Baton Rouge - Today, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced his appointments to several Louisiana boards and commissions.

 

Louisiana Workforce Investment Council

The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council serves to develop a strategic plan to coordinate and integrate a workforce development delivery system to assure efficiency and cooperation between public and private entities by advising the governor on the needs of Louisiana’s employers and its workforce as well as being responsible for occupational forecasting, which is used for driving programs and funding for job training.

Paul J. Arrigo, of Baton Rouge, was appointed to the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council. Arrigo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Visit Baton Rouge and will serve as the representative of Louisiana’s entertainment and tourism sector.

 

Louisiana Board of International Commerce

The Louisiana Board of International Commerce serves as the authority on behalf of the state to advance the state’s international commerce economic sector.

John F. Fay Jr., of New Orleans, was reappointed to the Louisiana Board of International Commerce. Fay is an attorney and an owner of Fay, Nelson & Fay, LLC. As required by statute, he was nominated by the New Orleans Board of Trade and will serve as a representative of international business.

Drew M. Heaphy, of Arabi, was appointed to the Louisiana Board of International Commerce. Heaphy is a certified public accountant and the Executive Director of the St. Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District. As required by statute, he was nominated by and will serve as the representative of the St. Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District.

Brenda A. Stelly, of Carencro, was appointed to the Louisiana Board of International Commerce. Stelly is the President and owner of Oil Center Research International, LLC. As required by statute, she was nominated by Le Centre International de Lafayette and will serve as a representative of a manufacturing business related to international commerce.

 

Capital Area Human Services District

The Capital Area Human Services District directs the operation and management of community-based programs and services relative to public health, mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services for the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana.

Genny Nadler Thomas, of Jackson, was appointed to the Capital Area Human Services District. Nadler Thomas is the Acting Director of the Knock Knock Museum and the owner of GNT Organizational Development. She will serve as a representative of East Feliciana Parish.

 

Louisiana Emergency Response Network Board

The Louisiana Emergency Response Network Board serves to defend the public health, safety and welfare by protecting the people of the State of Louisiana against unnecessary deaths and morbidity due to trauma and time-sensitive illness.

Janet D. Clark, of New Orleans, was appointed to the Louisiana Emergency Response Network Board. Clark is the Director of Inpatient Rehabilitation at Touro Infirmary. As required by statute, she was nominated by the Louisiana Hospital Association to serve as the representative of the Rehabilitation Constituency Group.

 

Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation

The mission of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation is to assist the State of Louisiana in the development and implementation of a holistic engineering plan to achieve a sustainable coastal ecosystem, encompassing the entirety of Louisiana’s fragile coast.

Joel P. Landry, of Paincourtville, was reappointed to the Governor's Advisory Commission on Coastal Protection, Restoration, and Conservation. Landry is a licensed contractor and the President of RES Contractors and Landry Farms, LLC. He will serve as a representative of coastal landowners.

 

Louisiana State Arts Council

The Louisiana State Arts Council receives applications for matching federal funds available from the National Endowment for the Arts and such other funds made available to the council and make recommendations thereon. The Council reviews and approves or rejects said grant applications from other governmental units, community arts councils, and other private, nonprofit, and tax-exempt groups. Additionally, the Council advises departmental officers on the design and execution of an annual state plan consistent with the goals and policies of the department as provided by federal and state law, rules, and regulations, and submits the plan to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Dirk P. Guidry, of Lafayette, was appointed to the Louisiana State Arts Council. Guidry is the owner of Dirk Guidry Art Studios. As required by statute, he was nominated by an arts organization.

Christian B. Vigé, of Denham Springs, was appointed to the Louisiana State Arts Council. Vigé is the Creative and Performing Arts Director of The Church International. As required by statute, he was nominated by an arts organization.

Patrick R. Widhalm, of New Orleans, was reappointed to the Louisiana State Arts Council. Widhalm is the Head of School at Benjamin Franklin High School. As required by statute, he was nominated by an arts organization.

Connie M. Castille, of Breaux Bridge, was appointed to the Louisiana State Arts Council. Castille is a Program Director and Senior Instructor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. As required by statute, she was nominated by an arts organization.

Patti B. Nelson, West Monroe, was reappointed to the Louisiana State Arts Council. Nelson is the Senior Vice President and Regional Retail Manager at Origin Bank. As required by statute, she was nominated by an arts organization.

 

Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners

The Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners is responsible for the regulation of Provisional Licensed Professional Counselors or PLPCs (formerly Counselor Interns), Provisional Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists or PLMFTs (formerly MFT Interns), Licensed Professional Counselors or LPCs, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists or LMFTs.

Kelly M. Tyner, Ph.D., of Shreveport, was appointed to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. Tyner is a licensed marriage and family therapist and the Associate District Director for Counseling at the Department of Veterans Affairs. As required by statute, she was nominated by the Louisiana Association of Marriage and Family Therapy and will serve as a licensed marriage and family therapist on the Board.

 

Clinical Laboratory Personnel Committee

The Clinical Laboratory Personnel Committee serves to make recommendations to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners regarding rules and regulations for the appropriate training and competency of clinical laboratory personnel who are engaged in the practice of clinical laboratory science in a clinical laboratory operated by a physician licensed by the board exclusively in connection with the diagnosis and treatment of his own patients.

Shannon A. Skena, of Montz, was appointed to the Clinical Laboratory Personnel Committee. Skena is a clinical laboratory scientist and a Program Director and Associate Professor at Delgado Community College. As required by statute, she was nominated by the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

 

Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

The Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, created by the legislature, provides regulatory authority over persons offering speech-language pathology and audiology services to the public in order to safeguard the public health, safety, and welfare, to protect the public from incompetent, unscrupulous, and unauthorized persons, and from unprofessional conduct by speech-language pathologists and audiologists, and speech-language pathology assistants.

Glenn M. Waguespack, of Shreveport, was appointed to the Louisiana Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. Waguespack is an audiologist at Highland Clinic.

 

Water Resources Commission

The Water Resources Commission is responsible for working with the Commissioner of Conservation to prevent waste of ground water resources and to prevent or alleviate damaging or potentially damaging subsidence of the land surface caused by withdrawal of ground water.

Glenn J. Vice, of Thibodaux, was appointed to the Water Resources Commission. Vice is the Chief Executive Officer and President of JMB Companies, Inc. As required by statute, he was nominated by the Louisiana Landowners Association.

 

Board of Ethics

The Board of Ethics is responsible for administering and enforcing provisions of the Code of Governmental Ethics, the Election Integrity Act, the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act, and the Lobbyist Disclosure Act.

Paul Harvey Colomb, of Lafayette, was appointed to the Board of Ethics. Colomb is a retired attorney and veteran of the United States Air Force. As required by statute, he was nominated by the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and will serve as a representative of the 3rd Congressional District.