Long before Jennie Westerman Diemont was crafting award-winning advertising campaigns, she was a kid from Baton Rouge with a sharp eye for graphic design. She left the Red Stick for the University of Pennsylvania—a bold choice for the daughter of a former LSU quarterback. Upon her homecoming after graduation, she honed her graphic design skills at local agencies before packing up for the Big Easy, where she continued working for agencies and a local publication. Then, she saw a need she knew she could fill for local business owners.

In 2004, just three years after moving to the city, she founded Deep Fried, an advertising and branding agency that would pair highly conceptual creative work with robust media strategy.

“Being from Baton Rouge, I didn’t have what you call street cred in the city,” she says with a laugh. “New Orleans is such a connected place. For me, building my business was building relationships.”

Just as she began to get her footing, Katrina devastated the city. She evacuated to her mom’s home in Baton Rouge and set up shop in the living room. Amidst the looming uncertainty following the catastrophic storm, she considered leaving the business behind to attend advertising school in Atlanta. “Then the phone started ringing, and businesses started coming back, and the need was real,” she says. “The phone rang enough, the city called me back, and I reaffirmed my commitment to Deep Fried after that year and really never looked back.”

Having recently celebrated 20 years in business both in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Diemont reflects fondly on how far the agency, industry and cities she loves have come. “I’ve met so many talented people in my job. I learn something new every single day,” she says. “I feel like I’m in a really unique position where I get to get paid to meet with clients and learn about how the world works. It has just been thrilling.”

With offices in both cities, she has remained true to her roots with every step and change. To celebrate the thriving business and the community at the core of its success, Diemont announced that Deep Fried will award a $20,000 grant to support the development of a website for a nonprofit organization in southeast Louisiana. As Diemont and the Deep Fried team continue to bridge communities and grow businesses through storytelling and branding, she remains grounded in connecting and uplifting brands, businesses and, most importantly, the local community.

Nonprofit organizations can complete the grant application process at deepfried.com/20for20 through July 31, 2025.