DONNA K TORRES, CPA

Board President

Donna graduated from LSU with a BS and an MS in Accounting, is a licensed CPA and a notary public.  Donna joined LSU 30 years ago as Payroll Director and has progressively moved into various roles within LSU with increasing levels of responsibility – she now serves as the Interim Executive Vice President/CFO for the LSU System; she is also an adjunct instructor of Accounting at LSU, and has taught Government and Not-for-Profit Accounting for 25 years.  Donna stays active in her profession and in the community.  She has volunteered with Campus Federal Credit Union for 23 years serving on the Supervisory Committee, and now the board of directors for which she is Chair-elect.  Donna is on the Board of the Directors for the Baton Rouge Symphony, and the Tiger Booster Clubs.    When Donna isn’t working or volunteering she quilts, gardens and spends precious time with family.

JOY DENLEY, RN, ADN, BSN, CPEN

Board Vice President

Joy has been a pediatric nurse since 1984.  After working on an inpatient pediatric unit for 10 years she spent 25 years in pediatric emergency rooms which included at the Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. She has earned certifications as a nurse specialized in pediatrics and as a Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse. 

     When her last child graduated from high school she prayed for God to give her a passion for something like the one that she had loved for parenting. The pediatric emergency room was seeing greater and greater numbers of children who came in because of child physical and/or sexual abuse which weighed very heavy on her heart and exposed a great need for someone to provide specialized care to these children way beyond their initial visit to the ER.  Through the past 10 years she also had multiple personal relationships with adult survivors of child sexual abuse. The significant short and long term impact on each person emotionally and mentally became clear and again I knew this growing population in our society deserved so much more than what many had received.  Upon learning about the BRCAC and the services that they provide Joy quickly became passionate about helping the CAC in any way that she could and she knew this was the new passion that God had placed in her life. Joy has been actively involved with the annual Celebrity Waiter event for 8 years and would like to become involved in community outreach awareness and education. 

Julie Pleasant

Board Treasurer; Senior Vice President with Hancock Whitney

GREG LACOUR

Board Secretary

30 year Architectural career with Gensler focused on every aspect of the profession. Retired as Principal to return to Alma Mater as Director of Campus Planning. Facilitates refinement of perspective. Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) from Louisiana State University

Alexis Russo

Dentist

Shaun Kemmerly, MD

Chief Medical Officer at OLOL Children's

STACIE THEVIS

Broker & Owner of Greene Properties

Stacie Thevis is a mother, grandmother and native of False River. She is a graduate of Louisiana State University and has been a Realtor since 2005. She is Broker/Owner of Greene Properties of Louisiana and has a strong record of sales and leadership. Being involved in the community and serving others is very important to her and she is passionate about BRCAC!

Renée Boutte Myer

Assistant Dean of Diversity, Advocacy & Civic Engagement - Louisiana State University

DR. James Wayne

Pediatrician at Ochsner

James Wayne, MD, specializes in pediatrics. Dr. Wayne is a native of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, and completed undergraduate studies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He earned his medical degree in 2000 from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. Dr. Wayne completed a pediatric internship and residency at San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium in Texas. Dr. Wayne is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and has been a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics for 20 years. Dr. Wayne’s active-duty military service included working as a pediatrician for Darnall Army Community Hospital at Fort Hood, Texas, and for Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In 2002, he was part of a military humanitarian assistance mission to Honduras for epidemiologic study. He served in Iraq in 2004-2005 as a task force surgeon in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II. As a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves, Dr. Wayne continues to serve and stands ready to support military treatment facilities if needed. After leaving active-duty military service, Dr. Wayne spent three years as a staff pediatrician for North Carolina Pediatric Associates in Henderson, North Carolina. For the next five years, he worked as a general pediatrician at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he also taught medical students and physician assistant students. Dr. Wayne is a proud husband and father. He and his wife, Tisha, have two daughters, Nina and Evangeline.

Alexandra Rossi

Senior Counsel at Kean Miller LLP

Alex Rossi is senior counsel to the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She joined the firm in 2013 and practices in the toxic tort, occupational exposure, and commercial litigation groups. Alex assists in the defense of global energy and petrochemical companies in connection with asbestos exposure claims. She also assists in the representation of major pipeline companies in the expropriation negotiations and litigation.

