BGR Board Welcomes 5 New Directors, Announces Officers

By Biz New Orleans Staff

March 7, 2024

NEW ORLEANS — The Bureau of Governmental Research has announced the appointment of five new members to its board of directors and the election of the board’s officers for the 2024 year.

The board’s newly elected members, who will serve for a three-year term beginning in 2024, are:

R. Foster Duncan, Operating Partner, Bernhard Capital Partners
Elizabeth Hefler, Greater New Orleans Regional President, Hancock Whitney Bank
Nathalie Simon, Special Counsel to CEO and Director of Public Policy and Governmental Affairs, Laitram
Kenneth St. Charles, development and fundraising consultant
Syrita Steib, Founder and President/CEO, Operation Restoration

Officers of the board for 2024 are:

Merritt Lane, Chair
Steven W. Usdin, Vice Chair
Anne P. Baños, Secretary
Louis M. Freeman Jr., Treasurer
Nathalie Simon, Assistant Secretary
Vanessa Claiborne, Assistant Treasurer

The following directors have begun a second three-year term, running through the end of 2026:

Patty Riddlebarger, Vice President of Social Responsibility, Entergy Corporation
Lamar Villere, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Villere & Company

These board members are joined by returning members Ryan Adkerson, Elizabeth Boh, Melanie Bronfin, Carlin Conner, Mollye Demosthenidy, Ben A. Dupuy, Perry Eastman IV, Norma Grace, Jessie Haynes, John Landrum, Ileana Ledet, Ronald P. McClain, Graham Ralston, David C. Rieveschl, Jennifer Roberts, Douglas M. Stokes, Vera Triplett, Charles West, and Jonathan Wilson.

“BGR’s board of directors enrich our work with a wide variety of expertise and perspective as community and business leaders,” said Rebecca Mowbray, BGR’s President and CEO. “We look forward to the contributions of our new board members as we explore ways to improve local government in the New Orleans area.”

Click here to learn more about BGR’s board members.

BGR is a private, nonprofit, independent research organization. Since its founding in 1932, it has focused on informed public policy making and the effective use of public resources.

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