Member Spotlight

My name is Maria Lapira Laborde. I was raised in Lake Charles and attended OLQH and St. Louis

Highschool. I graduated from LSU and ended up back in Lake Charles to receive my master’s in

Elementary Education. My husband, William, was also raised here and attended ICCS and St.

Louis. After graduating from LSU, William attended LSU Shreveport Medical School before

completing his residency in Baton Rouge. William currently works as a physician in the

Emergency Department at both St. Patrick’s Hospital and Lake Area. We have two children,

Margot (3) and Michael (1).

Starting a family in Lake Charles was always a no-brainer for both of us. William and I had

similar experiences playing sports and boating throughout Southwest Louisiana as kids. We had

already started our family here and our home renovation when Hurricane Laura hit. It was eye

opening for us as adults, after experiencing Hurricane Rita while in high school. We started to

really think about sustainability and take an interest in coastal protection and restoration. This is

when a friend told us about the Community Foundation’s efforts.

It is important for our family to be members of the Community Foundation for a number of

reasons. As a downtown family, we are thrilled with the waterfront development plans and

focus on strong downtown communities. We know that having strong businesses off of I10 will

create more jobs and tourism opportunities. We also believe that the Bayou Greenbelt plan will

add an impressive element of recreation to Southwest Louisiana. As I mentioned before, we are

truly inspired by the Foundation’s focus on coastal flood risk reduction and community

resilience. To put it simply, we want to feel safe and prepared for the next storm.

As a whole, the Community Foundation SWLA is focused on highlighting the beautiful things

Southwest Louisiana has to offer while also focusing on future development. The Foundation

has connected us with like-minded people with a similar passion for our wonderful community

and the continued progress of Southwest Louisiana. We are thrilled to be a part of the journey and

look forward to supporting the efforts of this great group!