WE Fellowship Big Pitch Event
Come cheer on our 5 WE Fellowship Finalists!
Judges
Christa Cotton
Christa Cotton, owner, El Guapo Bitters – While studying at Auburn University, Christa Cotton helped her parents open Thirteenth Colony Distilleries, Georgia’s first legal distillery since prohibition. After a stint in advertising in New Orleans, Christa purchased the El Guapo trademark. Specializing in zero-proof bitters, El Guapo has expanded into syrups and mixers and is Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certified as a woman owned business. Christa is a 6x Good Food Award winner, LEE Initiative mentor, Les Dames d’Escoffier Legacy Award: Fine Spirits recipient, and a Fellow in both the Tory Burch Foundation and the James Beard Foundation Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program. She’s successfully raised seven figures in investment capital and is currently in the process of opening a bitters brewery, the first of its kind in America.
Artemis Antippas
Artemis Antippas, owner, Greek Girls Rice Pudding – Artemis Antippas is the Owner + Founder of Greek Girls Rice Pudding, a business proudly born and based in her beloved hometown, New Orleans, Louisiana. Greek Girls is an authentically delicious Greek treat prepared using an ancient family recipe that has been passed down by the women in her family for 200 years. Produced using only a handful of straightforward, natural ingredients, you can find her family’s rice pudding on shelves throughout the Southwest region. Greek Girls Rice Pudding is also the winner of the 2018 WE Fellowship. Artemis is also a visual artist and exhibits her work in galleries and museums nationally.

Michelle Johnston on March 10, 2022.
Michelle Johnston
Michelle Johnston, Gaston Chair of Business Loyola University New Orleans and Author of The Seismic Shift in Leadership – Dr. Michelle K. Johnston is a management professor, executive coach, and leadership expert helping leaders achieve results through meaningful connection. She is an award-winning professor studying leadership and business communication, and her research has shown a clear link between a team’s effective communication and its positive financial performance. Michelle is a celebrated keynote speaker presenting at conferences and events nationwide. She received her Ph.D in Communication from Louisiana State University, and she was named to the prestigious 100 Coaches group, which consists of the top executive coaches around the world. Michelle serves as the Gaston Chair of Business at Loyola University New Orleans where she teaches in the graduate and undergraduate programs in the College of Business. She lives in her beloved city of New Orleans, Louisiana, with her daughter, Elizabeth. The Seismic Shift inLeadershipis her first book.
Finalists
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TO WATCH THE BIG PITCH EVENT ON APRIL 5th!