Barry Erwin

Guest Moderator, President and Chief Executive Officer of Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL)

Barry Erwin is a Louisiana native who serves as President of the Council for A Better Louisiana (CABL). CABL is a statewide, nonprofit membership organization that works on issues that impact the quality of life in Louisiana. CABL is involved in numerous policy issues at the state level, including education, state fiscal policies and governmental ethics. The organization also operates the nationally recognized Leadership Louisiana program, which now boasts an alumni base of more than 600 state and community leaders from across Louisiana. Erwin began doing work for CABL in 1995 as a partner in IMPACT Strategies, a Baton Rouge-based public affairs and issues management firm. He joined CABL as Senior Vice President in January 2000.

Prior to working in public and governmental affairs, Erwin spent 15 years as a television journalist. As a reporter he specialized in covering both local and state government. For seven years Erwin was capitol correspondent for WBRZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a past president and former board member of the Capitol Correspondents Association, an organization representing the journalists who cover state government in Louisiana. His work as a journalist has garnered state, regional, and national awards.

Erwin worked on numerous public affairs projects prior to joining CABL. Issue areas included education, health care and the judiciary as well as advising clients in the political arena.

Erwin graduated from Louisiana Tech University in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He has served as guest lecturer in political science and public relations at Louisiana State University, and taught professional journalists in Zambia, Africa as part of a U.S. State Department program to aid emerging democracies.