Guiding Principles

Bellue graduated from Belaire High School in 1983. He earned a bachelor’s in criminal justice from Louisiana State University. He began working with LUBA Worker’s Comp in 2007 and became the company’s vice president of governmental relations in 2010.

Bellue’s family includes his wife, Carol, and their two children. They are members of St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Bellue participates as a volunteer in the Men’s Club, youth sports, the Parish Festival and the Boy Scouts of America

Dadrius Lanus is an educational advocate fighting to bring liberation to all black and brown communities across East Baton Rouge Parish. Dadrius has made it his mission to reignite the “Poor People’s Campaign” by empowering students, teachers, and community stakeholders to identify and defeat socio-economic barriers that plague impoverished communities. Dadrius is a product of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System where he attended Forest Heights Elementary, Glen Oaks Middle, and Glen Oaks High School. While in college, Dadrius attended Southern University where he received his Bachelors, Masters, and Juris Doctorate Degree graduating with honors at each respective level. In December 2019, with over 60% of the vote, Dadrius become one the youngest members ever elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for the District 2 Community.

Tramelle Howard is an educator and a passionate advocate for students, both inside and outside the classroom. He was elected to the East Baton Rouge School Board as the representative of District 3 in November 2018. He is the youngest board member every elected to serve in his role.

After earning a Juris Doctor degree, Tramelle realized he was more passionate about public education than he was law. Then, after taking the necessary steps to become a teacher and spending years in the classroom, he realized the school system desperately needed to recruit a more diverse teaching staff. As the District 3 board member, he will commit to ensuring the public school system finds more innovative solutions to attract, maintain, support, and promote diverse educators.

In addition to his experience in the classroom, Tramelle is a dedicated mental health professional and a strong community advocate. He is passionate about supporting children so that they reach their full potential, as well as ensuring his community has a voice in the policy-making process.

Tramelle lives in Baton Rouge. He works for a national nonprofit dedicated to improving outcomes for those living in marginalized communities. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated and an active member of the Southern University Alumni Federation.

He obtained his undergraduate degree in mass communication from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He earned a Juris Doctorate degree from the Southern University Law Center.

Dawn D. Collins, MPA is an advocate, public official, and small business owner. On March 5, 2016, she was elected to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board and won re-election on November 6, 2018 with 76% of the vote. It is her firm belief that she has been so well received because she put on her tennis shoes and personally reached out to as many people in her district as possible to share her vision and hear their concerns.

She began her professional experience at the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) where she implemented the smooth decentralization of outreach strategies and application processing for the Breast and Cervical Cancer program. During her service at DHH, she also gained expertise in data management through collaborative efforts to develop software for agency specific needs.

Dawn’s desire to empower families soon led her into the world of grassroots organizing. She was drawn to President Obama’s message that  community empowerment is a true vehicle of change. In 2008, she began work as a paid Staff Field Organizer and has continued the journey of organizing ever since.

In addition to her bachelor’s degree in English Liberal Arts and her master’s degree in Public Administration, Dawn’s training includes work with nationally renowned agencies such as New Leaders Council, New Organizing Institute (NOI) and Governor Howard Dean’s Democracy for America. As one of a 30-person cohort chosen from 500 applicants, Dawn participated in NOI’s 2010 New Media Bootcamp. She received immense instruction from leading practitioners in Washington, D.C. to enhance the strategies of political and issue-based campaigns. She also participated in NOI’s 2012 Data Bootcamp where she received high level training from national leaders in data management, campaign modeling, and targeted voter outreach.

Dawn additionally collaborates with national organizations and local activists to develop grassroots training and progressive networking events in Louisiana through her volunteer organization, the Solidarity Project.

As a lobbyist, Dawn D. Collins is a staunch advocate for progressive causes. She gives data-driven strategic consultation to political campaigns, as well as handles government affairs and training programs for nonprofit organizations through her consulting business Cogent Concepts and Project Management, LLC.

As a mother of three East Baton Rouge Parish School graduates, Evelyn Ware-Jackson has been an active member of the community through volunteer service and as a school board member for the past eight years.

Elected in 2010, Ms. Ware-Jackson’s willingness to meet with Parents goes above and beyond the call of duty. Ms. Ware-Jackson has openly expressed her commitment to holding both the Superintendent and district leadership accountable for how well they are serving students through clear, transparent performance metrics.

A product of our local public school system, Jill Dyason attended Broadmoor Elementary and Broadmoor Junior High before graduating from Broadmoor High School. After attending LSU, and then over 20 years in pediatric dental practice management, she then became the Director of Marketing and Public Relations/Community Development Director for a start-up practice providing access to all children in Baton Rouge and our surrounding areas. As System Development and Communications Manager for Magellan Health, Dyason went on to work across South Louisiana providing leadership as our state transformed its public-sector healthcare delivery system. Currently, she serves as Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of Children and Family Agencies, LACFA. She continues to provide innovative leadership in business, healthcare and education sectors.

Most recently after successfully providing support to her children for their higher education, Dyason went back to complete her personal goal of attaining her Bachelor of Arts exemplifying the importance and value of education and lifelong learning.

Dyason serves as the most veteran member of our East Baton Rouge School Board. She was appointed in June 2001 and then elected to continue serving first in October 2001. She is a strong advocate for all students and schools while representing the communities of Shenandoah Elementary, Woodlawn Elementary, Woodlawn Middle and Woodlawn High School. Dyason firmly advocates for neighborhood schools, raising academic achievement, community re-engagement while encouraging bold innovative proactive change.

