The Ella Project Welcomes Travis Henry and Petr Verner to the Board of Directors

By Veronica Cross

The Ella Project welcomes Travis Henry and Petr Verner to its Board of Directors, and thanks previous board members Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell and Anita Oubre for their years of service to growing the organization.

Expanding on the board’s deep collective experience, knowledge base, and connections, Henry and Verner arrive with unique backgrounds in combinations of creative practice, collaboration, leadership, and advocacy. Engagement in their respective fields of filmmaking and music have prepared them to understand the challenges artists and culture bearers may face in maintaining their creative practice and their fiscal affairs.

Travis Henry

As an emerging musician in 2009, young Travis Henry – then known as “Sei” – sought information on copyrights, contracting with other musicians, and how to protect his interests in such contracts. He would eventually transition to film work, merging these foundational industry insights with his ongoing practice of observation initiated during his youth in New Orleans’ St. Roch neighborhood, expanding into a visual storytelling practice as a tool toward social change in roles of filmmaker and content developer.

Travis Henry’s long-form documentary film Muted: Climate Marginalization in America (produced by I-DIEM, 2024) exposes the disproportionate impact of climate crisis in the Deep South on marginalized groups along racialized and lower-income lines. His goal to “magnify the stories of the ‘least’ of us because they are [in a] crisis, the most vulnerable” takes viewers through the Louisiana Bayou regions, the Gulf Coast, the Mississippi Delta to sites of coastal erosion and hurricane damage. Multiple interviews with Chief Devon Parfait of the Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw (Terrebonne parish), U.S. Congressman Troy Carter (D-LA), a resident describing her brown tap water and other impacted locals reveal the scope and history of the problems and the advocacy and adaptation that is necessary for survival under such conditions within their homelands.

The film was recognized with a regional Emmy Award from the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and three Telly Awards. Note Henry’s use of drone camerawork to show the region’s terrain and to signify a perspective that hints at larger, historical narratives of disempowerment. In addition to his ongoing commercial and corporate documentary work, Henry’s other recent credits include a behind-the-scenes role as Director of Photography for Sinners (directed by Ryan Coogler, 2025), and in our recent conversation, he hints at a special project that he can’t yet divulge. Henry, who has just turned 40, envisions his board duties as poised to “help propel the next generation of art forward in New Orleans”, while also acknowledging the need to meet the people where they’re at with effective visual storytelling through accessible testimonials about The Ella Project.

Petr Verner

“Music has been the constant through-line of my life and the most direct way I know to connect with people...”, remarks Petr Verner. Verner is the Director of Operations at the Jazz Foundation of America’s New Orleans Office at the New Orleans Jazz Museum, where The Ella Project office is also located. Born in Prague, CS, Verner studied classical flute and saxophone. He credits Professor Horky and Professor Niederle as “two real pioneers of jazz in the former Eastern Bloc” and would go on to earn his BFA in Music and Recording from the Sonic Arts Center at City College of New York.

Working at the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA) introduced Verner to artist advocacy; he managed their New Orleans office remotely before relocating to New Orleans. As a nonprofit supporting musicians working in “jazz, blues, roots, and soul traditions”, JFA’s mission is analogous to that of The Ella Project, offering additional services through its Musicians’ Emergency Relief Fund such as pro bono medical aid, housing and rent assistance, targeted disaster relief, and work opportunities in community and school performances. Programming and collaboration remains mostly within New Orleans and Louisiana, in venues like Snug Harbor and The Jazz Museum; Verner adds that, “We also support bands in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Memphis, and northern Mississippi.” JFA’s recent fundraiser A Great Day in Marshall in North Carolina supported “a community rebuilding after hurricane destruction”, expanding JFA’s programming into “mountain music, bluegrass, and ballad traditions”.

Verner looks forward to fundraising at Ella. His brings unique blended experience in working with infrastructure and creative programming having “helped design and implement our donor database and social work case management system” at the JFA and producing their A Great Night in Harlem event, for example. Currently, JFA is preparing to produce a new recording with Loyola University’s Young Bucks Orchestra and legendary blues singer Thais Clark, that will reimagine her original songs in a big band setting.

“I also want to leverage JFA's network of artists, venues, and non-profits to build stronger bridges to The Ella Project so more creators across Louisiana know these legal and advocacy resources exist...Ultimately, my goal is to help expand Ella's reach so every musician who needs support knows exactly where to go.”

Help us congratulate Travis Henry and Petr Verner on their appointments to The Ella Project’s Board of Directors.

For a list of all current board members, please click here.