Leadership Central Louisiana is an innovative program designed to take current or potential leaders to the next level - preparing participants for new challenges and providing the skills and exposure needed to add leadership equity to any business or organization. The program builds leadership skills and provides exposure to community leaders, challenges and opportunities.
Mark is the General Manager of Engineering and Project Management based out of Cleco’s corporate office in Pineville, LA. Mark and his team are responsible for the planning, designing, and executing of all large, complex capital projects at Cleco. These types of projects range from new power plant construction to large scale transmission system upgrades.
Mark joined Cleco after graduating Louisiana Tech University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and over the last 18 years has worked on both generation and transmission sides of the business.
With over a decade of experience housing citizens in Central Louisiana, Taura L. Denmon, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, has strong ties to the southern region. Since 2004, she has made Alexandria, LA her home. She has immersed herself in the fabric of Central Louisiana and has the ability to not only see a problem, but seek immediate solutions that have sustainable impact. Using her unique skills, training, experiences and education in the housing industry, Taura is ready to bring positive change to all residents in CenLa.
Amy DeSelle has worked for Gilchrist Construction Company for over 20 years. She was recently promoted to Business Leader where her main focus is to maintain or increase project gross profit margins. When she is not working, she spends time with her children Anna and Mikey. She likes to read, cook and sleep late on weekends. She is a serious TV binge-watcher and a Starbucks connoisseur.
Lisa is the Campus Dean for Central Louisiana Technical Community College Alexandria Campus. She has worked in higher education administration for over 20 years. Lisa is originally from Natchitoches, LA and graduated from NSU with a Bachelors in Business and a Masters in Student Personnel Services. She currently resides in Alexandria with her husband, Bruce and son, Christopher.
Mark Dubea is a lifelong resident of Avoyelles Parish, Marksville, Louisiana. Mark is a Human Resource generalist and a current employee of Gilchrist Construction. Mark has been employed by Gilchrist for 11 years. Mark is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. Mark enjoys being in the Human Resources field because he gets to meet and help many people. Mark is a member of the St. Cecelia Chorale and a Member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Mark enjoys participating in his Fantasy Football league and outdoor activities, such as camping.
Heather Ledet, BSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM is the Nurse Manager of Labor & Delivery at Rapides Women’s and Children’s Hospital. She earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree in 2007 from Northwestern State University. She holds national certifications in Inpatient Obstetrics and Electronic Fetal Monitoring. Heather is also a member of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). She is an active member of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church, Cenla ACTS, and she serves as a Girl Scout Troop Leader for Troop 1026.
John Marks is an assistant professor of criminal justice at LSUA. A native of Georgia, he moved to Central Louisiana in January 2019. After being honorably discharged from the United States Navy, he worked in the service industry as a waiter, a salesman, and a correctional officer in adult and juvenile corrections. He has a BS in Political Science, an MPA with coursework specific to city management, and a PhD in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University.
Sybil Montegut is the General Manager of the Transformation and Innovations Department at Cleco Corporate Holdings LLC. Career highlights include integrating the $1.0 billion acquisition of NRG South Central Generating, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc. and working on the 2016 privatization of Cleco Corporation. She joined Cleco in 2008 and has worked in various capacities within Cleco’s financial organization, including the corporate analytics department, investor relations, corporate taxation, and transaction teams.
Prior to Cleco, Montegut worked for Stewart Enterprises in New Orleans, as Supervisor of Corporate Tax. Montegut serves as Treasurer on the boards of Cenla Alliance for Animals (CAFA) and Montessori Educational Center which are located in central Louisiana. Montegut holds a B.S. in Accounting from Northwestern State University.
Lenná has been in the public sector over 30 years. Currently, she is the Direct Service Coordinator of Rapides Parish Library, supervising 10 locations. She is a graduate of Alfred M. Barbe and attended McNeese State University for 2 years. Her career began with Waldenbooks in 1979 as a part-time worker. In the 20 years with Waldenbooks/Borders, she grew within the company, becoming Assistant Manager, Manager, Area Manager and District Manager of 23 stores over a range of 3 states. Her career has led her from managing staff to leading and mentoring staff for the betterment of their career.
Lenná was born and raised in Lake Charles, LA. Parent of one daughter, Leshia Castille for 39 years. She has two awesome grandsons, who are the joy of her life. Lenná loves to plan and organize events in her pastime. She is an avid reader of Christian Fiction and Business books. She enjoys life of being a Christian and support her church in community events.
In July 1991, Tracie Nugent began her career with Cleco and has worked within the Customer Experience area for 28 years. Tracie, born and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana, started her Cleco career working in the Alexandria Customer Service Office as a Customer Representative assisting customers with payments, billing, and the overall customer experience.
