Chelsea Hylton

Chelsea Hylton is joining 826 New Orleans as the Director of Development and Finance. Originally from Alexandria, Virginia, Chelsea also lived in Charleston, SC where she received her B.S. in Physical Education at the College of Charleston. With over a decade in New Orleans, she brings an extensive background in Nonprofit management and education.

Upon moving to New Orleans in 2014, Chelsea served as both a K-12 enrichment and middle school English teacher. In 2016 she founded Project Peaceful Warriors, a non-profit that supports healing-centered learning spaces in New Orleans through trauma-informed yoga and mindfulness. As founding Director, she grew the organization to serve over 30 schools and community-based organizations, reaching over 15,000 young people and 5,000 educators in the Greater New Orleans area. During this time, she collaborated with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine to measure program impact, and her work was published in the Journal of Psychology Research and Behavior Management. She now serves as a very proud board member.

Chelsea's commitment to community extends beyond her professional endeavors. Chelsea's community involvement is dedicated to maternal health and includes facilitating postpartum support groups with The Fourth Trimester & Beyond, an initiative of Tulane's Psychiatry Clinic. She completed her Healthy Birth Ambassador training through Healthy Birth Louisiana, a lasting innovative, culturally specific intervention to reduce poor birth outcomes in the state of Louisiana and beyond. She is also trained as a postpartum care provider.

Beyond her professional and community engagements, Chelsea finds joy in the outdoors. On sunny days in New Orleans you can catch her in pursuit of adventure, often seen chasing her son, Axel, adorned in a superhero costume, embodying the spirit of curiosity and playfulness that Chelsea strives to bring to all aspects of her life.