LRAEF Board of Directors
Greg Reggio, Chair, Taste Buds Management
Garret LeBlanc, Vice Chair, B&G Food Enterprises
Tony Rodrigue, Secretary/Treasurer, Acme Oyster House
Michael Eastman, Immediate Past Chair, Auto-Chlor System
Alan Guilbeau, Bengal Products
Caroline Rodrigue, Galatoire's
Derrick Dunne, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers
Emery Whalen, QED Hospitality
Justin Kennedy, Parkway Bakery & Tavern
Karen Coaxum, Coaxum Enterprises
Megan Klock, Ruffino's
Octavio Mantilla, BRG Hospitalty
Stephen Hightower, Baton Rouge Epicurean Society
Academic Advisor
Dr. Yvette Green, UNO Kabacoff School of HRT
Industry Representatives
Felton Jones, PJ's Coffee
Ex-Officio
Stan Harris, CEO, Louisiana Restaurant Association
Jen Kelley Killian, Executive Director
LRAEF Articulation Agreements
The LRA Education Foundation is proud to partner with these educational institutions through articulation agreements, which provides a smooth transition of credits from the completion of ProStart I and II. We are grateful to these schools for their commitment to the foodservice and hospitality industry.
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Education Foundation News
Latest News One night. Some of New Orleans’ best restaurants. Great food, cocktails, music and prizes-all for a great cause. On Tuesday, October 13, Parkway Bakery & Tavern is opening its doors on a normally closed Tuesday for Throw Down for the Future, a fundraiser benefiting the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF). The idea…
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Latest News The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) is pleased to welcome Jennifer “Jen” Kelley Killian as its new Executive Director, bringing a longtime advocate for Louisiana’s hospitality industry into a new role focused on supporting the next generation of hospitality professionals. Killian is a familiar face to many throughout the Louisiana restaurant and…
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Latest News The Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA) is proud to recognize Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski as the 2026 Restaurateurs of the Year, the Association’s highest honor recognizing outstanding leadership, excellence, and commitment to Louisiana’s restaurant industry. For decades, Link and Stryjewski have helped shape Louisiana’s culinary reputation through award-winning restaurants, unwavering standards of hospitality,…
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