Meet the Director

The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center recently appointed Ms. LaVonya Malveaux director of the newly established Southwest Center for Rural Initiatives located in St. Landry Parish.

"We are very excited about Ms. Malveaux. She brings extensive, valuable experience that seems tailor-made for our Southwest Center for Rural Initiatives," says Dr. Leodrey Williams, chancellor of the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center. "Ms. Malveaux has a proven track record, and I look forward to more good things from her in this new position."

A native of Palmetto, Louisiana and a graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana and Southern University New Orleans, Ms. Malveaux has more than 15 years experience in providing human services to underserved populations and building relationships with diverse community stakeholders and community agencies.

In 1999, she established a non-profit rape crisis center in St. Landry Parish. The St. Landry-Evangeline Sexual Assault Center delivers intervention services that were previously inaccessible. After five years under Malveaux's leadership, the center expanded the number of staff, volunteers and service delivery sites while tripling the overall budget.

Ms. Malveaux is chairperson of the St. Landry Parish Children and Youth Services Planning Board and advisory committee member for Project Helping One another Push for Excellence (Project H.O.P.E.)-an after- school tutorial and drug education/prevention program for at-risk rural children age 6-18. She is also an assistant coach for North Central High Schools' Athletic Program. In 2002, Ms. Malveaux served as alderman of the Village of Palmetto, becoming the first African American to hold this office.

As director of the Southwest Center, she will oversee and implement programs and services to ten parishes: St. Landry, Lafayette, Vermilion, Acadia, St. Martin, Pointe Coupee, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Alien and Evangeline.

She will provide leadership that assures focused, applied rural development research and community outreach in order to improve the socioeconomic environment in rural communities.

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For more information, contact your Southern University Ag Center parish agent or visit www.suagcenter.com.

Contact:
Southern University Ag Center Public Relations Specialist, Katara Williams at (225) 771-2242 or katara_williams@suagcenter.com.