Few career paths follow a straight line. Instead, over the years their curves and bends are shaped by early experiences, unexpected opportunities and evolving ambitions.
This week, in our occasional One Big Question feature, we asked Louisiana business executives and entrepreneurs from a range of diverse backgrounds, “What job would you have if you weren’t in your current career?”
The alternative lives they imagine, it turns out, share many key elements with their actual jobs. And throughout all their answers, we found a common thread: a desire to build, create and leave behind a legacy — whether that’s through art, business or community.
The following answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Edgar ‘Dook’ Chase IV, owner and president, Chase Hospitality Group; executive chef and operator, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
Chef and restaurant operator Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, pictured on Thursday, June 26, 2025, has always dreamed of a career as a musician.
I have a background in economics, finance and accounting, and I worked in corporate America — for Entergy Corp. — for about 7 1/2 years. I loved it. I love the strategy and the finances behind it. So I would be hopefully at Entergy Corp. in a leadership role. Now, what I wish I could do is totally different. I don’t have the talent or the know-how, but I love musicians, I love music, I love their creativity. Any time I see a live band, no matter what it is, whether it’s jazz, rhythm and blues, a little more funky, I just love it. I love how they improvise. I love how they feed off each other, much like a chef in the kitchen. So, I wish I had some musical talent. That’s where I would be.
Dr. Rebekah Gee, co-founder and CEO, Nest Health; former Louisiana Department of Health secretary
Dr. Rebekah Gee, founder and CEO of Nest Health, talks with Rosa Aguilar, left, during a diaper drive at Crescent City Family Services in Gretna on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
I’m so lucky to have a career where I get to be a caregiver. But if I wasn’t doing that, I would be an interior designer and have a store that was fashion, home design and interior design. I’ve always been a creative person, and the roles I’ve had in government and as an entrepreneur are about creating new things that don’t exist. That’s where I have strength, and that’s true with design as well. A designer takes a look at a space and says, “What’s needed here? What colors go together? What would make this interesting?” That same kind of creative eye is what makes me a good entrepreneur. I love design and the creative process. My personal style and ability to decorate have been my creative outlet when I’ve been in other roles, like in government, where obviously creativity is important but that’s not your primary focus.
Trey Trahan, founder and CEO, Trahan Architects
Victor “Trey” Trahan III of Trahan Architects
I think a lot about the beauty in Louisiana, how this diversity of plant life emerges when you remove invasive species from a piece of land. In that is embedded the element of chance. It’s the last thing most clients or attorneys or contractors want to think about in a building — we’re spending millions of dollars and we want the end result to be predictable. The element of chance typically is associated with liability or exposure and potentially cost. I would love to think about building living systems as an ecologist — how you could remove more invasive species from our lands in Louisiana and how all the unpredictable natural species would emerge and create a much more diverse ecology, which I think is all of our definition of beauty.
Ryan Pecot, commercial broker, Stirling; founder and managing partner, Adopted Dog Brewing
Ryan Pecot, a commercial real estate broker and brewery owner, is pictured Wednesday, May 20, 2020, in Lafayette, La.
I like creating something from nothing. It makes me happy. I like the tangible look back and the result. So if I had to pivot, I’d go into construction — actually swinging the hammers, pouring the concrete, managing the process, the pro forma, the costing, the negotiating. I have to throw an asterisk in there because I’m also in the midst of my midlife crisis: I opened a brewery in Lafayette just over three years ago. Being a brewery owner, employing a brewmaster and all the other things to make that work, I maybe am already living my alternative job path. It might not make as much financial sense as if I was a contractor instead of a broker, but it’s been awesome to watch that business mature.
Peter Gardner, founder and owner, Gardner Development
Peter Gardner, of Gardner Development, at Highrise Nola in New Orleans on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
If I stopped doing real estate now, I’d want to do something that makes a difference. One thing I’ve thought about a lot recently is putting together a résumé and applying to run NORD (New Orleans Recreation Department) because I’ve got kids and I love New Orleans. I want to see it get better, and I use public facilities, and they’re just as bad as everybody says they are. I think I could turn an organization like that around and make NORD a respectable thing that people would buy into and use. So that would be a slightly unrealistic thing I’d like to do.
Hailey Melancon, co-owner, Atlas Feed Mills
I had the full intention to be a school guidance counselor. Then after I graduated, I basically was like, “Man, no more school for me.” I got into real estate by accident through post-grad jobs and really fell in love with that industry — the strategy of making offers and negotiating and positioning yourself and your client and doing the best you can for them. If I wasn’t running the family business at this point, I’d probably still be doing real estate or I’d be a teacher or a guidance counselor. It all links to helping people and furthering them and teaching people how to do things. It’s kind of a full circle thing: I’m still teaching, I’m still negotiating things, I’m doing the things I really enjoy for our business now.
