Nedra Korevec Named 2007 Volunteer of the Year

January 7, 2008

Nedra Korevec, Research Associate IV in the Louisiana Water Resources Research Institute and the Hazardous Substance Research Center (HSRC), who also worked for the Center for GeoInformatics and the Public Hurricane Center this year, was recently named 2007 Volunteer of the Year by the local community-based leadership organization, Forum35. This prestigious distinction recognizes her work as chairperson of Art Mob and participation on other Forum35 efforts. For 2008, Korevec will serve on Forum35’s Executive Board in the newly-appointed role of Vice President of Development.

As chairperson of Baton Rouge’s Art Mob, Korevec plays a pivotal role in organizing support for area arts and artists by disseminating information to the community at large. Art Mob is a project of the umbrella organization, Forum35, a nonprofit community-based organization founded in 1993. Korevec describes Forum35 as “about 799 young people who want to be involved in making Baton Rouge a better place to live,” of whom about 100 are also active volunteer workers. Projects under the organization’s 15-year record of community involvement include the lighting of the Mississippi River Bridge and the Autonomous School Network (ASN), a consortium of four local at-risk schools where Forum35 is implementing a relationship-based alternative education model in four target grades. ASN provides at-risk students with a second chance and rigorous college preparation.

“The people who’ve received this award previously are all people who are active in volunteer work, and who make a difference in the lives of Baton Rougeans,” she says  about winning the award. “I’m honored to be included among them.” She shares credit with her husband Jan. “Everyone knows that if one of us is volunteering, the other one’s at home with the kid. We support each other that way, such that we’re both involved in anything we do.”

Korevec received a BA in anthropology in 1994, and an MA in cultural anthropology in 1997, both at LSU. She began working in the College of Engineering as an undergraduate, and most recently has worked in the Louisiana Water Resources Institute, a research program which has been continually funded since 1964. Her primary expertise is in program and conference organization and coordination, GIS management, and Web page development, all of which and more she does at the Louisiana Water Resources Institute & HSRC.To learn more about Forum35, visit their website at http://www.forum35.org.

Article by Kip Britton, College of Engineering, 225-578-5706, mlavall@lsu.edu

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