Arianna Mace
CEO & Founder
As a former teacher in profession and now at heart, Arianna’s personal mission is to contribute to the world by propelling others forward. At just 18 years old, she began her career as a coach in a small town. Although she had an affinity for high school volleyball, she also coached children ages 4-18 in a variety of athletic programs such as softball, basketball, soccer, and track. Through her years as a coach, she found that she had a passion and unique insight to help her players navigate the world in their most vulnerable and confused moments. Arianna became a sounding board for problems and helped lead them to solutions by allowing them to fully express their fears, ideas, and goals.
Growing in knowledge and experience, Arianna obtained her Master’s degree in education while teaching at a small school. Her philosophy of teaching was to act as a facilitator of discovery while allowing her students to experiment, interact, and develop into resourceful individuals. Along the way, she again had the opportunity to consult with students on their dreams and goals. Leading them through strategies and tools that would give them the opportunity to propel them into the next chapter of life.
Aside from her basic duties as a teacher, Arianna was afforded the opportunity to plan and execute several extracurricular programs and fundraisers. Community involvement being the most important aspect of a successful program, she learned strategies for engaging community members, parents, caregivers, and volunteers. In addition, she developed and improved processes in the delivery of each program.
With over a decade of experience coaching and teaching elementary through collegiate level students, Arianna decided to make a transition into the non-profit world taking a job as the Director of Education for a local children’s museum in South Louisiana and then eventually transitioning into the Executive Director role. In this position she gained a deeper understanding of the role of community especially when it comes to small, local nonprofits. She has developed strategies and plans that have led to numerous successful fundraising opportunities, business process improvement, board alignment, and exponential growth in programming.
At the time Arianna was appointed the Executive Director of the Bayou Country Children’s museum, the museum only had weeks to eminent closure. Through her 30-day strategic plan and reorganization of staff, she was able to avoid the closure giving time to develop a fully comprehensive strategic plan. With this plan, she led staff straight to work raising two million dollars over two and a half years. She also focused her efforts on mending community and donor relationships, developing a realistic budget, improving marketing efforts, and enhancing the quality of educational programming.
Not only did her strategies, insights, and creativity save the Bayou Country Children’s Museum from closure; her ability to pivot and work effectively with her team allowed the museum to overcome and continue serving its mission through COVID-19 mandated closures and Hurricane Ida.
The highlight of her time at the Bayou Country Children’s Museum was to empower staff to learn and grow in experience while highlighting their individual talents and interests.
As a small-town girl, Arianna loves helping the little guy. She has found that institutions in small towns and little places across the nation make a much larger impact on their community. She has a passion for helping individuals and small nonprofits propel themselves forward, to succeed, and to positively impact their communities. Her clients are spread across several states including California, Texas, and Louisiana.
Marcus Lawson
Marketing and Business Development Consultant
Raised in New Orleans, Marcus Lawson is an award-winning cheerleading coach and choreographer. For 16 years he ran two cheerleading/gymnastics facilities in the Hammond and Madisonville area where he empowered his students to be champions on and off the competition floor. During his tenure Spirit Professional and its All-Star program was recognized as one of Louisiana’s top All-Star programs.
Shifting careers and relocating to Thibodaux, he joined the Bayou Country Children Museum as Marketing and Development Manager. In this role, he built relationships with some of the area’s largest companies and community partners raising over $500,000 in sponsorships as well as developing strategies to drive visitation to the museum.
A graduate of the University of New Orleans with a degree in Psychology, Marcus resides in Lake Charles, LA with his husband Timothy. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, spending time friends and still finds time to choreography for cheerleading gyms in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.