Promotions at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | Business News
New Orleans
Mary Jones has been promoted to senior director of financial services for the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
Jones is a 40-year-veteran of the convention center.
She earned a degree in business administration from LSU.
Jade Simmons has been promoted to director of financial operations.
Simmons has 17 years of experience in business management and has worked with KIPP New Orleans Schools, LSU Health Sciences Center and the Louisiana Public Health Institute.
She earned a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s in business administration, both from the University of Dallas.
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Natalie Barranco has been promoted to chief executive officer of PRIME Business Advisory Solutions.
Barranco co-founded the consulting firm and previously was chief operating officer.
She earned a bachelor’s in math with a minor in business administration from Millsaps College and a master’s in business administration, with a concentration on accounting and taxation from Tulane University.
Regina Griffin Graff has been hired as director of operations for the company.
Graff has more than three decades of expertise in finance, accounting and business operations.
She earned a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of New Orleans.
Baton Rouge
Cason E. “Casey” O’Banion has been named president of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy of Baton Rouge.
O’Banion replaces YEA BR founders Deborah Sternberg and Michael Roth, who are moving to New York to be closer to family. He recently served as director of entrepreneurship at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.
He earned a bachelor’s in creative writing from LSU, a master in fine arts from Antioch and USC and a law degree from LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center. O’Banion is a published author and adjunct member of the LSU English department, teaching legal writing.
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Lawrence “LJ” Baker Jr. has been hired as chief strategic initiatives officer and physician recruitment director at Lane Regional Medical Center.
Baker is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and decorated combat veteran. He has more than six years of hospital administration experience, most recently as chief human resources and strategic initiative officer for Sierra Vista Hospital in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.
He earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Fort Valley State University and is pursuing a master’s in health care administration from Central Michigan University Global Campus.
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Franklin Associates has promoted three employees.
Kyla Jones is now vice president of operations.
Jones has been with the firm for 17 years, leading human resources for eight years and operations for more than four.
She earned a bachelor’s in psychology from LSU.
Johnathan S. Hill is vice president of advisory services.
Hill has been with the company for six years.
He earned a bachelor’s in business administration and management from Southern University, a master’s in ministry from Luther Rice College & Seminary and is working on a doctorate in organizational leadership from Regent University.
Portia Johnson is vice president of disaster and grants management.
Johnson previously held leadership positions with the Louisiana Office of Community Development-Disaster Recovery and Louisiana Housing Corp.
She earned a bachelor’s in sociology from LSU and a law degree from Southern University Law Center.