Recognizes outstanding service by an adult individual or by an organization for demonstrated involvement in the development and implementation of Scouting opportunities for youth from rural or low-income urban backgrounds.
Southeast Louisiana Council ~ Boy Scouts of America Hosted by:
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Gala
Thursday, August 3, 2023 
Reception 6:00 – Dinner and Program 7:00
at Dillard University Professional Schools
& Sciences Bldg.
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award Honoree- CEO/Founder STEM NOLA- Calvin Mackie-Dr. Calvin Mackie is an award-winning mentor, inventor, author, former engineering professor, internationally renowned speaker, and successful entrepreneur. In 2013, he founded STEM NOLA, a non-profit organization created to expose, inspire, and engage communities in the opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). To date STEM NOLA has engaged over 70,000 K-12 students in hands-on project-based STEM activities. In 2021, he launched STEM Global Action to advance K-12 STEM Education around the world. He has won numerous awards including the 2003Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring in a White House ceremony. In 2013, Dr. Mackie was awarded the highest honor bestowed upon a Morehouse College graduate, A Candle in the Dark’s “Bennie” Award. In 2019, Mackie received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Board’s Chair Phoenix Award. Dr. Mackie is a devoted husband to wife, Tracy, and father to sons, Myles Ahmad, and Mason Amir.
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award Honoree – Judge Rachael Johnson - Rachael D. Johnson was elected in April 2017 to serve as Judge of Civil District Court, Division B in Orleans Parish, LA. She was re-elected without opposition in July 2020. Immediately prior to being elected, she was a Senior Staff Attorney with the Law Offices of Julie E. Vaicius which serves as staff counsel in Louisiana for Hartford Insurance and its subsidiaries.
Judge Johnson began her legal career in 2005 as a law clerk for the Honorable Nadine Ramsey at Civil District Court in Orleans Parish. In 2006, she became an associate at the Gary, Williams, Finney law firm in Stuart, Florida representing hundreds of plaintiffs in Vioxx litigation, personal injury, and wrongful death cases. She then worked as an assistant City Attorney with the City of Riviera Beach, FL, where she advised the city and its various boards on a variety of matters. She is a 2005 graduate of Tulane Law School where she was a member of the juvenile litigation law clinic and served on the executive board of the Black Law Students Association. Judge Johnson attended Spelman College in Atlanta, GA where she received a B.A. in Psychology in 1998. She also has a Master’s in Social Work from Smith College. Judge Johnson practiced clinical and adoption social work in Atlanta, GA before returning to New Orleans for law school.
Judge Johnson is active in several professional and civic organizations. She currently serves as Secretary of the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program and on the executive board of the A. P. Tureaud Chapter of the Inns of Court, the Louisiana Judicial Council- NBA, and the Paul S. Morton Scholarship Foundation. She is a past President of the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, a former member of Louisiana State Bar Association Board of Governors and the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel. She is a member of United Fellowship Church and the New Orleans Chapter of the Links, Inc. Judge Johnson was born and raised in New Orleans and is a proud graduate of McDonogh #35 Senior High School.
Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award Honoree - CEO/President Ms. Deanna Rodriguez –Deanna Rodriguez is president and chief executive officer of Entergy New Orleans, LLC, where she oversees the company’s electric distribution system, safety, financial performance, customer service, resource planning, economic development, charitable contributions, employee development, and regulatory and governmental affairs.
Rodriguez, a 28-year veteran of Entergy, previously served as vice president of regulatory and public affairs at Entergy Texas, Inc. Prior to that, she was vice president of regulatory affairs for Entergy New Orleans, where she worked closely with the New Orleans City Council to launch the first Energy Smart program. The comprehensive energy efficiency plan was developed in collaboration with the New Orleans City Council and continues assisting customers today.
She also served as director of external affairs for Entergy Corporation, where she coordinated post-Hurricane Katrina funding efforts, which resulted in more than $200 million in community development block grant funding for Entergy’s Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Orleans operating companies.
From 1999 to 2003, as vice president of corporate contributions, Rodriguez oversaw the creation of the Entergy Charitable Foundation and the company’s employee volunteer program, Community Connectors.
Rodriguez has served on numerous nonprofit boards in the past and currently sits on the United Way of Southeast Louisiana, The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana’s International Women’s Forum, as well as Subiendo, with The University of Texas at Austin, School of Business School.
Rodriguez holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin.
Event Chair – Lambert Boissiere, III
Gala Team- growing each day: Demetric Mercadel, Ethan Ashley, Ronald Carrere Jr., David Cedro, Rachel F. Cousin, Tracy Dedeaux, Lisa Diggs, Eugene J. Green Jr., Daniel F. Packer, Mayra Pineda, Charles L. Rice Jr., Cesily Roberts, Nathanael Scales, Matthew Simms, Terry L. Williams, Jimmie Woods, Sr., James Gray, Ronnie Burns, Nika Scott, Fernand Riverra, MsSkip Gibson, Garry Winchester
Register online below or download the flyer and mail in your registration.