Tracie has served many roles throughout her years within the Customer Experience area, such as, Customer Service Representative, CIS (Customer Information Systems) Coordinator, Revenue Protection Coordinator, Supervisor of Customer Systems & Credit Department, and her current position as Manager of Customer Billing, Customer Systems & Credit and Permit Department. Outside of Tracie’s career life, Tracie enjoys spending time with her husband Reggie of 16 years. Tracie and Reggie have three adult children: Lauren Mallory (Jordan), Dylan Nugent (Charli) and Kyle McLeod (Makaylin). Tracie and Reggie enjoy hunting, camping and spending time with family and friends.
Mildred Price is employed with the City of Alexandria as the Examination Analyst in the Civil Services Department. Throughout her career, Mildred has worked with various companies in different industries which include: hospitality, healthcare as a clinician and non-clinician business executive, financial industry, and currently government. Away from work, she spends her time serving her church in different capacities, volunteering with the youth, and she is involved in various community service events and non-profit organizations. In 2019, she was awarded Grand Lady of the year for the State of Louisiana by the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary for her service. Mildred has been married to her amazing husband Quentin for 15 years and they have two children; Franjone' and Quentin Jr.
Rebekah Simpson is the Program Manager for Early Childhood for the Orchard Foundation. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Early Childhood initiatives, including the early childhood family literacy program, Read to Soar. Mrs. Simpson holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education from Delta State University. Prior to joining the Orchard Foundation, Mrs. Simpson served as a classroom teacher at the lower elementary level throughout Mississippi.
Nolan J. Spillers is a lifelong resident of Alexandria, LA with over 25 years of retail, commercial and consumer lending experience. His current position is Vice President at First Federal Bank in Alexandria where he has direct oversight of retail operations at seven Central Louisiana branches as Branch Administrator. His job consists of commercial lending, hiring, and monitoring of staff and employee growth. Mr. Spillers serves as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of the Cenla Homeless Coalition and enjoys being involved in local non-profit events. He enjoys fishing and cooking in his spare time.
Summer Steiner, a Louisiana native, currently serves as the Accounting Manager for the England Authority/Alexandria International Airport. In this role, she manages the day-to-day financial operations of the organization and oversees the nearly $50 million dollars in state and federal capital improvement grants. Prior to joining the England Authority, she was a staff accountant at Rapides Regional Medical Center. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Louisiana College and was the recipient of their “Outstanding Graduating Senior in Accounting” Award. She is a Certified Government Finance Officer and a member of the state and national Government Finance Officers Associations. She is also a member of the Central Louisiana Chamber’s Young Professionals Group. In her spare time, Summer is an avid duck hunter and a passionate Dallas Cowboys fan.
Angela Stewart is the Laboratory Director at CHRISTUS St. Frances Cabrini Laboratory in Alexandria, LA. Angela was born in Ipswich, Suffolk in the United Kingdom. She moved to the US in 1993 and attended the Trident Technical College in Charleston, South Carolina. She moved to Central Louisiana in 1995 and in December 1998, graduated from the first Clinical Laboratory Science Associates Degree Program at LSUA. Angela performed her clinical internship at the Cabrini Laboratory and as a result was hired to work the evening shift as a Medical Technician in the Laboratory. Angela had a desire to lead and to supervise on the Evening Shift so she proceeded to continue her education and hence graduated in 2004 with her Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Laboratory Science from the Louisiana State University in Monroe. Upon Graduation, Angela was promoted as the Evening Supervisor.
In April 2007, Angela was promoted as Quality Assurance Coordinator. In her new role Angie and her Team concentrated on Service Excellence and received an award for “Most Improved” in July 2008. The Laboratory went from the 6th percentile to the 98th percentile in Patient Satisfaction in the Laboratory Outpatient area.
In August 2015 and then October 2017, Angela was promoted as the Laboratory Manager and the Laboratory Director respectively. Angela currently serves as Laboratory Chair for the CHRISTUS Health resource group in Irving, Texas. She is instrumental in assisting in making decisions on group buys and standardization of Laboratory processes and equipment.
Born and raised in Central Louisiana, Krystal Webb graduated from Pineville High School with the class of 1998. After many years of work in healthcare, she transitioned into the field of health insurance. Licensed by the Louisiana Department of Insurance in Health and Life insurance, she has worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana for 12 years in their Alexandria District Office. As an Associate Account Manager, she manages groups in the Alexandria and Monroe regions. She currently resides in Pineville, LA with her husband of 14 years, Jacob, and their two children, Matthew and Emma.
Continuing Education and Community Outreach
8100 Hwy 71 South
Alexandria, La 71301
Phone: (318) 427-4441 or 318-599-9779
Email: continuingeducation@lsua.edu