Family, faith and helping others are the core values that Louisiana First Lady Donna Hutto Edwards uses to guide her life. She and Gov. John Bel Edwards, Louisiana’s 56th governor, have been proudly serving the people of Louisiana since 2016. Drawing upon her experience and knowledge as a former public school music teacher, she is excited to use her platform to make a difference for kids, families and educators, raise awareness about important issues and connect communities with needed resources and support.

As first lady, Donna has created the Louisiana First Foundation, which has a three-fold focus: developing programs that center around educating the “whole child” through Teach MAM (Music, Art and Movement), fighting against human trafficking and building a supportive network to help foster children and parents with government, non-profits, businesses and faith based organizations through Louisiana Fosters. She has also started Virtual Visits with the First Lady, which enables her to interact with students in every corner of the state and encourage reading.

Serving as first lady is an honor and an incredible experience, but without a doubt, her happiest job is being a wife and mother of her and John Bel’s three children – Samantha and son-in-law Jonathan, Sarah Ellen and John Miller.