Alex is listed as a Rising Star in Louisiana Super Lawyers from 2019-2023 and listed in The Best Lawyers in America as a One to Watch from 2021-2023.

Alex earned her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 2010. She earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2013, where she was a member of the Loyola Law Review, Moot Court Board, Order of the Barristers and was a William L. Crowe, Sr. Scholar.

BRIDGETTE BYNUM COLEMAN

Owner of Coleman Consulting Group, LLC (CCG)

Bridgette B. Coleman is the Owner of Coleman Consulting Group, LLC which is responsible for hiring and deploying technical staff and resources needed to support the Public Assistance Program to supplement FEMA’s recovery efforts during major disasters and emergencies. A graduate of Southern University, she has served in leadership positions on several national and local boards including Capital Area Network for Women (Immediate Past President), Junior League of Baton Rouge, Quota International (2^nd Vice President) and the American Heart Association (current board member) just to name a few. She is married to Brian K. Coleman and they have one daughter, Bria Kamille Coleman. In her spare time, Bridgette likes to play tennis, make flower arrangements, and simply hang with family and friends.

Robert Lucky

The Lucky Law Firm, PLC Attorney

Robert was born and raised in the small town of Greensboro, Alabama. During his undergraduate career, he began working in the legal field as a paralegal primarily in the fields of criminal and family law. Robert moved to Baton Rouge to attend law school at LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center. While at LSU, he earned a position on the law center’s Moot Court Board based on his excellent writing and persuasive arguing skills. He also participated in numerous activities and courses that later would help him when challenging and fighting large insurance companies for his clients. Following graduation in 2002, Robert began his career fighting for those who had been injured at the fault of another and who deserved just compensation for their damages. Today, Robert represents his clients just as zealously as he did when he began his career.

Robert is an avid fan of college football and of the New Orleans Saints. He currently serves on the board of directors for the A. C. Lewis YMCA.

Brett Reynolds

Vice President, NFCU

CPT. CHIQUITA BROUSSARD

EBR District Attorney Liaison

Joe Sciortino

WAFB

Jennifer Dartez

WBRZ

Jennifer Dartez has been the Director of Human Resources at WBRZ-TV for the past four years. She has 30 years combined HR Experience working at ExxonMobil for 10 years prior to WBRZ. Jennifer received her B.A. in Journalism at Southern University and her M.A. in Organizational Communication / Human Resource Management at Purdue University.

Jennifer is an active, life-long member at Elm Park Baptist Church and is involved as a church announcement reader, church program coordinator, finance committee member, and vacation bible school and Sunday school teacher.

As for professional and community involvement. Jennifer is apart of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Greater Baton Rouge Society of Human Resource Management (GBRSHRM) – programming committee, ITI Technical College – Program Advisory Committee, Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) – Diversity Committee, and Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center (BRCAC) – Development Committee.

Jennifer is happily married to her best friend David Dartez who is the Labor Advisor for ExxonMobil where he’s worked in various roles for over 30 years.  She is the proud mother of two sons:  Braelyn Collier, 24, a 2020 UNO graduate with a B.S. in Psychology and Jaedyn Collier, 16 who attends STEM Magnet Academy of Pointe Coupee.

Jennifer and her family live in the small town of Ventress, LA (near New Roads).  She enjoys the simple things in life:  praise and worship church services, spending time with family, cooking, shopping, boating, and relaxing on their False River pier.

A favorite quote of hers is:  If you fail to plan…then you PLAN to FAIL.  In the busy world of HR (and life in general) …plans will often change.  But she believes that having a good plan and working towards a defined goal will ensure you are on the path to a successful future – in all aspects of life!

Rene’ Thibodeaux

Pointe Coupee Sherriff's Office

Dr. Rebecca Hook

Fertaeshia Broussard

Area Director, DCFS

Sgt. Keith Kibby

West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office

SONYA CARDIA-PORTER

Assistant District Attorney, 19th JDC

Ali Meronek

Iberville Parish Assistant DA

Brett Stassi

Iberville Parish Sheriff

Mendy Escudier

Sexual Assault Investigator; SANE Coordinator

Cpt. Nick Gremillion

Captain, Point Coupee Sheriff's Office