Misti S. Cordell, chair of the Louisiana Board of Regents, owner COR Consulting, LLC, and a 1997 graduate of Louisiana Tech, will serve as keynote speaker for Tech’s Fall Commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, November 15 at the Thomas Assembly Center.
A Human Resource Management graduate from Tech’s College of Business that is “second to none,” Cordell said, she began her healthcare career as a pharmaceutical sales representative. She served as a member of the Health and Hospitals Transition Team under Governor Jeff Landry and as an outreach representative for the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office. She has also served as a Physician Liaison and Accounts Manager for St. Francis Medical Center and physician recruiter for Affinity Health Group, now owned by Baton Rouge Clinic.
Her experience in both healthcare and government has helped her connect healthcare organizations and administrators with state policymakers, an expertise instrumental in forging a mutual understanding of the local healthcare structure and the policymaking process for the benefit of the community.
Reared in Luna in rural Ouachita Parish and a graduate of West Ouachita High, Cordell has always had a heart for her community. She has worked on countless fundraisers and served on many volunteer boards, was a design lead and project manager for the St. Jude Dream Home for five years, and currently serves on multiple boards, including MedCamps of Louisiana, CenturyNext Bank Advisory Board, Ouachita Parish Library Board, and the Northeast Louisiana Children’s Museum Board.
She and her husband Hardeman live in Monroe and are the parents of two sons. John graduated from Tech in Finance last year and works for Northwest Mutual, and Hank, currently working for the Louisiana Attorney General and planning to apply to law school, graduated from Ole Miss in May.
Her varied pursuits both professionally and personally — “Because I can’t sit still, my ‘side hustles’ have been design and politics,” she said — are fueled by both a focused energy and the example of her mother, Charlene Smith, who started college at age 38 when Misti was a junior in high school.
“She beat me to being a first-generation college student by two years,” Cordell said. “She deserved it.
“Her example showed me that doing the hard things truly pays off, and that when you face your fears with good ol’ grit and determination, you can be unstoppable … Her education was life-changing, not only for her, but for us all.”
Tech was a perfect fit for Cordell, who still gets “a great sense of pride when I walk through the campus today,” she said. “Louisiana Tech gave me more than just great memories and an education. The friendships here and this little town of Ruston are mighty special and will always feel like home.”
Cordell was appointed an At-Large Member of the Board of Regents in January 2024 and Chair in September 2024.