LEH Welcomes Six New Members to Board of Directors

Six Louisiana residents are joining the board of directors for the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), bringing a range of expertise to the statewide nonprofit’s governing body. 

LEH’s new board members are Scott Bazenet-Tilton, a nonprofit executive director from New Orleans; Samantha Bonnette, a marketing and development professional from Natchitoches; Lauren Jardell, a government relations professional from New Orleans; Andrew Liles, an architect from New Orleans; Mary Katherine Loos, a lobbyist and attorney from Baton Rouge; and Ethan Melancon, a government affairs director from Baton Rouge. 

The LEH board is statewide, and members are residents of Louisiana. Members represent the cultural, academic, philanthropic and business communities. Board membership is voluntary, and members typically serve three-year terms with the option to renew twice. Members attend four full board meetings per year, participate with subcommittees to support short- and long-term organizational goal attainment and aid in the cultivation of relationships that support organizational advocacy, fundraising and program/initiative success.  

LEH’s new board members are: 

Scott Bazenet-Tilton

Born and raised in New Orleans, Bazenet-Tilton is the co-founder and executive director of the New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures (Nous), a nonprofit that promotes and supports Louisiana’s heritage cultures with a focus on Cajun and Creole cultures. Before returning to Louisiana, he lived in Paris for six years and worked as a consultant at EY France on projects for the European Union, the United Nations, and the French government. He had the opportunity to launch and spearhead the initiative that saw Louisiana join the International Organization of the Francophonie in 2018.  

Bazenet-Tilton holds a master’s degree in international relations from Sciences Po Paris and a bachelor’s in political and social thought from the University of Virginia. He is also a commissioner on the Vieux Carré Commission and a board member of the neighborhood advocacy group the Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents, & Associates and the L’Union Française. In 2024, Scott was recognized as one of Gambit’s 40 under 40 influential people in New Orleans. 

Samantha Bonnette
Bonnette is a Natchitoches native and resident with a love for all things Louisiana and a passion for marketing. Growing up in the oldest permanent settlement in Louisiana, she learned at an early age how important it is to preserve Louisiana’s history, celebrate Louisiana’s unique culture, and share that knowledge with others. Bonnette graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans with a degree in communications and received a Master of Library and Information Science from Louisiana State University.  

Her career spans more than 20 years in marketing and development, with experience in special events, casino promotions and relationship marketing, fundraising and awareness campaigns for nonprofits, public relations for local governments, and organizing festivals and coordinating advertising campaigns. She currently works as the marketing and development manager for Shreve Memorial Library, a 21-branch public library system serving Shreveport and surrounding Caddo Parish, where she works to promote the library’s many invaluable resources, encourage participation and attendance at library events, and generate support through the library’s foundation.  

Lauren Jardell
Lauren Jardell is a government and community relations professional with more than 15 years of experience in public policy, funding strategy, and stakeholder engagement. Born and raised in Baton Rouge, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in history from Louisiana State University before living and working in Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. Now proudly calling New Orleans home, she brings expertise in navigating federal and municipal policy.  

Passionate about preserving and celebrating regional heritage, she actively engages in local cultural traditions as a riding member of the Krewe of Muses, where she hand-decorates the krewe’s iconic signature shoes. Jardell looks forward to supporting the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities as it partners with communities across all 64 parishes to explore the state’s past and enrich its cultural and educational landscape.  

Andrew Liles
Professor Andrew Liles owns an architectural practice in New Orleans and is on the faculty of the Tulane University School of Architecture and Built Environment. His teaching focus is in foundational design and both freehand and observational drawing. Liles has championed both neurodiversity and environmental stewardship to youth through board service to Camp Able and Teaching Responsible Earth Education [TREE], respectively. He also serves on the board of the Louisiana Architecture Foundation and is president of the Louisiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.  

Liles has a penchant for both education and place that he sees equally championed by the LEH and made manifest in both 64 Parishes and The Helis Foundation John Scott Center. He looks forward to advancing the mission of the LEH and the legacy of Scott, who he describes as an “exemplar artist and educator.”   

Mary Katherine Loos
Mary Katherine Loos serves as director of state government relations for Tulane University, where she directs the university’s advocacy and legislative efforts before the Louisiana Legislature and state agencies, cultivates relationships with public officials and higher education leaders, and advises university leadership on legislative and budget matters. A graduate of Louisiana State University and the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center, she previously practiced law at two prominent Louisiana law firms and served in a state government policy advisory role, developing a strong foundation in law, public policy, and government affairs.  

Beyond her professional responsibilities, Loos is committed to community service and outreach through her involvement with the St. James Episcopal Church Associate Vestry, Ellevate Louisiana, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and the Louisiana State Bar Association. Loos’s appreciation for the humanities and Louisiana is deeply rooted in her family history. Her grandfather, Dr. John L. Loos, devoted more than three decades to LSU as a historian, professor, and longtime chair of the Department of History and her mother, Katherine M. Loos, supported the humanities through service on the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council. 

Ethan Melancon
Melancon, of Baton Rouge, serves as government affairs director at the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, where he leads all policy and outreach initiatives and serves as the organization’s lobbyist. A native of Thibodaux with deep family roots in the Louisiana bayous dating back to the early 1700s, he brings both personal connection and professional expertise to his work in coastal advocacy. His career spans state, regional, and federal roles, including serving as executive director of governmental affairs at the Louisiana Department of Education, leading workforce and talent development initiatives for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, and working in public relations with the U.S. House of Representatives under Congressman Charles Boustany Jr.  

Melancon is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Louisiana State University, holding a Master of Public Administration. Outside of work, he enjoys Louisiana’s rich traditions with his partner Dario while restoring their 1850’s historic Beauregard Town house.