From Ruins to Revival: Mimi Spiehler on Building The Josephine and Owning Her Voice in Construction

When Mimi Spiehler first walked into the abandoned church on Napoleon Avenue, the building was failing.

“The roof had to completely be taken apart,” Mimi said. “The foundation was really sinking in on itself. There were walls that were literally caving in.”

For most people, that would have been the end of the story. For Mimi, it was the beginning.

In this episode of The Comms Exchange, hosts Rachel Ledet and Christianne Brunini sit down with Mimi Spiehler, developer, designer, and construction professional, to talk about transforming a 1925 Spanish Colonial Revival church into The Josephine, an immersive cultural venue redefining what historic preservation, community space, and leadership in construction can look like.

Seeing Possibility Where Others See Risk

Mimi and her brother, David Fuselier, envisioned The Josephine as an event space early on. Uptown New Orleans lacked a venue that could hold people at scale in a single, open room.

“Uptown New Orleans is really lacking lovely venues,” Mimi explained. “There’s not a spot where you can host as many people in one big open space. It just kind of lended itself to that use.”

That vision came with real risk. Before any operating partner was secured, Mimi and her team took out a loan to stabilize the building and tackle the structural issues first. The work included lifting the building, installing piles, removing the entire floor down to dirt, and rebuilding from the ground up.

“We really started with the bones of the project,” she said. “The stuff we knew had to be done, whether the rest worked out or not.”

Risk, Resilience, and an Entrepreneur’s Mindset

“My brother and I definitely have a stomach for taking a risk,” she said. “You just kind of have to jump off the cliff and believe in yourself.”

On the hardest days, she leans on a mantra taped to her mirror and sometimes set as her phone screensaver:“Everything’s going to be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

“It’s not for the faint of heart,” she said. “There are sleepless nights. There are arguments. But we really have each other’s back.”

That trust became especially important as the project evolved and the right operating partner emerged.

Innovation Through Collaboration

The partnership with the Brennan family brought operational expertise and opened the door to one of The Josephine’s most distinctive features: digital projection mapping.

“That idea wasn’t even on our radar at first,” Mimi said. “It really stepped the space up in a way that I don’t think any of us were thinking about.”

Inspired in part by large-scale projection work seen during the Super Bowl, the technology transforms the dome and ceiling into an immersive storytelling canvas. The result is a venue that honors the building’s sacred past while creating a modern, flexible experience for weddings, performances, and community events.

Redefining Sacred Space as Community Space

For Mimi, The Josephine was never meant to be exclusive.

“We don’t want it to sit dormant where you just have to have a big checkbook to enter the space,” she said.

Alongside large events, the vision includes yoga classes, community theater, concerts, and neighborhood gatherings. Mimi sees the building as a modern version of what churches historically represented.

“A church is a place of gathering,” she said. “This place used to bring the community together. We wanted to honor that.”

Holding Your Ground as a Woman in Construction

Mimi’s path into development and construction was not accidental. She studied construction management and spent years on job sites, often as one of the only women in the room.

“Women are typically told to smile more, get along, don’t make waves,” she said. “But the older I’ve gotten, and the more experience I’ve gained, the more confident I’ve become in my knowledge.”

That confidence, she explained, is about trusting perspective.

“We see things they don’t,” Mimi said. “We pay attention to details. We’re good communicators. But it can be intimidating at times.”

Her advice to women considering the construction industry is simple and direct: go for it.

“You learn something on every project, on every mistake,” she said. “I went from painting bathrooms myself in my 20s to doing these incredible historic renovations. You just have to start somewhere.”

Why This Work Matters

For Mimi, the true payoff came the first time she saw The Josephine filled with people.

“Walking in there and seeing people enjoying the space,” she said. “Hearing things like, ‘My grandparents got married here.’ It makes you realize why you do it.”

That moment reframed every setback, unexpected demolition, and sleepless night.

“It feels like you’re giving back,” she said. “Bringing life back into a building that’s been sitting empty since Katrina. It’s incredibly rewarding.”

The Takeaway

Mimi Spiehler’s story is about confidence built through experience, leadership earned through resilience, and the power of trusting your instincts in spaces that were not designed with you in mind.

The Josephine stands as proof that preservation, innovation, and community can coexist and that women in construction are not just participating. They are leading.

And listen to the latest episode of The Comms Exchange, Risk, Restoration, and Resilience: The Story of The Josephine with Mimi Spiehler, to hear the full conversation about risk, restoration, and reimagining what sacred spaces can become.

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