LWC Executive Leadership
Susana (Susie) Schowen
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Secretary
Susana Schowen is Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Governor Jeff Landry appointed her in January of 2024. Before joining the LWC, she spent two years as the Vice President of Education at the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. Before that, she was at LED FastStart, the workforce development division of Louisiana Economic Development, for over ten years. Through all these roles, Susie has focused on building coalitions of industry partners, economic developers, and educators to align education and workforce development efforts with the needs of employers and the economy, increasing the prosperity of our people and our communities.
She takes a highly innovative and employer-responsive approach, restructuring systems to lift individuals out of poverty while driving economic growth and measuring success using performance-based models that reward results, not promises. She also works across agencies and with regional partners to identify inefficiencies in the system and better align the delivery of social services with workforce development efforts. Susie has degrees in chemistry from Wellesley College and Columbia University.
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Vacant
Deputy Secretary
Bennett Soulier
Undersecretary
Office of Management and Finance
Bennett “Benny” Soulier has extensive experience in public administration both within and outside of the LWC. He joined the LWC’s predecessor, the state Department of Labor, in 2004 and served in several critical roles supervising workforce development, budget and finance, human resources and administrative services. Most recently he was the LWC’s deputy chief financial officer.
As undersecretary, he oversees the LWC Office of Management and Finance, which includes human resources and other administrative services. Soulier holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration and management from the University of Southwest Louisiana, the predecessor of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
A native of Lafayette, he is located at the LWC’s headquarters in Baton Rouge.
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James Garvey
Executive Counsel
Osmar Padilla
Assistant Secretary
Office of Workforce Development
Brian Blackwood
Assistant Secretary
Office of Workers' Compensation Administration
Robert Wooley
Assistant Secretary
Office of Unemployment Insurance Administration
Vacant
Assistant Secretary
Office of Occupational Information Services