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
Jonathan Baynham, Vice President & 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.
Most Recent 990's
Annual Reports
Education Foundation News
Latest News Congress has delivered a long-awaited victory for restaurants and service-based businesses by ensuring employers receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit on the FICA taxes paid on employee tips. The LRA and National Restaurant Association worked directly with Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Scalise to ensure the 45B credit was not used as a “pay…
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Latest News A Personal Recollection from LRA SVP and Head of Communications, Wendy Waren This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and like so many New Orleanians, I can still remember the days leading up to it with painful clarity. On Saturday, August 27, 2005, I wanted to evacuate early. Katrina was already…
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Latest News Big dreams are heating up in the kitchen for ProStart students from W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center in Lafayette! The Louisiana Restaurant Association is thrilled to share that this talented group was selected for the first-ever JumpStart Initiative by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). From May 17-20, the students…
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