Pelican Institute For Public Policy

As a private, non-profit organization, STARC has helped thousands of people since we started nearly 35 years ago. While we've grown over the years, our services still involve individuals reaching out to individuals to connect with the ability that lies behind the disability. You could say that we're in the business of building independence, day by day and step by step.STARC was founded in 1972 by Laura Delaup with two other mothers after her eight-month-old daughter, Heaven, was bitten by a mosquito and contracted encephalitis. The disease left Heaven developmentally disabled, and she became one of three original STARC participants. Today, STARC's east and west divisions serve over 700 individuals and their families in St. Tammany, Washington, St. Helena, Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes at any given time.

This March, the New Orleans BioInnovation Center will open its doors to a new generation of innovators from Louisiana's burgeoning Life Science Community. Situated between the Greater New Orleans Biosciences Economic Development District and the New Orleans Medical District, on the 1400 block of Canal, the center offers 66, 000 square feet of state of the art wet-lab, office and conference space. Designed to cultivate and conceive new ideas for bio-innovation, the Center exists among a community made up of hospitals, medical universities, research centers and biotech businesses. The Center itself can house dozens of companies, providing the infrastructure to support the day-to-day functions of company research and business. The Center's design provides a close network of the region's leading researchers and innovators and promotes collaboration within the life science community.