Alumni

Theresa Parker Farris
MA, 2005

After leaving Oxford in 1999, I went to work for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as the folklife coordinator and two years later became the cultural programs manager. I am now at Tulane University where I do public relations and marketing for the Newcomb Art Gallery, teach a class on media depictions of New Orleans, and am developing a course on Louisiana folk traditions. Following Hurricane Katrina—for which my husband and I stayed only to be rescued by a helicopter four days later—I completed a two-year oral history project documenting the history and culture of West Feliciana Parish’s African American community. Most recently, I was fortunate to work with New Orleans artist Jana Napoli as catalog editor and oral history consultant on Floodwall, a multimedia Katrina memorial/art installation. Amid the challenges of rebuilding, I am happy to call New Orleans home and remain charmed by the city’s architecture, music, and cultural traditions. I stay in touch with fellow alums Julia Cannon and Anne Mueller—both of whom are doing well.