C&E Welcomes 2026 Governor’s Fellow

This summer, C&E’s Communications Division hosted a Governor’s Fellow – Ava Lowe. Lowe is a sophomore at LSU in Baton Rouge, majoring in Mass Communication with a concentration in public relations. She is also a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

The Governor’s Fellows program allows college students to experience public policy in action and learn about Louisiana government. Fellows collaborate with their assigned cabinet offices to research and write a policy proposal to present to the Governor and cabinet at the conclusion of the summer.

In addition to working on her public policy project, Lowe partnered with our C&E Outreach Team lead, Leigh Ann Smith, on educational visits to schools around the state to provide interactive sessions to K-12 students on topics such as solar energy and ultraviolet rays.

Lowe worked closely with C&E Communications Director Anna Johnson to select a public policy issue to address and spent time researching the topic and potential approaches on how state government might best engage with it. Lowe then synthesized that research in preparing a persuasive argument and accompanying presentation.

To close out her experience with the agency, Lowe presented her public policy ideas on groundwater to the Governor and his staff. C&E staff appreciated her efforts and enthusiasm in learning how the agency works to balance the demands of energy and the environment and developing her own recommendations for potential policy improvements.