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Louisiana Board of Regents staff workshop trains employees to explain agency work in 30 seconds; Antonio and Vanessa win internal contest
Summary
Staff from the Louisiana Board of Regents practiced plain-language "elevator pitches" explaining the agency's work to varied audiences, provided peer feedback and held an informal vote that named Antonio the best pitch and Vanessa Valdez most creative (tallies not specified).
Staff of the Louisiana Board of Regents spent a workshop hour practicing and refining short, plain-language "elevator pitches" designed to explain the agency's role to legislators, students and community members.
The session, billed as a follow-up workshop on communications, opened with an exercise contrasting long, jargon-heavy wording with concise, audience-focused language. Facilitators urged speakers to aim for roughly 30 seconds, use everyday words and pull the audience to a clear action or result.
Participants then gave short, 30-second pitches tailored to specific audiences. Kim Kirkpatrick, who introduced herself as working with the Board of Regents, summarized her role in plain terms: "I pair data to help create and assess policies and outcomes for colleges and the colleges and universities in the state." Peers suggested swapping the word "policies" for simpler phrasing when addressing non-expert audiences.
Antonio (first-name given in the meeting) won praise for a legislative-facing pitch that framed the agency role in practical terms: "I hope Louisiana citizens achieve short term certifications by regulating private trade schools," a formulation peers said would quickly capture attention across the street at the Capitol. Samuel tied his pitch to the agency's stated goal, saying the Regents are working so "we want 60% of our citizens to hold a credential of value by 2030," using that target to explain the broader purpose of the work.
Other participants highlighted audience tailoring: Leanne recommended using "requests" rather than "proposals" when talking to students; Greg Golden, the agency's director of government affairs, emphasized hooks that capture busy legislators' short attention spans; and Zacchaeus Johnson suggested including private and philanthropic matching funds when talking to lawmakers about grants and contracts.
The group concluded with an informal vote to select top and most creative pitches; the facilitator announced Antonio as the top pick and Vanessa Valdez (a graduate student who works across agency divisions) among the top creative entries. The transcript does not record formal tallies or who cast specific votes.
Facilitators closed by reminding staff that slides, templates and branded materials are posted on the agency's SharePoint, and they said future sessions may cover Canva templates and additional tools. The workshop emphasized three practical takeaways: simplify language, tailor a short core pitch to audience, and maintain a slightly longer version for technical or legislative briefings.
Organizers framed the event as a training exercise for internal communications and legislative outreach rather than a public policy decision; no formal motions, ordinances or funding actions occurred during the workshop.
