During a visit to her alma mater, Ty Rhea Salvant (’93) gave a presentation about racial justice to the juniors’ religion classes taught by Mr. Mark Gonnella and Ms. Claire Gallagher. During her talk, she answered pre-submitted questions from the students and shared handouts on institutional racism, distinguished from the explicit attitudes or racial biases of individuals by the existence of systemic policies or laws and practices that provide differential access to goods, services, and opportunities of society by race.
Mrs. Salvant is this year’s recipient of the school’s St. Catherine of Siena Preaching Award. In 2020, she was appointed chair of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Committee for Race, Equity and Justice, leading a 15-member committee of clergy, religious, and laity to assess and make recommendations on diversity and a culture of welcome in parishes, schools, agencies, and administration throughout the Archdiocese. A member of the Archdiocese’s Racial Harmony Commission that addressed and implemented Synod findings related to race and diversity; Mrs. Salvant presented workshops on Pastoral Letters regarding racism. Noting that racism impacts everyone, Mrs. Salvant said, “Racism is a sin that keeps us from being the people God created us to be. The beauty of diversity occurs when everybody is at the table.”
Last year, the mother of six started Time with Ty, a lifestyle brand that shares her passion for community, education, family, marriage, and self-care. She wrote, A Mother’s Reflection, a guided journal to help other mothers not lose themselves in the roles they occupy. She plans to publish three more journals in this series: one for dads, one for couples, and one for families. In 2010, she founded NOLA Homeschoolers, an inclusive, diverse, and safe community for families to receive support in every phase of homeschooling. As Director, she organizes field trips, leads workshops, and provides opportunities for families to connect and support each other.
Her community involvement includes volunteering with St. Dominic Catholic Church, NOLA Catholic Parenting, Willwoods Community, and Friends of City Park. She is also a board member for BabyPlus for Good, Junior League of New Orleans, and Catholic Engaged Encounter with her husband, Derrick.
