Colette Pichon-Battle is the former executive director and co-founder of Moving Forward Gulf Coast, Inc. She now serves as President of the Board of Directors of this community-led organization aimed at infusing community advocacy in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. Colette recently served as the Program Director for the Match Makers for Justice project, which matches residents directly affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita with law student advocates from around the country to assist in maneuvering federal and state disaster recovery issues. Colette holds a B.A. in International Studies from Kenyon College in Ohio and is a former Thomas J. Watson Fellow. She is a 2002 graduate from Southern University Law School in Louisiana where she was named Outstanding Female Law Graduate. During her professional career, she has worked in asylum and refugee, immigration, contract and international business law. She was featured in the Fall 2006 American Bar Association's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities journal and named as a "Hero of the Katrina Zone" in the September 2007 issue of Glamour Magazine. Colette continues to work on advocacy issues and has recently accepted an official role as Gulf Coast Advocate for Oxfam America's Gulf Coast team.