University of Louisiana at Lafayette alum and Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot will be the featured speaker at UL Lafayette’s Fall 2019 Commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. on Friday.
Feeding America is a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs. The network provides more than 4 billion meals to over 40 million people across the United States each year.
It is nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization and second-largest U.S. charity, according to Forbes magazine.
Prior to joining Feeding America, Babineaux-Fontenot held leadership positions at Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, including executive vice president and global treasurer.
Before that, she was partner-in-charge of the Baton Rouge office and tax practice leader for Adams and Reese law firm. Babineaux-Fontenot was also dispute resolution practice group leader for the southwest region at PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers), and an assistant secretary for the Office of Legal Affairs, a division of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety.
She has served on nonprofit boards including the Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the National Urban League and the National Association of Black Accountants.
Babineaux-Fontenot grew up in Opelousas, La. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from UL Lafayette, ’85, a law degree from Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge and a master of laws degree in taxation from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in Dallas.
Learn more about Fall 2019 Commencement at commencement.louisiana.edu.