Our Lawyers >

Heather D. McDowell, Associate

hmcdowell@ellingercarr.com

Prior to joining Ellinger & Carr, PLLC, Heather gained unique experience as a member of the City of New Orleans' Office of Intergovernmental Affairs during the destruction, aftermath and rebuilding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Heather served as the City's Federal Relations Coordinator, later as State Relations Coordinator and additionally as the City's liaison to the Louisiana Bond Commission, Louisiana Municipal Association, Louisiana Conference of Mayors, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the White House Intergovernmental Affairs Office, numerous Congressional and U.S. Senate Offices, the Louisiana Recovery Authority, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Heather's significant efforts in the legal analysis of the Stafford Act and leveraging state and federal resources for emergency funding supported the financing of the City's unprecedented emergency recovery plan.   As the focus shifted from emergency recovery to rebuilding and renewal, Heather continued analysis and lobbying efforts to secure funding and new legislation to enable major economic development, housing and infrastructure re-construction, education and state insurance revitalization for the City of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region.  Heather's work included analysis of the Hurricane Katrina/Rita Tax Incentive Recovery Zone and drafting, lobbying and procuring of tax incentives promoting economic development, housing and infrastructure reconstruction, jobs recovery and the restructuring of the City's tax increment financing policy. Heather also advised and counseled on the City's multi-million dollar capital outlay funding proposals and bond financing for the City's economic development, housing, education, transportation, health care, and recreation projects.

Heather earned a Juris Doctor and a Certificate in European Legal Studies from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she was on the staff of the school's Journal of American Arbitration and served as a Judicial Extern in the Chambers of Chief Judge William H. Byrnes, III. Heather participated in the law school's Summer School Abroad on Alternative Dispute Resolution in Berlin in 2000 and its Summer School Abroad on Intellectual Property in Amsterdam and Geneva in 2001.

Heather is a member of the American Bar Association and its Forum on Affordable Housing, the Louisiana State Bar Association, and the North Carolina Bar Association.

Heather earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and German from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, where she was inducted into the Phi Sigma Iota and Sigma Tau Delta National Honor Societies, and studied abroad in Heidelberg, Germany at the University of Heidelberg in 1998.

In her spare time, Heather is also a Pilates trainer and earned her mat Pilates certification in 2007 through the Physical Mind Institute, and in 2010 earned her comprehensive Pilates equipment certification with NC Pilates in Durham, North Carolina. Heather teaches several mat and equipment classes in Durham and also leads a periodic Mommy and Me Pilates workshop she designed for new mothers and their babies.

Admissions

• North Carolina
• Louisiana
• New York

Education

• Ursinus College (B.A. , 1999)
• Tulane University Law School (J.D., 2002)