College of Law Faculty Discuss Hurricane Katrina in Netflix Docuseries, PBS NewsHour Episode

NEW ORLEANS – As the city of New Orleans remembers the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina this year, two Loyola University New Orleans College of Law professors are speaking about their experiences and the impact of the storm on local and federal political, economic, and environmental systems in national interviews by Netflix and PBS.

Davida Finger, Associate Dean of the Law Clinic and Experiential Learning and Director of the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center, spoke to director Spike Lee for the third episode of his three-part documentary series, Katrina: Come Hell and High Water, now streaming on Netflix. In her interview, Finger explained how resources and programs that were created after Katrina to help residents rebuild disproportionately benefited more affluent homeowners and often left behind poorer New Orleanians, particularly residents of color.

Alessandra Jerolleman; Director of Research at the Center on Environment, Land, and Law; was interviewed for the August 28 episode of PBS NewsHour that commemorates the 20th anniversary of the storm. She discussed some of the improvements in federal emergency management policy since Hurricane Katrina, but also some of the emerging concerns like rapid intensification of storms in recent years and the uncertainty around FEMA's role in disaster response.

In addition to her interview on PBS, Professor Jerolleman also discussed many of the same themes in an episode of the podcast, GeoTrek.

In remembrance of the 20th anniversary of the storm, the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center also co-hosted a series of discussions about Hurricane Katrina’s impacts on different social, economic, and political systems on Friday, August 29, at Loyola University’s Ignatius Chapel. “Katrina@20: Day of Remembrance” featured Professor Finger, Dean Madeleine Landrieu, and JD ‘78 alumnus and former professor Calvin Johnson. More information on the panels and topics can be found here.