by Jessica Taylor, Features Editor
South Louisiana is not short of powerful women. From police officers to business owners and government officials, the women in Louisiana are taking leadership positions and making a difference in the community.
Annette Fontana is one of the brave, all-around southern women whose path to success is inspiring.
Fontana works as Clerk of Court of Lafourche Parish since October of 2015. Prior to being elected, she was an Assistant District Attorney for Lafourche Parish serving as a felony prosecutor of major crimes including homicides and other violent crimes.
Fontana was also a private practicing attorney in Lafourche Parish with the law firm of Morvant & Cavell, dealing with civil and family law. She taught Family Law at Nicholls State University from 2009 to 2015.
Becoming the Clerk of Court was a long, tiring journey for Fontana, but she loves every minute of it.
Fontana graduated from Nicholls State University in education and headed to Southern University in Baton Rouge, where she obtained her Juris Doctorate.
Despite going to law school, Fontana says she never saw herself as a practicing lawyer.
“I always felt I wanted to be in administration, government, or private sector and the clerk’s office provided me with an opportunity to use my legal skills, as well as those I acquired from my various degrees,” she says.
In 2011 was chosen as one of the Top Women in Business by the Tri-Parish Times, and in 2014 she was named Best of Lafourche 40 under 40. Also, she has received the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Officer Certificate of Commendation twice for her work as a felony prosecutor.
Fontana is not only dedicated to her job and career, but she has also been involved in several organizations in the Thibodaux community. She served as president of the Lafourche Parish Bar Association, Chairperson of the Board of the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce and as a chairperson on the American Red Cross Leadership Committee.
She was also a delegate to the House of Delegates of the Louisiana State Bar Association and an advisory board member for the Bayou Country Children’s Museum. She volunteers for numerous civic activities, including Habitat for Humanity and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Thibodaux Main Street Organization and Hi-5, a non-profit corporation providing an afterschool program for students.
“I’ve learned that the women of South Louisiana know how to balance everything from their jobs to being the primary caregiver,” she says.
Fontana explains that’s one of her many reasons for being involved in the community besides being the Clerk of Court.
“I see how hard other women work, especially in my department, and I see how great of a job they do balancing every aspect of their hectic schedules,” she says.
Throughout her term, Fontana says she is focused on adapting the processes of the Clerk’s office to the information age to provide citizens, businesses, and even visitors the resources to obtain any information when they need it.
The successful women of power in South Louisiana are essential to the success of the community. “Look at this” to get to know more about the women in power in the Bayou Region!
