October 31, 2023
Governor-elect Jeff Landry Announces 14 Transition Councils and Their Chairs
Lafayette, La– Today, Governor-elect Jeff Landry announced his 14 transition councils and their chairs. He will have a council on Agriculture, Fisheries & Land Management,
Coast & Environment, Constitutional Reform, Crime & Public Safety, Economic Development & Fiscal Policy, Energy, Chemical, & Maritime Industry, Healthcare & Hospitals, Infrastructure, Insurance Crisis, K-12 Education, Military Issues, New Orleans, Local & Municipal Affairs, and Workforce Development & Higher Education.
“We have identified 14 areas in Louisiana that need the most attention, and assembled a great group of men and women to take a serious look at solution-driven ideas for the challenges we are facing. This group of chairs are not only great leaders, but they have real-life experience in each field. They will be meeting on a regular basis to ensure in January, we can hit the ground running and deliver real change to Louisianians. I look forward to receiving their recommendations,” said Governor-elect Jeff Landry.
Councils:
Agriculture, Fisheries & Land Management, Chair Joel Broussard
Coast & Environment, Chair Tony Alford & Chair Tim Hardy
Constitutional Reform, Chair Lane Grigsby
Crime & Public Safety, Chair Tony Clayton & Chair Laura Rodrigue
Economic Development & Fiscal Policy, Chair Ben Bordelon & Chair Mandi Mitchell
Energy, Chemical, & Maritime Industry, Chair Gray Stream
Healthcare & Hospitals, Chair Keith Myers & Chair Allyson Pharr
Infrastructure, Chair David Madden
Insurance Crisis, Chair Tim Temple & Chair Ross Laris
K-12 Education, Chair Eddie Rispone & Chair Rebecca Boniol
Local & Municipal Affairs, Chair Guy Cormier & Chair Jason Willis
Military Issues, Chair Doug Judice
New Orleans, Chair Boysie Bollinger
Workforce Development & High Education, Chair Lee Mallett
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Background:
Agriculture, Fisheries & Land Management
Chair Joel Broussard
Joel Broussard, a seasoned business owner and accomplished investor hailing from the heart of South Louisiana, brings over two decades of invaluable experience in the oil and gas industry to the forefront. Joel also served as a member of the United States Army.
Joel’s personal life is deeply intertwined with his love for the great outdoors. As an avid hunter and fisherman, he embraces the beauty and serenity of nature. This connection with the natural world not only serves as a personal sanctuary but also embodies his commitment to preserving the environment for future generations.
Coast & Environment
Chair Tony Alford
For the past 20 years, Tony Alford has served as president of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District, which builds flood protection in the parishes of Terrebonne and some in Lafourche. He has coordinated numerous projects with the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and Army Corps of Engineers.
Chair Tim Hardy
Timothy Hardy, a native of Shreveport, is a partner in the Baton Rouge office of the Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson law firm where his area of concentration is environmental law. He served as the top advisor for environmental affairs to former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer, as Assistant Secretary for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, and as a Division Director for the Louisiana Department of Justice.
Constitutional Reform
Chair Lane Grigsby
Lane Grigsby, a resident of Baton Rouge, is Chairman of the Board of Cajun Contractors.
Cajun has grown to become one of the largest construction companies in Louisiana. Since 1990, Cajun Constructors has been listed among ENR’s Top 400 Contractors. Grigsby has been active in the Associated Builders and Contractors having served in every elected position and twice received ABC’s Man of the Year Award. He has also served in leadership roles in a variety of organizations including the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, LABI, the Baton Rouge Metro Airport Commission, and the Medical Center Board of Directors.
Crime & Public Safety
Chair Tony Clayton
District Attorney Tony Clayton has worked in criminal prosecution all of his career. Before being elected District Attorney in 2020, he served as First Assistant District Attorney, and was the Chief of Felony Trials for the 18th Judicial DDA’s office. He was named Prosecutor of the Year by Crime Fighters of Louisiana, and received the Home Run Hitters Award by the National District Attorneys’ Association.
Chair Laura Rodrigue
Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue is a graduate of St. Mary’s Dominican High School and a current resident of Orleans Parish. She has worked as an attorney her entire career including over a decade in the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office. Laura founded the Orleans Parish Restorative Justice Unit, which mediated issues between defendants and victims’ families in appropriate cases to secure a fair resolution for all involved. She served as the Deputy General Counsel for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office from 2018-2022 and she is founder of the Bayou Mama Bears.
Economic Development & Fiscal Policy
Chair Ben Bordelon
Ben Bordelon, is the President, Chief Executive Officer of Bollinger Shipyards, LLC. Bordelon joined Bollinger in 2000 as a Project Manager and has held a series of managerial positions throughout various Bollinger locations. Prior to being named Chief Executive Officer, Bordelon was Executive Vice President of Repair from 2002 to September of 2013. In September of 2013, Bordelon served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer until December of 2014 when he assumed his current position. Bordelon supports many charities, schools and churches in his community and beyond.
Chair Mandi Mitchell
In November of 2021, Mandi Mitchell was selected to serve as President and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority (LEDA). In her role at LEDA, Mandi leads the organization’s efforts to attract and retain jobs in Lafayette Parish and to foster a business climate that is conducive to private investment and development and entrepreneurship.
Before joining LEDA, Mandi served as Assistant Secretary at Louisiana Economic Development (LED) where she oversaw the Small Business, State Economic Competitiveness, and Community Competitiveness teams and directly led LED’s legislative efforts. Prior to her appointment as assistant secretary in 2015, she served as LED’s Director of Governmental Affairs and Federal Programs and as Director of Governmental Affairs.
Energy, Chemical, & Maritime Industry
Chair Gray Stream
Gray Stream is a Lake Charles businessman whose family companies have focused for generations on the preservation and stewardship of Louisiana’s natural resources. Stream’s businesses include coastal wetlands restoration, agriculture, forestry management, and permanent reduction of carbon emissions; as well as investments in early-stage Louisiana companies.
Stream previously served on the Louisiana Innovation Council, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation, and on the Louisiana Board of Regents. He is currently a Trustee of the National World War II Museum.
Healthcare & Hospitals
Chair Keith Myers
Keith G. Myers is co-founder of LHC Group and served as chairman and CEO from 1994 until the company’s merger with Optum in 2023. Mr. Myers helped establish LHC Group as a single freestanding home health agency in rural St. Landry Parish, La. Along with his wife Ginger, a nurse, and a core group of concerned residents, he began out of concern for four elderly members of his small community who were unable to access home health services due to their rural location. From this foundation, they built what would become one of the largest and highest quality in-home healthcare providers in the U.S. with 29,000 employees supporting more than 900 agency locations serving cities, towns, and communities in 38 states and the District of Columbia.
Chair Allyson Pharr
Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer. Allyson Pharr joined Acadian Ambulance Service as Associate General Counsel in 2001. She was advanced to Vice President and General Counsel in January 2006, promoted to Executive Vice President in 2011 and named Chief Legal Officer in January of 2020. In her current capacity Mrs. Pharr has oversight of Acadian Health, Risk Management, Compliance, Public Relations, Human Resources and Legal and Governmental Affairs. Acadian is the largest employee-owned ambulance service provider in the nation.
Infrastructure
Chair David Madden
David Madden is Co-owner and Co-Manager of Madden Contracting Company LLC.
Madden Contracting is a heavy highway construction company with operation in Northwest Louisiana, Southeast Louisiana, and Eastern Texas. They specialize in producing hot mix/asphalt related materials, pavement milling and pavement resurfacing.
Insurance Crisis
Chair Tim Temple
Tim Temple is a native of DeRidder, Louisiana and is a successful insurance professional with over 20 years of experience in the industry. In August of this year Tim became Commissioner of Insurance – Elect. Tim aims to bring his understanding of the complexities of the insurance industry to the office of commissioner to help steer Louisiana towards a more attractive regulatory and statutory setting, which will increase competition and help combat the unaffordability crisis all Louisianians are experiencing.
Chair Ross Laris
Ross Laris is an agent and owner of Laris Insurance Agency, which has recently rebranded its name to Acrisure, a prominent name in the insurance world. Ross has gained comprehensive knowledge and expertise in various aspects of the insurance sector over the past 33 years, serving as an agent, broker, and underwriter. This has helped him to build one of the largest insurance agencies in the state of Louisiana.
K-12 Education
Chair Eddie Rispone
Eddie Rispone, a resident of Baton Rouge, is an American businessman and industrialist. He served as chairman of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Louisiana Federation for Children, and the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. Rispone has been an advocate for education reform in Louisiana.
Chair Rebecca Boniol
Rebecca’s community focus centers on education. She is Vice President of the Lake Charles Charter Academy Foundation for the K-12 Charter Schools in Lake Charles. She is a trustee of the SOWELA Technical Community College Foundation. She serves on the Business Advisory Counsel for McNeese State University.
Local & Municipal Affairs
Chair Guy Cormier
Guy Cormier is the Executive Director of the Police Jury Association of Louisiana. As Executive Director, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the Association. He is the administrator of the Parish Government Risk Management Agency (PGRMA) which is the Association’s group health and workers’ compensation programs. He is the Association’s liaison to NACo, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, LAMP, LASIE, Parish Engineers and Parish Administrators Organizations.
Before joining the Association staff, Cormier served as an elected official in St. Martin Parish, where he served as a parish councilman for 4 years and a Parish President for 14 years. He also served 6 terms as an executive board member and was named President of the Police Jury Association in 2016.
Chair Jason Willis
Jason Willis is the current Mayor of St. Martinville. Before becoming Mayor, Jason served 12 years on the St. Martin Parish Council, and three years as the Council Chair. He has also been a St. Martin Parish School Board bus driver for the last 24 years.
Military Issues
Chair Doug Judice
Douglas Judice is a native of Louisiana and a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel with 24 years of active federal service. He also served proudly for seven years in the Louisiana National guard. Doug is a veteran of both Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan with four additional overseas assignments during his career. He now manages WESTHEM Consulting in Broussard, specializing in exporting U.S. manufactured goods to markets in Latin America.
New Orleans
Chair Boysie Bollinger
Boysie Bollinger is a resident of New Orleans and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bollinger Shipyards, LLC., a family-owned business established in 1946. Boysie devotes much of his time to professional and civic organizations in the New Orleans-metro area including the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, the Audubon Nature Institute, Business Council of New Orleans, and the United Way of South LA and the New Orleans Region of the Boy Scouts of America.
Workforce Development & Higher Education
Chair Lee Mallett
Lee Mallett, a notable figure in Southwest Louisiana, has served across political administrations and is a current member of the State License Board of Contractors. His decade-long tenure on the LSU Board of Supervisors highlights his commitment to advancing industry and education.