Professor Anna
Named after Louisiana but raised in North Carolina, Anna enjoyed a childhood full of New Orleans traditions such as Mardi Gras parties, crawfish boils, and ever-expanding costume closets. Influenced by her gay father's love of theatre and her courageous mother's trailblazing spirit, at 19 Anna set out to study Anthropology and Performance along the Volta River in Ghana. It was there that she "discovered" Vodun for herself and became fascinated by how American media had misrepresented this African spiritual tradition. She spent the next decade studying the history and culture of "Voodoo" in various parts of the world, including 8 African countries, 4 Caribbean islands, and 3 major US cities. While working on her MA and PhD, Anna focused intently on the history of zombie-lore and its relationship to slave uprisings from 1750 onward. She is now considered one of the world's experts on so-called Voodoo Zombies.
After completing her doctorate, Anna taught at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and Tulane University. In addition to primary courses like Intro to American Folklore Studies and Folklore in Context, Anna often taught electives like History of the Gulf South, Black Atlantic Religions, African Oral Traditions, Film as Folklore, Queer Phenomenology, Gender and Performance, and Art as Revolution. However, while living in the French Quarter and teaching Cultural Studies at Tulane, Anna fell in love with the city of New Orleans. With few to no permanent academic jobs available in her field, she decided that where she lived mattered more to her than her job title. Dr. Anna became a tour guide, transforming the hallowed streets of the French Quarter into her most exciting classroom yet.
Today, Anna is living her passions for history, folklore, theatre, and good old fashioned debauchery in the most fantastical part of the most fascinating city in the world. In fact. after living in 13 cities on 4 continents, there's no where else she'll call home! In her free time Anna enjoys discovering new dog-bars with her best friend, Mr. Fahrenheit (aka Fairy), and doing drag and community service as one of the Big Easy Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (insta @JaqelynHyde).
"My Friend in New Orleans" is more than a name — it's an ethos. Anna was inspired to start this business because of her first experiences in NOLA, when she realized what a difference it made to have a local friend to take her under their wing. The Crescent City is a fabulous tourist destination, but there's another kind of magic here for folks in-the-know. Anna aims to show every guest the Southern hospitality she grew up with and the curiosity that drives her passion for New Orleans culture, helping folks learn how to — as we say around here — "Be a New Orleanian, wherever you are."
