Education

• AB, 2002, Princeton University
• MS, 2004, Bank Street Graduate College of Education
• JD, 2009, Tulane University Law School

Biography

Kesana Durand holds an AB in Sociology and a Certificate in African American Studies from Princeton University, an MS in General Childhood Education from Bank Street Graduate School of Education, and a JD from Tulane University Law School, where she volunteered with the Tulane University Legal Assistance Program and served as a student attorney in the Juvenile Litigation Clinic. After graduating from Tulane Law in 2009, Kesana practiced in the areas of family law, juvenile justice, and non-profit management.  She has managed non-profit grant partnerships, handled federal grant management and reporting, and has experience with grant prospecting, writing, and budgeting.

Kesana is also a first-generation Trinidadian-American with a life-long commitment to social justice. Prior to moving to New Orleans from New York City, Kesana taught elementary school students in the Bronx as a Teach For America corps member.  Locally, Kesana served as facilitator for an Orleans Parish Juvenile Court program, where she developed a peer mentorship program for justice-involved girls. Her local community service has also included co-founding the 44th Education Initiative, Inc. -- which supports policies that positively impact young adults, serving as a founding board president of ENCORE Academy -- a performing arts-focused charter school, and being a founding board member of Rooted School -- a high school with a mission to close the racial wealth gap by preparing students to graduate ready to enter either college or the high-wage tech industry.