Professional Affiliations/Community Involvement

Current

· Member, East Baton Rouge Parish School Board

· Member, Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board

· Member, Families First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Steering Committee

· Member, Junior Achievement Board of Directors

· Member, Jones Creek Area Business Association (JCABA)

· Leadership Alumni, Class of 2006, Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC)

· Member, School Health Advisory Council, Health Centers in Schools (HCS)

· Fellow, Broad Foundation, Institute and Alumni Institute

Past

· Chair, EBRP Long Range Planning Committee

· Vice Chair, EBRP School Operations Committee

· Member, Strategic Planning for Educational Excellence Committee

· Education Advocacy Task Force, Capital Area United Way

· Leadership Team, Greater Baton Rouge Covering Kids and Families Coalition

· Nominated and served as Member, Fifty for the Future, United Way Campaign

· Member, Board of Directors, Louisiana School Boards Association

· Member, Louisiana School Boards Association Legislative Committee

· Member, Federal Relations Network, National School Boards Association

· Member, Planning Committee, Louisiana State Children’s Behavioral Health Summit

· Member, MedBR- Mayor’s Healthy City Initiative

· Member, Children’s Coalition of Greater Baton Rouge

· Representative, Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) Investors

· Representative, Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Family

Dyason has two children who both proudly attended school from Pre-K – 12 in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System with one then attaining her MBA and the other who attained his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology.

Michael (Mike) Gaudet was appointed to the EBR School Board in January 2017 and was elected to a full term in 2018. Mike is a native of Raceland, LA and graduated from Central LaFourche High School. He graduated from LSU with a BS Degree in Chemical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration.

Mike has been married to Margie John Gaudet (Broadmoor High School and LSU Physical Therapy) for 43 years. They have two daughters, Dr. Amy Rabalais and Sara MacDowell, DPT who reside in Baton Rouge and a son, Dr. John Gaudet who is currently in Cambridge, MA. Mike and Margie also greatly enjoy having four grandchildren to light up their life. He recently retired from a 40 year career with Albemarle Corporation as a Division Vice President.

Mike has always been heavily involved in education and has served on the boards of St. Luke’s Episcopal Day School, Episcopal High School, Teach For America South Louisiana and the THRIVE Charter School. He fervently believes that every child can learn and it is the mission of the
school system to help every child reach their potential. Mike recognizes that one of the critical tasks is to provide the necessary resources to students and teachers. He strives to use his management experience to help streamline operations, increase customer service and reduce non-instructional costs in order better support the classroom efforts.

Connie Bernard, has been your neighbor for over 45 years and your school board member since 2010. She wants to continue to represent you on the EBR School Board with her unique visionary leadership.

Connie Bernard is a two time LSU graduate and a Master of Public Administration. She is an entrepreneur and has served on the Board of Directors for Louisiana Earth Day for 15 years. She has many years of experience in community non-profit organization management, and has worked as a communications and public relations professional for such organizations as The American Cancer Society, EBRP Recycling Office, and the Ed Reed Organization.

Bernard has shown an unending commitment to our schools, volunteering in our schools for over 12 years, working at school events and assisting in fundraising…even answering phones at the front desk.

Bernard has worked as a substitute teacher at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, in gifted and traditional classrooms, and understands the classroom experience in EBR schools today.

Most importantly, Bernard serves as a liaison between families and the school system and is very responsive to your needs.

David Tatman joined the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board in January of 2011 as the representative of the newly formed District 1, which covered portions of the Southeast area of East Baton Rouge Parish. David was elected President of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board in January of 2013. As President, David led a broad-based community effort to create and implement a strategic plan, that provided a long-term vision for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. David also led a successful effort to reduce the size of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board from 11 members to 9 members. David was elected again in 2014 without opposition to represent the newly formed District 1.  David was again elected to serve a second term as President of the Board in 2015 and a third term in 2018.

Mr. Tatman currently serves as a BREC Commissioner and a member of the Louisiana Education Television Authority (LPB). Mr. Tatman is a member of the Louisiana Business and Industry, Louisiana Society of Association Executives, Public Relations Association of Louisiana and serves as the Executive Director of the Association of Louisiana Lobbyists. Over the years, Mr. Tatman served on various boards and community organization like Capital Area American Red Cross, the East Baton Rouge Committee for Educational Excellence, the Association of Louisiana Lobbyists (Past President). Mr. Tatman has received numerous state and national awards for his professional achievement and is recognized as a leader in his profession. Mr. Tatman earned his Black Belt in Karate and is in the process of section hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Mr. Tatman is married to Maria Battaglia Tatman and they have three beautiful children, Carley Angela, Morgan Elizabeth and David Mark Tatman, Jr.

David is the President of The Tatman Group, a full-service government relations and association management consulting firm founded in 1997. Through his firm, David and his team represents a broad-base of clients in legislative and regulatory matters in Louisiana and Washington, DC.

David is also an actor and filmmaker and a partner in OffScript Productions, a Louisiana-based film production company. OffScript Productions specializes in film and video production.  David is married to Maria Battaglia Tatman and they have three children, Carley Angela Tatman, Morgan Elizabeth Tatman, and David Mark Tatman, Jr. Maria and David live in Baton Rouge and are members of the St. George Catholic Church Community.