Influential Woman · Cultural Strategist
Zella Palmer
Endowed Chair and Director of the Ray Charles Program, Dillard University · Full-time
New Orleans, LA
Her Story
About Zella
Zella Palmer is a cultural strategist with almost 20 years of experience advising institutions on program development, grant writing, and using AI as a strategy. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, she is the Director of the Ray Charles Program at Dillard University, where she runs the food studies program. Palmer is also a filmmaker, professor, speaker, author, and herbal physician. She authored Ed Mitchell's Barbecue, for which she was a James Beard finalist, and she speaks Spanish fluently. Her work includes serving on boards for historic museums in New Orleans, running a food pantry for university students, and involvement with Louisiana Food Policy and Giving Hope NOLA. Palmer studied herbalism under Ann Whitehat at Miss Ann's Maypop Herbal Shop and is about to graduate in October. She attributes her success to her parents and values integrity and humility in her work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Zella
01What do you attribute your success to?
My parents. Their spirit is still here guiding me.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
To toot your own horn as a woman. Because if you don't do it, who else will? Advocate for yourself. It's okay to do that.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Listen to their elders. Break through and make it their own, but hold on to that wisdom and hear it.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Challenges include lack of vision among leaders and a lot of mediocrity and noise. Opportunities exist to learn through critical thinking, reading books, and knowing history, which is so important. There are gaps in learning with young people, but the information age provides opportunity for those with broader knowledge to create something beautiful.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity and humility. To make sure that I'm grounded and understand that I'm part of centuries of ancestors that lived before, picking up the torch, and my time here is precious, so value every second.
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