Staff
Sarah Bennett
Executive Director
Mrs. Bennett serves as the Executive Director for the Orleans Sheriff’s Office Foundation. Sarah attended Louisiana State University and is a proud supporter of the Tiger Athletic Foundation. Sarah launched SEC Consulting in 2012, specializing in political and non-profit fundraising strategy and implementation. She has since raised millions of dollars for her political and non-profit clients. Sarah and her business partner, Whitney Barefoot, established the Louisiana Sourcing Group in 2021. Louisiana Sourcing Group is focused solely on political clients while SEC Consulting will continue to serve non-profit clients. In addition, SEC Consulting works directly with business leaders throughout the region to facilitate strategic partnerships that maximize short and long-term growth potential for institutional and corporate clients.
Sarah is actively involved in the communities she works in throughout the state having served on several boards and supported numerous non profits including: currently serving on the board of Truce a non profit serving children who are victims of violence, serving on the board of Holi Festival, annual supporter of Knock Knock Children’s Museum, Fore Kids, Son of a Saint, Gaitway Therapeutic Horse Stables, American Cancer Society, Louisiana Restaurant Association, Lighthouse for the Blind, Heritage Ranch house for young boys, Boys and Girls Club, Mary Bird Perkins, Respire Haiti, Bahamas Relief and Big Buddy. Worked with Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Baton Area Foundation and Law Enforcement partners to assist law enforcement in crime reduction program program to supply donations for the law enforcement support fund. Sarah also helped initiate fundraising for the Mayor of Baton Rouge’s Keep BR serving program during the pandemic to help struggling restaurants stay afloat, where over $200,000 was raised for local restaurants. She also helped distributed gift cards and dinners to first responders that were working around the clock during the pandemic.
Sarah is married to Daniel Bennett and has two children.
Board
Franco Valobra
President
Franco Valobra was born in Lugano, Switzerland and grew up in Torino, Italy, where he trained at the Valobra family’s 100 year-old Jewelry Atelier. After earning a degree in Accounting, he moved to the United States in 1982 to open the first Valobra Jewelry showroom outside of Italy. The new location at 333 Royal Street is in the heart of the French Quarter and is the continuation of a multi-generational business, which was started in 1905 by his great-grandfather Vittorio Valobra, who was the official Jeweler to the Italian Royal Family, the Savoias. A graduate of the Gemological Institute of America, Mr. Valobra opened a new Jewelry showroom in Highland Village in Houston, Texas, in 2006, and in Lugano’s world-renowned Via Nassa in 2012. Valobra Jewelry creations have been prominently featured in Vogue and W magazines and have adorned celebrities at the Oscars and the Emmys.
Mr. Valobra was the founder of the Ferrari Club of Louisiana in 1999, for which he serves as president. He is also the founder and co-organizer of the French Quarter Classic, a world-renowned fundraising event organized in New Orleans to benefit cancer research. For 10 years, he organized and chaired the Highland Village Ferrari Festival in Houston, an annual event that benefits the Texas Children’s Hospital Cancer Unit. He recently received the title of Cavaliere della Repubblica, a knighthood bestowed by the President of the Italian Republic.
Today Franco Valobra shares his time between New Orleans, Houston and Lugano. In addition to running the three Jewelry Ateliers, he is heavily involved in fundraising for UNICEF, Citizens for Animal Protection, Pin Oak Charity Event, Krist Samaritan Center, Boys and Girls Harbor, March of Dimes and several other worthwhile causes, with a particular emphasis to children’s health and well-being-focused charities. He is also a founder and a board member of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Foundation and serves on several boards, including the President’s Council of the Methodist Hospital Group, the Italian-American Chamber of Commerce and several others. Franco Valobra is married to his wife Nancy, and they have two children.
David Monteleone
Chairman
David Monteleone is a born and raised New Orleanian, the fourth generation of a successful Italian family whose interests span well beyond the world renowned and historically relevant Hotel Monteleone in the heart of the famed French Quarter, they include real estate, oil and gas, as well as the always needed and appreciated support to dozens of worthwhile causes locally and nationally. David Monteleone is married to Greer Monteleone, they have 3 children and 6 grand children.
Robert Lupo
Secretary/Treasurer
Robert E. Smith Lupo is Managing Member of Lupo Enterprises, L.L.C. in New Orleans, Louisiana, a private company that specializes in the development and management of solely owned properties.
Robert graduated from Tulane University with a Master of Architecture degree, and is the recipient of numerous awards including: the Governor’s Award, State of Louisiana 1980; Tulane Associates Award - Tulane University, 1986; the Urban Conservancy Leadership Award, 2009; and the Trust for Public Land’s Gratitude Award, 2009.
His civic affiliations have included:
- Member Board of Trustees, National World War II Museum
- Member Board of Trustees, New Orleans Museum of Art
- President, Orleans Levee District Non-Flood Protection asset Management Authority, 2010-2013
- Member Board of Commissioners, Orleans Levee District 1996-2004
- President, New Orleans Municipal Yacht Harbor Corporation
- Member, Patron of the Arts of the Vatican
Robert is married to Dr. Mary Puissegur Lupo, a board certified dermatologist who heads the Lupo Center for Aesthetic and General Dermatology. They have two adult children, Robert Thomas Smith Lupo and Francesca Smith Lupo Bieker.
