Senate staffer joins law firm; coffee company names new CCO; reunion for banker
By Staff report
Source: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com
April 5, 2026
South Louisiana businesses and nonprofit groups recently announced the following promotions, new hires and resignations.
New Orleans
Steve Beiser has joined Gordon Arata as a member. Beiser, who spent four decades practicing employment law at McGlinchey, joins Gordon Arata’s labor and employment team.
Layne Court has been promoted to millwork business leader for Woodward Millwork Group. Court previously led complex preconstruction efforts for Woodward.
Meghan Donelon has rejoined First Horizon Bank’s New Orleans commercial banking team as a commercial banking group manager. She returns to First Horizon after working as New Orleans market president for Red River Bank for the past five years.
Errika Moore has been hired as the first chief external affairs officer for Camelback Ventures. Moore was previously the executive director of the National STEM Funders Network, which aimed to support more equitable educational pathways for careers in fields involving science, technology, engineering and math.
Megan McNeill has been hired as the Bureau of Governmental Research’s first director of communications and engagement. McNeill previously worked as brand strategy director for The Vault Collective.
BGR also named three new board members: Ben Billings, the chief strategy officer of Civix Consulting Group; Bob Brickman, a partner with the national accounting and consulting firm EisnerAmper; and Merrick Sloss, the president of the IT service provider Bellwether Technology.
Ryan Templet has joined Adams & Reese as a government relations adviser in the law firm’s intersection of business and government practice. Templet previously spent five years as a legislative staffer in the Louisiana Senate.
Nicholas Wehlen has joined Baker Donelson as of counsel. Wehlen has experience in cases involving allegations of unfair trade practices, breach of contract and fraud and has represented professionals in licensing, malpractice and ethical issues.
Baton Rouge
Kristi Crump has been promoted to chief commercial officer and senior vice president of brand, retail and e-commerce for Community Coffee. Crump previously held senior roles at TikTok and spent more than a decade working at Amazon.
Buzzy Anding, a Baton Rouge attorney, has been elected to the board of the Louisiana Methodist Children’s Homes, which provides three residential care campuses. Anding is a former chancellor of the Louisiana Conference of the United Methodist Church and the former president of the United Methodist Church Conference Chancellors Association.
Dr. David Carmouche, chief medical and commercial officer at Lumeris, has been named to the Healthcare Advisory Committee. The new federal committee which will advise U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on care delivery and financing.
Clarke Chauvin has been named the intelligence transportation systems practice lead for Neel-Schaffer. Based in the Baton Rouge office of the Jackson, Mississippi-based engineering and construction management firm, Chauvin has previously delivered projects for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the Alabama Department of Transportation.
Regan Nelson has been named director of marketing and public relations for Off The Hook Restaurants. A New Orleans native, Nelson spent summers and holidays working at Elmer Chocolate, her family’s 170-year-old business, while growing up.
Acadiana
Sen. Brach Myers has joined Oceans Healthcare as the vice president of corporate development. He will be based in Lafayette and help lead the company’s partnerships with hospitals and health systems. Myers, a Republican representing District 23 in the Louisiana Senate, previously worked for LHC Group as a senior vice president.
Bryan Maggard, now in his 10th year as vice president for intercollegiate athletics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, has been appointed to a three-year term on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.
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