Mr. Bill Rodier has served as the full time Executive Director of St. Landry Parish Economic Development as well as the Greater Opelousas Economic Development Industrial Board since May 20, 2013. As Executive Director, he is responsible for developing, implementing, and promoting collaborative parish wide community and economic development initiatives geared toward enhancing the overall quality of life and economic well being for residents and businesses of St. Landry Parish. He is also responsible for providing leadership guidance and support to regional economic development efforts through organizations such as the Acadiana Economic Development Corporation, the Acadiana Regional Authority, the Acadiana Planning Commission, One Acadiana, the Louisiana Industry Developers Executive Association and the International Economic Development Council.
Prior to his current position, Bill spent close to seven years in key roles with Louisiana Economic Development and as the Deputy Director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. There he was responsible for spearheading statewide initiatives geared towards the development and promotion of value added services for existing and future Louisiana Businesses.
Prior to his government service, Mr. Rodier spent 5 years in executive management with a private consulting and real estate development firm, as well as 7 years in an executive role with a large Gulf Coast Automotive Group Franchise. In service to his country Bill spent more than seven years in the United States Air Force where he managed the daily operations of a USAF Major Command Elite Guard, which supported Flag Grade Officers and high level global dignitaries, including the President of the United States.
Bill has a Master’s of International Business degree from the University of Phoenix, a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and possesses an Associate Degree in Security Technologies. He is also a graduate from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and maintains an Economic Development Finance Professional Certification. Personally, Bill actively competes in Iron Man Triathlon Events across the United States.
Brandy Ledet serves as St. Landry Parish Economic Development’s (SLED) Economic Development Specialist II, assisting in implementing targeted programs, or initiatives that integrates multiple platforms to influence and build relationships with prospects, consultants, company decision makers, and media information sources; proactively identifying and addressing community business climate issues; and assisting in providing research and information, and/or technology support needed to execute these tasks. Duties include : working with various state, parish, or municipal agencies to provide detailed and targeted responses to business needs, or leads; assisting in establishing a baseline of information with respect to existing local businesses; support local business growth; increase employment for citizens; expand the community’s economic base; and provide outreach to existing businesses. Work involves: establishing and strengthening relationships with local businesses; providing information to existing businesses regarding the availability of assistance programs, including management assistance, job training, employee recruitment, and financing programs; discovering and confirming local service and location advantages for use in marketing St Landry Parish to firms considering a new location; identifying service or location deficiencies which hinder economic development; and developing strategies to eliminate or mitigate the deficiencies.
In addition, I assist in providing targeted research support, including but not limited to: researching data; preparation of information for targeted promotional activities; database management; GIS mapping; and a variety of other duties related to developing, producing, updating, and designing marketing and promotional materials for business retention and expansion, business recruitment, and international trade activities.
Prior to joining SLED, she served as Impact Specialist at United Way of Acadiana (UWA) from 2011-2013. In this capacity she served as project lead over multiple programs under UWA’s Earnings initiative, strategically geared towards the low to moderate income demographic with regards to financial stability.
Mrs. Ledet holds a Masters Degree from Troy University (Pacific Region) in International Relations and a B.S. in Pre-Law from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she was also a member of the Raging Cajuns Women’s Division I soccer team. Brandy is married to Brandon Ledet. They are the proud parents of one child, Duke.
