Brenda M. Breaux

Brenda M. Breaux personifies leadership, strong business acumen, passion and commitment to excellence. As Executive Director for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), she is responsible for providing strategic leadership, stability and growth opportunities for the Authority and the community we serve.

Prior to this new role, Brenda served diligently as the Chief Operating Officer of NORA for four (4) years where she was responsible for overseeing and managing Human Resources, Land Management, Land Stewardship, Real Estate Development and the day to day operations of the Authority. In this position, Brenda also directed legal strategies and participated in dispute resolution.

Brenda also served as Senior Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of New Orleans where her duties included but were not limited to, management of 37 attorneys and support staff with direct responsibilities for housing, development and finance matters, the Mayor's Blight Initiative, DCDBG and CDBG projects, liaison between City, State and Federal entities for the downtown medical complex project and negotiations between the City and State regarding the former Road Home properties.

Additionally, she served as the Deputy Executive Director for the Housing Authority of New Orleans, while there Brenda was responsible for Development, Construction, Section 8, Procurement, Human Resources and Administrative Services and other executive level positions. Brenda has proven that years of experience and leadership has provided her with the opportunity to manage large scale affordable housing and complex real estate development projects in New Orleans and Biloxi, MS

Brenda earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Spelman College, her Juris Doctor from Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law and has been practicing law for 23 years.

Seth Knudsen

Seth Knudsen is the Chief of Strategy, Programs, and Projects, for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority. Seth leads development of the agency’s strategy as well as the design and implementation of NORA's Residential Development, Commercial Revitalization, and Land Stewardship programs and projects.

Seth previously served NORA as the Director of Real Estate Development and Planning, in which he advanced and leveraged NORA's partnerships, property dispositions and investments in hundreds of affordable housing, catalytic community economic development, and green infrastructure projects across the city. Prior to his tenure at NORA, Seth held various roles in local government which included managing planning and development initiatives at the Housing Authority (HANO), City Planning Commission, Office of Recovery Management and in the CAO's office, as well as the non-profit City-Works.

Seth holds a Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from Tulane University, a Master's degree in City Planning and Graduate Certificate in Urban Design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Graduate Certificate in Urban Redevelopment from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP), Green Infrastructure Practitioner (GIP), and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Associate.

Derrick Muse

Derrick A. Muse serves as the Chief Financial Officer for New Orleans Redevelopment Authority where he is responsible for all financial and compliance matters for the organization. Derrick previously served as the Deputy Director of Finance for the City of New Orleans, with responsibility for the accounting functions, purchasing operations, treasury cash management, tax collection enforcement and accounts receivable billing efforts. Prior to joining the City of New Orleans, Derrick worked as the Executive Director over Budget and Finance for Orleans Parish School Board where he managed the budget operations and preparation of the annual financial audit.

Derrick holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette and received his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Tiffany Lawson

Tiffany serves as the Controller for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority responsible for assisting the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer in the fiscal planning and daily oversight of the Authority's funds. Her tasks include direct supervision of the accounting department, income and expense tracking, quality control as well as the implementation and management of the Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) system.

She has 12+ years of progressive experience providing accounting, financial assurance, and advisory consulting serving in administrative and financial management roles. She brings a wealth of experience through her successes with the City of New Orleans-Neighborhood 1, Quadel Consulting Corporation - Road Home Homeowner Assistance Program, Deltha Corporation and the Parish Hospital Service District - New Orleans East Hospital Project.

Tiffany's demonstrated experiences include Cash Management, Federal Grants Management, Compliance and Performance Monitoring, Budget Preparation and Financial Reporting, Procurement, Performance Management and Administrative Support. She is also certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP). Tiffany is a 2003 graduate from Southern University at New Orleans where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting.