Officers and Board of Directors

Charlotte Klasson - President

Klasson has been active in NOSHA since 2005. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a B.A in journalism and public relations and is a former magazine editor and book publisher. She is a volunteer scuba diver at the Audubon Aquarium and was voted to be a member of the national board for the National Organization for Women to represent the Mid-South region in March 2012. She enjoys photography, good food, creative cocktails and New Orleans culture.

Jim Dugan - Vice-President

Born in Philadelphia, lived in California for 20 years, working as a Silicon Valley computer geek. He got bored with that and decided to go back to school. He is now a PhD-Candidate in Anthropology and an adjunct instructor at Tulane, working mostly in linguistic anthropology.

His side interests include social conflicts between modernity and tradition, including how they manifest in the Creation-Evolution debate and censorship attempts in the present-day U.S.

Rose J. Mort - Secretary

Mort is a marketing and communications professional in the convention and tourism industry. She completed her elementary and high school education at New Orleans area Catholic schools, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Orleans. A NOSHA member since 2009, Rose has served on the annual banquet committee, the American Humanist Association convention committee, and coordinates volunteer activities for the NOSHA Social Aid and Pleasure Club.

Connie Gordon - Treasurer

Bachelor of General Studies degree from UNO. Employed at Louisiana Office of Public Health in the HIV/AIDS Program.

Ricky Adams - Website

I dabble in programming and music. I'm very unfocused and lazy. I found NOSHA, through meetup.com, while searching for something to do on the weekends.

My journey from theist to atheist began one morning about 25 years ago. I remember waking up and saying, "I just don't believe this anymore."

Harry Greenberger - President Emeritus

C.P.A. B.A. in Business Administration and M.A in Psychology. Has held offices in numerous business and activist organizations. Elected as first President of NOSHA.

Dave Schultz

Associate Professor of Biology at Nicholls State University. PhD from the University of Michigan. Expertise in fish ecology and evolutionary biology.

"I'm a founding member of NOSHA and am committed to helping NOSHA bring science and reason to the greater New Orleans region."

Steven Darwin

Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Tulane University. Teaches courses in botany, evolutionary biology, and the history of Darwinism.

"I've been a member of NOSHA since 2002, and enjoy the fellowship of other rational thinkers. Good people and good programs; and the advancement of free thought is a very worthwhile cause."

Barbara C. Forrest

Professor of Philosophy at Southeastern LA Univ. Co-author of "Creationism's' Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design." Member, Board of Directors for the National Center for Science Education, and now on the Board of Trustees of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Forrest is also a co-founder of the Louisiana Coalition for Science.

Beth Deitch

Beth Deitch has a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Tulane University and is currently a professor in the Department of Management at the University of New Orleans. Her main areas of research are workplace discrimination and employee well-being. She's involved in a wide variety of local organizations, including Mardi Gras krewes, charitable endeavors, and political organizations. Hobbies include graphic design and reading as much as possible about everything (but especially physics, politics, social psychology, identity, and cognition).

Grant Smith

Smith graduated from LSU in 1969 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He is currently a Process Design Advisor with Albemarle Corp. in Baton Rouge. He has been a member of NOHSA for 12 years. He's also a member of ACLU, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Planned Parenthood, and People for the American Way.

William Gautreaux

Gautreaux teaches all levels of high school French in Jefferson Parish. He especially enjoys teaching students in Levels 1 through 5 in the International Baccalaureate Program. He holds Master's degrees in both French literature and in Curriculum and Instruction from LSU. He enjoys writing one-act plays in French for his students to perform each year at a French play festival.

He discovered NOSHA in 2008 and was ecstatic to discover other non-believers like him.

Chad Matise

Matise has an Associate of Science degree in Computer Networking Technology. A NOSHA member since 2010, hd has served on the annual banquet committee and the American Humanist Association convention committee. He counts Freethought personalities Richard Dawkins, Matt Dillahunty, and the late Christopher Hitchens among his influences.

"Searching for atheism is not what led me to be an atheist; searching for the truth is what led me to be an atheist."