COVERSTORY
KAREN
BREAUX
HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR, POSTLETHWAITE & NETTERVILLE
BIO
Hometown: Baton Rouge Age: 61 Family: Daughter Whitney Breaux, son Don Breaux II, and grandchildren Jason DeCuir Jr. and Don Breaux III Years with company: 11 years
MILESTONES
1982: Earns a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from University of Louisiana at Lafayette. 1996: Becomes a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Greater Baton Rouge Society for Human Resource Management (GBR SHRM) 2011-2014: Serves on the GBR SHRM board of directors. 2015-2016: Serves as president of the Greater Baton Rouge Society for Human Resource Management. 2018-2020: Appointed as a council member for the Louisiana Society for Human Resource Management. 2018: Serves as a board director for the Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School. 2021: Becomes state director-elect for the Louisiana Society for Human Resource Management.
Q&A
Needed workplace changes for women It is critical we remember that the glass ceiling does not exist in the abstract. For Baton Rouge in particular, I want to see more allies for women in the workplace. Women need to receive recognition for their achievements—as wonderful as it is that women are rising to leadership positions, those achievements should be celebrated, not kept under wraps. Only when progress is made transparent to the public can other young women look in and think, “Hey, that could be me!” Best advice Ships don’t sink because of the water around them; ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don’t let what’s happening around you get inside you and weigh you down. Hardest lesson learned Diversity in thought is key. By consistently bringing in diverse perspectives to learn from, I have been able to accomplish many of the things I have sought to achieve and more. All of us want to write our own story, but what we sometimes forget is that storytelling is a collaborative process, and no story can be complete without the voices of others.
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