Having workforce challenges? There’s a new tax credit for Louisiana employers who provide work-based learning experiences for apprentices, interns and youth workers. Now you can build your future workforce while saving money. To explain how this works, we’re joined by two members of Leaders for a Better Louisiana – who took the lead drafting this legislation and working to pass it – Barry Erwin, chief policy officer, and Sheree Blanchard, director of policy.
Learn more about this tax credit on the Department of Revenue’s website:  Work-Based Learning Tax Credit Bulletin #25-028.
about
Barry Erwin
Barry Erwin is the chief policy officer of Leaders for a Better Louisiana. He is a Louisiana native who previously served for more than 20 years as president of the Council for A Better Louisiana (CABL). In 2025, CABL merged with the Committee of 100 for Economic Development to create the new organization, Leaders for a Better Louisiana.
For more than six decades, CABL served as a respected statewide, nonpartisan organization working on issues that impact the quality of life in Louisiana. It was a leading force in the public policy arena with signature initiatives in areas such as education, workforce development, state fiscal policies and governmental ethics.
In 1989 it created the widely recognized Leadership Louisiana program which continues as part of Leaders for a Better Louisiana. Now in its 38th year, it boasts an alumni base of more than 1,600 state and community leaders from across the state. Erwin began doing consulting work for CABL in 1995 and became its president in 2001.
Before joining CABL, Erwin worked on numerous public affairs projects and spent 15 years as a television journalist covering state government and politics at KSLA-TV in Shreveport and WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Sheree Blanchard
Sheree Blanchard is a Louisiana native who joined the newly formed Leaders for a Better Louisiana in January 2025 as director of policy. Prior, she spent 22 years with the Council for A Better Louisiana (CABL), initially as Research and Policy Analyst and ultimately as Vice President.
In her current role, she plays a key role in public policy research, legislative tracking and bill drafting, election initiatives and other major organization programs.
She has also served as the director of the Leadership Louisiana program since 2012. First established in 1989, the program seeks to enhance the capacity of emerging and current Louisiana leaders to effectively address key public issues, it empowers civic-minded citizens to become involved in issues affecting their communities and the state.
Upon graduation from LSU, Blanchard moved to Washington, DC, and worked for the Congressional Management Foundation (CMF), a Capitol Hill non-profit organization offering management consulting services to congressional offices. Blanchard worked in several capacities during her four years at CMF. She assisted in preparation and research for management training programs and publications; internal management and coordination of fundraising activities; and authored several statistical analysis reports on House/Senate staff compensation and office benefits policies.
