About Us

Before settling in New Orleans, Geoff Coats earned degrees in Telecommunications and History from James Madison University and a M.A. in African History from Indiana University. Mr. Coats received numerous grants and fellowships including a Ford Foundation / Indiana Center for Global Change and World Peace Travel Grant in support of research in West Africa and a U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship to study the Wolof language in Senegal. Mr. Coats conducted research in France, Senegal, and the United States and taught history at Loyola University of New Orleans before helping establish The Urban Conservancy. In addition to his work with The Urban Conservancy, Geoff is a project manager for Zande+Newman Design and is renovating a shotgun house in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans.