Incoming Mayor-President Sid Edwards announces transition team

Newly elected Mayor-President Sid Edwards takes office on Jan. 2, 2025 becoming the 20th mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish.

“I am honored to announce a strong, talented team of local leaders who will assist me in transitioning our parish’s government over the coming days and months,” Edwards said. “As an experienced team-builder, I know how important it is to recruit talented individuals very early on so we can maximize our outcomes and win for our parish.”

Edwards has named his Win EBR Transition Team members, who will provide recommendations on policy and staffing changes. Those members include:

Chairman Rick Edmonds is the elected state senator for Louisiana Senate District 6,
which represents parts of East Baton Rouge, Livingston and St. Helena parishes.

Co-Chairman Darrell Glasper is a former Baton Rouge Metro Councilmember and
current CEO of DNA Fossil Fuelz, LLC.

Randy Albarez is a member of the Louisiana Municipal Association’s Executive Board
of Directors as a representative of the Louisiana Recreation and Park Association.

Catherine Alexander is a member of the Louisiana Citizens Advocacy Group, LLC, which advocates for citizens on matters of public policy.

David Alvarez is program director for LA Voz de la Comunidad, a coalition focused on
reducing youth substance abuse in Latino communities.

Monique Appeaning is a former fiscal analyst and special projects coordinator for the
Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office.

David Beach is President and CEO of the Huey and Angelina Wilson Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on improvement to human services, healthcare, education and prison reentry.

Greg Bowser is the recently retired president and CEO of the Louisiana Chemical
Association, a position he held for 34 years.

Coleman Brown is the owner/president of Coleman Brown Architects, which is based
in Baton Rouge.

Michael Chittom is an active representative of the LAGOP and recently served as a District 6 delegate to the 2024 Republican National Convention.

Joey Coco is a licensed engineer with Forte and Tablada, Inc. He has a vast range of experience in civil and structural engineering, as well as advanced measurements.

Lear Collins is the supervising nurse practitioner with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation,
and she is an assistant professor of nursing at Southern University.

Cathy Fontenot is warden of the East Baton Rouge Parish prison and has 32 years of
experience in the criminal justice system.

Will Green is president of the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI), where he oversees advocacy efforts for roughly 2,000 employers across the state. Prior to taking the LABI role earlier this year, he served as president of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association.

Todd Grigsby is the CEO and Principal of Cajun Industries Holdings, LLC.

Kodi C. Guillory is president of Sustainable Design Solutions, LLC, an engineering and
design firm focused on the planning, design, implementation, and construction
management of civil works projects.

Courtney Hunt is president of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. for
Metropolitan Baton Rouge.

Scott Kirkpatrick is a partner with Pelican State Partners, a lobbying and association management firm.

Jeff LeDuff is the retired Chief of the Baton Rouge Police Department. He served in the
department’s top position for six years after rising through the ranks.

Gil Matherne is the owner and CEO of GM Cable Contractors Inc., which is based in
the City of Central.

Rolfe Mccollister is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Baton Rouge Business Report.

Chance McNeely is a partner with The Delta Resource Group, a government affairs, strategic communications and online marketing agency.

Lori Melancon is the newly appointed president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area
Chamber of Commerce. Prior to her current position, she served as COO and Vice
President of Marketing of Global Location Strategies.

Chris Meyer is CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. He formerly served as
founder of New Schools for Baton Rouge while teaching social studies at John
McDonogh High School in New Orleans.

Millard Mule’ is the Director of Policy for Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.

Catherine O’Neal, MD, is the chief academic officer for Our Lady of the Lake Health,
and she serves as an associate professor of clinical medicine at LSU.

Nial Patel is a principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs and a leader for SafeBR, an
organization dedicated to making Baton Rouge a safer community.

Jimmy Percy is an attorney with the Jones Walker Law Firm with extensive experience
in oil and gas and pipeline-related litigation.

Mike Polito is CEO of MAPP Construction, the state’s third-largest commercial general
contractor. He has served on the Associated Builders & Contractors board and executive Committees and is a past chairman and executive committee member of the Baton Rouge Chamber.

Jennifer Richardson is the founder of Keep Tiger Town Beautiful. She has grown her passion to beautify Baton Rouge into a 4,800-member volunteer organization.

Eddie Rispone is chairman of ISC Constructors, LLC, and a former Republican candidate for Louisiana Governor.

Kyle Ruckert is chief of staff for Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. Ruckert has served as senior advisor to presidential campaigns, statewide elected officials campaigns and numerous state senate and house races.

Fabian Sauhing is the Business Development Associate for GEC, a multi-disciplinary consulting and engineering firm.

Gerard Tarleton is the fire chief at the St. George Fire Department.

Chris Toombs is director of external relations at Helix Community Schools.

Mike Wampold is the founder and CEO of Wampold Companies, where he oversees strategic corporate planning, corporate financing and new project development.

Matthew Valiollahi is Founder and CEO of Southern Marsh Collection, LLC, a clothing and accessory retail company.

Tara Wicker is a community engagement director, specializing in governmental affairs and business workforce development. She served for 12 years as a member of the East Baton Rouge Parish Council. She also founded The W Consulting Group and Community Builders, Inc.

Ashle’ Young is Executive Director for EnvisionNBR, a 70802 neighborhood nonprofit
organization.

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