Bernard Robertson, board president
Bernard Robertson specializes in investment analysis and investment policy development, investment portfolio development, manager research, risk management and the overall development and achievement of client goals at the Hackett Robertson Tobe Group. HRT Group is an independent investment advisory firm registered with the SEC.
Previously, Robertson served as President & CEO of Robertson Wealth Advisors, prior to merging the firm with the former Hackett Group. Bernard also served as Managing Director and consultant of a boutique investment firm in New Orleans, previously he experienced successes as a financial advisor with Smith Barney and as Senior Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch. Robertson, where he led an advisory group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He has since been recognized for his work in the field by his colleagues, New Orleans City Business as a 2015 Money Maker, and several other industry publications.
Bernard was a highly regarded football player at Tulane University, going on to play with the Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills, and the Oakland Raiders. He has been inducted into the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame as an individual in 2007 and again with his teammates on the historic 1998 Undefeated Team in 2008. In 2013, he was named to the All-Dome team honoring the best players in Tulane’s history in the Superdome.
Robertson holds an EMBA with a concentration in Business Growth from Babson College, Master’s degree in Business Administration, with a Global Business concentration from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.
Additionally, Robertson serves in a variety of civic leadership roles including as an executive board member for the Louisiana Council for Economic Education, the co-founder and past President for the Treme Charter School Association, and as President of the NFL Players Association New Orleans Chapter.
TALANA ANDERSON, Treasurer
Talana is the grants manager at the Institute of Women and Ethnic Studies. She joined IWES in September 2020 as Finance and Admin Associate and is now serving as Grants Manager. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of New Orleans. She has a varied work background in that she has worked in five major industries in New Orleans: staffing, hospitality, education, accounting, and nonprofit. Within these industries, she has had the opportunity to diversify the skills necessary to work with a team to ensure the success of any organization. Talana is a native New Orleanian, wife, and mother of three.
Phoebe Brown, FOUNDING Member
Phoebe Brown is the Financial Inclusion Officer for Hope Community Credit Union. Hope Credit Union was founded in 1994 in a United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. Ms. Brown joined the agency in 2018. A graduate of Dillard University, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in History. She has been working to help the consumer accomplish their dreams by looking at money differently. Through fun and unique teaching programs and consulting, hundreds of thousands have been able to accomplish their goals.
Phoebe specializes in educating consumers on sound personal financial management to meet their needs and to help consumers understand how to budget, use credit wisely and resolve credit challenges. In a society plagued with financial issues, Phoebe has a passion in getting the right message out to consumers so they can prepare for a brighter future and make better decisions. Her duties at Hope Credit Union is teaching Financial Literacy, educating consumers about Hope’s product and services, and building strong partnerships for stronger communities.
Thomas Slattery, Secretary
Thomas Slattery is a partner in the Litigation Practice Group at Jones Walker in New Orleans. He focuses on internal corporate investigations and compliance matters. A member of the firm’s corporate compliance and white collar defense team, Tom assists companies in a variety of compliance matters. He helps conduct internal corporate investigations, where he has experience investigating allegations of insider self-dealing and international bribery in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
He also assists public and privately owned community banks across a range of matters, including merger litigation, special litigation committees examining shareholders’ derivative claims, defense against federal Ponzi receivers’ claims of third-party liability, and representation in sanctions matters involving the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Since returning to his home of New Orleans, Tom has represented indigent defendants pro bono in both state and federal courts, volunteered in local diversity initiatives for the legal community, and worked on several cases for the Innocence Project of New Orleans.
tiffany harvill, VOting Member
Tiffany brings 25-plus years of experience in financial management, process improvement and talent development with experience across several industries including retail, real estate, social entrepreneurship, commercial lending, management consulting and municipal government. She is most inspired by the opportunity to help her clients with generational wealth building. Therefore, key components of her practice are financial education, consistent long-term investing and estate considerations.
She is actively involved in her local community serving on several Board of Directors primarily focused on women, children, education and community development.
When not serving clients or volunteering in my community, she enjoys spending time with family, traveling and experimenting in the kitchen. She is a native of Detroit, Michigan but has decided to make New Orleans her home. Lastly, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Michigan State University and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University Business School.
Jarrett E. Cohen, Advisory Member
Jarrett E. Cohen is a principal and portfolio manager of JECohen Holdings, LLC, a New Orleans-based asset management firm that directs investments on behalf of individuals and institutions in public equity, public debt, and private real estate markets.
Cohen began his career in the New York City office of Deloitte & Touche. Prior to founding JECohen, he served as an assistant vice president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s wealth management division in Houston.
Most recently, Cohen was part of LSU’s National Diversity Advisory Board. He also served on the LSU CFP Board-Registered Program Advisory Board through the E.J. Ourso College of Business and the advisory board of Yellowstone Academy, a non-profit private school in the Third Ward of Houston that focuses on children living in extremely low socioeconomic circumstances.
Jarrett is an advocate for increased access to financial education resources in Black communities. He is passionate about advancing pathways towards systemic reform that reduces the inequities that are inherent in US society today.