Lauren Ventrella Highlights Her Legal Experience, Backing By Sen. Bodi White

 Central attorney Lauren Ventrella is proud to be a 4th generation Central resident and grateful to Sen. Bodi White for his support and guidance in her race for State Representative.

The connection between Sen. White and Ms. Ventrella goes back to her grandparents, Joe Chemin, 89, and JoAnn Chemin, 86, who accompanied Bodi’s parents when they eloped to Mississippi years ago. Bodi’s brother, Mac White, is chief deputy to Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, who is also supporting Lauren in her bid for the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Ms. Ventrella is a 2006 graduate of Central High School, where she was a member of the Homecoming Court. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from LSU and a Masters in Public Administration and Juris Doctor from Southern University.  At LSU, she was vice president of the College Republicans.  While at Southern, she was assistant to Sen. White at the State Capitol, where she gained valuable experience at the legislature.

After law school, she practiced in downtown Baton Rouge for eight years before moving her practice to a house on Hooper Road near Greenwell Springs Road.  She describes her legal work as a “door practice,” meaning she helps whoever walks through the door.

Lauren met Adam Brister, her future husband, in 2010. While they were dating, he joined the Air Force and went through basic training, eventually becoming trained in para rescue.  Since then, he’s been deployed by the Air Force or as a private contractor throughout the world.  They got married in 2018 in the mountains of Colorado.

After they got married, Lauren and her husband acquired property on Greenwell Springs Road across from Pete Firmin’s place.  They built a house and are enjoying the country life with chickens, ducks, a horse named Winston, miniature donkeys, a steer named Norman, an emu, a peacock, and a 100-year-old tortoise named Eugene.

Lauren is proud that Adam has saved hundreds of lives in his career.  Only last week, he was able to resuscitate a man he found dying in a car in front of their place.

The most important addition to the family is their first child, Vivian, who is now 20 weeks old.  Taking care of Vivian during a busy campaign is possible thanks to help from her mom and grandmother.

Lauren said COVID greatly affected her personal and business life.  It also affected her husband who was deployed and refused to take the vaccine.  She provided legal help as he fought the system.  Ultimately, he never took the vaccine or lost his job.

Why did she decide to run for the legislature and why now? “With Bodi terming out, I knew we needed a strong representative who knows the culture and needs of our city. I do.  That started the conversation! When I learned we were expecting our first child in October, I knew that running was bigger. It became personal. I had to get involved.”

“My grandpa was a plumber and instilled in me the work ethic and a do-it-yourself mentality.  My dad is a business owner who gave me an entrepreneurial spirit.”

She said one of her most important issues is responsible pet ownership and animal welfare. She is a volunteer with the Humane Society.

She said her most important political issues are education and crime.  On education, she wants to take care of teachers, reform the school rating system, and protect parental rights. She does not want her child exposed to things that would destroy her innocence.

On crime, she wants to support our local police and favors qualified immunity for law enforcement.

Our failure in education is linked to poverty, she said, and in turn to crime.  She favors school choice and vouchers, although that issue in not at the top of concerns in Central because of our school system, she said.

She wants to preserve the beauty of Central and have smart business growth. “I’m not against civilization, but in the right way,” she said.

On infrastructure, she wants to get construction going on Hooper and Sullivan and work to mitigate flooding. 

She gives God the credit for every good thing in her life. “I didn’t think I was going to pass the bar. When I was pregnant, I didn’t think I could get out of bed. I’ve hit my knees a lot,” she said.

“If we win, it was God.” She is a member at Covenant Church.