Description

Join Ellevate Louisiana to hear from the Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder, Senate President Page Cortez and Governor John Bel Edwards. We will have plenty of opportunity for networking as well using the Remo platform, a live, virtual event and networking space.

Agenda:

10:00AM                        Doors open & Networking on the Remo platform

10:30-11:00AM              House Speaker Clay Schexnayder with Q&A

11:00-11:30AM               Break & Networking

11:30-12:30PM              Senate President Page Cortez with Q&A

12:30-1:00PM                Break & Networking

1:00-2:00PM                  Governor John Bel Edwards with Q&A

2:15PM                           Adjourn

Presented By:

Along with:

About our Speakers

Governor John Bel Edwards

The son of a sheriff and charity hospital nurse, John Bel Edwards understood the importance of serving others from an early age. From his service as an active duty Airborne Ranger in the U.S. Army to his time in the Louisiana House of Representatives, Gov. Edwards has always put people first.

John Bel was born seventh out of eight children to Sheriff Frank Jr. and Dora Jean Edwards. He grew up hunting and fishing in Amite, a rural town in Tangipahoa Parish. He and First Lady Donna Edwards began dating while students at Amite High School. After graduating top of his class, Gov. Edwards attended the United States Military Academy at West Point.

As a cadet, he completed Airborne School and served as vice-chairman of the panel that enforces the West Point Honor Code. The governor graduated from West Point in 1988, commissioning as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served on active duty for 8 years, earning Airborne, Ranger and Jumpmaster status, culminating with command of a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He and the first lady married in 1989. They have three children: Samantha Bel, Sarah Ellen and John Miller.

After commanding a parachute infantry regiment in the 82nd airborne, Gov. Edwards retired from the Army with the rank of captain. He moved back home and earned a law degree from Louisiana State University before opening a civil law practice in his hometown of Amite.

In 2008, the people of House District 72 elected him to the Louisiana House of Representatives, where he represented the people of Amite, Greensburg, Kentwood and Hammond for eight years before being elected governor in November 2015.

On January 11, 2016, John Bel Edwards was sworn in as the 56th Governor of Louisiana.

In his first official act, Gov. Edwards signed an executive order to expand Medicaid coverage to 430,000 of the state’s working poor. The decision to expand Medicaid cut Louisiana’s uninsured rate from 24 percent to just 10 percent, saving lives and improving the quality of life for citizens across the state. Gov. Edwards considers this the easiest big decision he’s had to make as Governor.

Upon taking the oath of office, Gov. Edwards inherited the largest budget deficit in Louisiana’s history, following years of budget mismanagement, which included cuts to higher education and vital state resources and services. In 2016, the state faced a $1 billion shortfall to close out the last quarter of the fiscal year. And in 2017, the state faced a $2 billion deficit in the governor’s first full fiscal year.

Gov. Edwards and a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers worked hard to stabilize the state’s budget through a balanced approach. Today, higher education funding has been restored, the state’s gross domestic product is the highest it’s ever been and Louisiana’s budget is balanced and stable.

One of the governor’s top priorities coming into office was comprehensive criminal justice reform. For decades, mass incarceration plagued Louisiana, and the state led the nation in incarceration rates. Gov. Edwards signed sweeping bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation in 2017 that targets recidivism and invests in treatment programs. In 2018, the state saw a 20 percent decrease in the number of people imprisoned for non-violent crimes. Under his leadership, Louisiana shed the title of the most incarcerated state in the country.

On November 16, 2019, the people of Louisiana re-elected Gov. Edwards to another four-year term. On January 13, 2020, Gov. Edwards was sworn into his second term as the 56th Governor of Louisiana.

Gov. Edwards continues to do what the people sent him to Baton Rouge to do: Put Louisiana First. Hundreds of thousands are insured, Louisiana’s budget is stable and Louisiana is open for business.

Louisiana Senate President Page Cortez

Senate President Page Cortez began his tenure in the legislature in 2008 when he was seated as the State Representative for House District 43 in the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 2011, he was elected State Senator for Senate District 23. He was again elected to serve his district in 2015 and 2019. In January 2020, Senator Cortez was unanimously chosen by his colleagues in the Senate to serve as their leader and President.

The third term Senator has held many positions during his 12 years in the legislature. During his tenure in the House of Representatives he served on the Appropriations Committee, Insurance Committee and Retirement Committee.  As a Senator he has served as Chairman of Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on High School Interscholastic Athletics as well as Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs Committee, Retirement Committee, and Local and Municipal Affairs Committee. He is also a member of the Acadiana and Republican Delegations.

President Cortez is a Lafayette native and a successful small business owner. He is co-owner and operator of two furniture stores, La-Z-Boy Home Furnishings & Decor and Sofas & Chairs. Prior to entering the business world, he was a high school history and civics teacher as well as a coach for several years.

President Cortez and his wife, Angela Stoma Cortez, have a son, Matthew (married to Jessica) and daughter, Maria. President and Mrs. Cortez recently welcomed their first grandchild, Sophia Marie Cortez.

Speaker Clay Schexnayder

Representative Clay Schexnayder, the 69th Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, was first elected to the body in 2011 to serve District 81, representing the citizens of Ascension, Livingston, St. James and St. John Parishes. Speaker Schexnayder has done much work both in the House of Representatives, serving on numerous committees and leading the body as a whole, and in his community through his volunteer efforts throughout his district. As Chairman of the Agriculture, Forestry and Aquaculture Committee, Speaker Schexnayder led an effort to fund a joint Wildlife and Fisheries Department and Livingston and Ascension Parish Sheriffs' outpost on the Diversion Canal. He is most proud of his work to restore and enhance the health and sustainability of the Maurepas Swamp and the successful passage of his legislation that allows for and governs the production of industrial hemp in Louisiana. 

Named Legis-Gator Business Champion by the Southwest Louisiana Chambers of Commerce in 2012, 2014 and 2015, Speaker Schexnayder has also been recognized as a Family Advocate in 2012 and 2014 by the Louisiana Family Forum, and as an Education Choice Champion by the Louisiana Federation of Children in 2014 and 2015. Speaker Schexnayder has also served as vice chair of the Congressional Sportsman Foundation and has been involved in numerous local community activities. He is a member of the Ascension Sportsmen Against Poachers, the National Rifle Association and the Coastal Conservation Association. 

Speaker Schexnayder is a graduate of French Settlement High School, as well as the Allen Institute of Atlanta where he was certified in Automotive Service Excellence. He began his career as a race car driver and spent nearly a decade of work with Firestone. He has driven and worked with IMCA/UMP modified race cars in Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. He is married to Phoebe Keller and has four children, one son-in-law, four grandsons and two granddaughters. His family proudly belongs to both St. Joseph Catholic Church in French Settlement and Pine Grove Baptist Church in Bayou Barbary.