Beverly Lewis

Beverly Lewis was born and reared in Jonesboro, Louisiana to the late Laska L. Lewis and Lenora Kimble. She is the oldest of six children.

She graduated from Jonesboro Hodge High School and the Jonesboro Hodge Licensed Practical Nursing program in 1978. In 1984, she graduated from Northeast Louisiana University, currently known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. She has been an active Registered Nurse since 1985.

She obtained a Master’s in Public Administration, with a specialty in Health Services Administration from Grambling State University in 1995 and a Certificate in Paralegal Studies in 2002, also from Grambling State University.

She served in the United States Air Force Reserve as a Registered Nurse, at Barksdale Air Force Base, from June 1985 to her retirement as Lieutenant Colonel in September 2012. During this time, she held numerous positions, to include the Chief Nurse for the 917th Medical Squadron, Nursing Staff Development Officer for the 917th Medical Squadron and the Infection Control Officer for the 917th Wing.

The early span of Beverly’s Nursing career consisted of administrative positions held as Nurse Manager/Director for in-patient Acute Care units (St. Francis Medical Center/Jackson Parish Hospital); Director of Quality Resource Management and Case Management (North Monroe Medical Center); coordinated Community Health fairs with Civic organizations and the Faith based community; grant writer for the School Based Health Center (Jackson Parish); the late Governor Mike Foster’s Abstinence Program-teaching abstinence to 7th graders in Jackson Parish; Instructor on Self Breast Examination and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation(CPR); Regional Nurse Consultant for Region 3, Regional Office of Public Health, Lifetime member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)- Jackson Parish Chapter.

Ms. Lewis currently serves on numerous Community Boards and community committees, including Board of Commissioners for the Monroe Housing Authority, Ouachita Parish Workforce Development-Board 81, Southern Center for Maternal Health Equity (SCMHE) – Community Action Committee (CAC), NOVA Workforce Institute of NELA, Opportunities Industrialization Center of Ouachita (OIC), Louisiana Delta Community College Foundation, Northeast Louisiana Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, Grambling State University Nursing and Public Administration Advisory Committees and the elected position as the 2024 Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) Member – Representative District 17th, Office A.

Ms. Lewis is a member and president of the Senior Adult Choir of the Mount Olivet Baptist Church-Reverend Oliver W. Billups, Jr. and serves as Director of Nurses Ministry with the Tenth District Missionary Baptist Association of Louisiana, Incorporation Ushers and Nurses Ministry and the Statewide Director of Nursing for the Louisiana Missionary Baptist State Convention Ushers and Nurses Ministry.

Ms. Lewis was the Operations Chief during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike for Region 3 Office of Public Health. Afterwards, she was promoted to the position of Assistant Center Director for the Center for Community and Emergency Preparedness, located in Baton Rouge, LA., for the Louisiana Office of Public Health – Department of Emergency Preparedness.

In 2011, Beverly returned to Monroe Louisiana and continued her nursing career at E.A. Conway Medical Center, now known as Ochsner LSU Health Monroe Medical Center. Since then, she has served in various nursing and administrative roles and currently serves as the Director of Economic Development and Community initiatives.

Her passion is helping people to navigate through the healthcare system by being a servant leader. Beverly’s motto is: “As God grants me the strength, knowledge, and capabilities, I am willing and thankful to go wherever He sends me to share with others what He has richly blessed me with.”