Leslie Jacobs
Leslie Jacobs has been engaged in education reform for more than
thirty-five years. She began as a business partner with an elementary
school, served as an elected member of the New Orleans School
Board, and then 12 years on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education (BESE), first appointed by Governor Foster(R)
and then re-appointed by Governor Blanco(D). Leslie is considered
the architect of Louisiana’s school accountability reform and was
instrumental in creating the Recovery School District.
In addition to her public service roles, Leslie is a former co-owner of
Rosenthal Agency, which was one of the top 100 insurance brokers in
the United States prior to selling to Hibernia National Bank. She was
also the co-founder of Strategic Comp, a workers compensation
insurance company that sold to Great American in 2008.
Leslie has served as Chairman of Greater New Orleans, Inc.; Vice-
Chairman of the New Orleans Business Council, and CEO and co-
founder of the New Orleans Startup Fund. She is also the founder of
504ward, an initiative focused on retaining young talent in New
Orleans; Chairman and co-founder of YouthForce NOLA, and co-
founder of Belltower.
Leslie has received numerous honors, including being named by
Forbes as one of seven people who “demonstrate the leadership and
commitment we need to ensure all children get an excellent
education”; the 2011 co-New Orleanian of the Year by Gambit
magazine; and one of the 300 for 300 by NOLA.com.
She has been named one of the Top 100 Female Insurance Executives
by Business Insurance and was selected as one of the “Twenty People
Who Influenced Louisiana 1981-2001,” by Louisiana Life magazine.
Leslie graduated from Cornell University and has 2 daughters and 4
grandchildren.