Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your struggle. Thank you for your courage and perseverance."" ✨

05/22/2026

Thank you to the IWES Family!!! 💛

Because of your generosity, we were able to raise 95% of our Give NOLA Day goal in just one day! Every donation, repost, comment, and word of encouragement truly meant a lot to us. Thank you for showing what community care and solidarity can look like.

Your support allows us to continue our work in the Rise Up Jamaica initiative, supporting the mental health recovery and healing efforts on the island in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. We are deeply grateful to everyone who donated and stood with us in this moment, especially while prices are rising and budgets may be tight. Stay tuned to our Rise Up page to stay up to date with the programming and to find more opportunities to plug in!

05/21/2026

“Untreated trauma is the underbelly of violence.”

About a month ago, our Founder, Dr. Denese Shervington, was asked to write an op-ed for MS Now to reflect on the devastating mass shooting in Shreveport and how it connects to a wider issue of intimate partner violence perpetrated by men, challenging us to look beyond mental illness alone when discussing acts of gender-based violence. Drawing from her work as a psychiatrist, public health practitioner, and trauma mitigation expert, Dr. Shervington explores how untreated trauma, patriarchal violence, and harmful cultural norms contribute to cycles of violence that continue to impact women, families, and communities across the world. ❤️‍🩹

This powerful piece is both a call for accountability and a reminder that healing requires more than individual solutions. It requires addressing the social and cultural conditions that allow violence to persist. ✨ For these insights and more, read the full article on MS Now. 🔗 https://www.ms.now/opinion/shreveport-mass-shooting-justin-fairfax-mental-illness

05/05/2026

🟡 is finally here! 🟡 Today, your timeline is probably full of organizations highlighting the important role your support plays in their work. This is what community looks like; when we choose to invest in each other and fuel the organizations on the ground doing the work of care, recovery, education, and long-term change every day.

Give NOLA Day is presented by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, an organization with more than 100 years of roots in this region. They connect generous people to the causes they care about most, strengthen local non-profits, and lead civic projects. Their work helps make sustained, community-driven impact possible year after year.

We want to use this moment to lift up organizations and partners we believe in across New Orleans and beyond. There so many other amazing organizations that participate and this is not a complete list, so we invite you to share any other organizations you want to shout out in the comments so we can keep the momentum going together! 💛 https://www.givenola.org/

05/05/2026

This Give NOLA Day, we’re showing how New Orleans can for Jamaica 🇯🇲

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a reminder that recovery after disaster goes beyond rebuilding structures—it’s about restoring emotional well-being, protecting culture, and caring for our communities.

In the 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, we’ve learned what it really takes to rebuild: not just homes, but people, systems, and culture. Those lessons inspired us to create Rise Up, Jamaica, an initiative supporting the mental health recovery efforts in Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa. This , the donations we receive will support this new initiative, so check out this reel for a glimpse of the kind of programming we’ve been providing so far.

Last month, after a series of virtual sessions, we traveled to Jamaica to lead in-person workshops with healthcare workers in the Western region, one of the areas most impacted by the storm. We heard about burnout, housing challenges, and limited mental health resources — struggles that feel familiar, just like their strength. Although our geographies may separate us, there is a shared humanity that we are asking you to support this Give NOLA Day.

Today, we honor this cultural exchange as we take part in , the largest online day of giving for non-profits in Louisiana, presented by the Greater New Orleans Foundation (). Rise Up means showing up, listening, and building together — across communities and across borders — and today, New Orleans, we’re asking you to please join us and rise up for Jamaica. Follow this link to donate or visit https://bit.ly/4nbZ2A2 to learn more, https://bit.ly/42jL1GP

✨ And as an added bonus, the first 25 people to donate $50 or more will receive a FREE Rise Up, Jamaica tote bag—hope you’re in that number!

05/04/2026

is tomorrow, and we’re inviting you to show up with us for Jamaica 🇯🇲 Did you catch Jamaica being highlighted at Jazz Fest this year? That spirit of cultural exchange is exactly what’s behind our work. After Hurricane Melissa impacted the island last fall, we launched Rise Up, Jamaica to support the mental health recovery efforts already happening on the ground. And 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, we understand how critical that support is because we’ve lived it; we know that mental health supports are essential for communities to heal and rebuild.

, presented by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is the biggest day of giving for non-profits in Louisiana, and it’s happening tomorrow! Your support helps us continue this work by sharing resources, building connections, and investing in healing across communities. And it couldn’t come at a more fitting time, as May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. With so much demand to meet immediate needs, and so much structural work to do after a disaster, this month serves as a reminder that we also need to prioritize healing, which means supporting people’s mental health, well-being, and ability to move forward.

So get ready, because tomorrow is the big day! Early giving has already started, so please take a moment to follow this link to support Rise Up this Give NOLA Day and help strengthen the cultural exchange and connection between New Orleans and Jamaica through healing and care. https://www.givenola.org/organization/Institute-Of-Women-And-Ethnic-Studies

04/20/2026

We are opening registration for something special right here as we close out Black Maternal Health Week 2026 ( ). 💜🌿

registration is officially OPEN!

Rooted in Justice and Joy: 10 Years of Building the Black Maternal Health Movement.

Founded and led by BMMA, Inc. the Black Maternal Health Conference and Training Institute™ is the official global assembly for Black maternal health equity, scholarship, innovation, policy, and advocacy. And this year we are celebrating a decade of movement building in the city where it all began.
September 10 - 12, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Secure your spot at: blackmaternalhealthconference.com/bmhc26/.

Whether you are a clinician, researcher, advocate, birth worker, policy professional, or community member committed to Black maternal health equity, this is your space to learn, develop, network, and mobilize alongside the people leading this work.

04/16/2026

Happy to see Louisiana on this list!

04/13/2026

Sharing an Internship Opportunity!

✨ Paid Social Media Internship ✨ BE NOLA is looking for a creative, community-rooted storyteller to support our Give NOLA Day 2026 campaign as a Social Media Intern from April 20 - May 31st. This is a hands-on opportunity to help tell the story of Black education in New Orleans through content creation, campaign support, and on-the-ground storytelling.

If you have New Orleans roots and a passion for Black education and community impact, we would love to hear from you.

🔗 Learn more: https://canva.link/ss2egl17eww5jti
📧 To apply by April 20, email [email protected]
 with the subject line: Social Media Intern - [Your Name]