From July 20-22, more than 1,000 chamber of commerce leaders from around the U.S. and Canada will be in Downtown New Orleans for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) annual conference. Our own New Orleans Chamber is playing host to this gathering of influential economic executives and President and CEO Sandra Lindquist is excited to roll out the welcome mat. She shares the big NOLA news she’s most excited to brag about and how one event in particular they’ll be hosting was inspired by the most recent Super Bowl festivities.
about
Sandra Lombana Lindquist has over 30 years of experience in economic and community development in the New Orleans region. She earned her B.A. in Business & Latin American Affairs from the University of Texas and has a master’s degree from Tulane University. She is currently the President & CEO at the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce.
Sandra has a passion for promoting women’s networking in the workforce. She is the creator of the first women’s collaborative conference, a full day professional development conference for women, which launched in 2019. She is the co-creator of the Chamber’s Women’s Business Alliance; a co-founder of the original Women & Wine on Wednesday in which she & her colleagues were recognized as “People to Watch – 2007” by New Orleans Magazine.
In 2015, Sandra was chosen as one of five locals to represent the New Orleans business community to visit Japan and discuss the importance of resiliency post disasters like Hurricane Katrina, and she was nominated as one of 50 women for New Orleans CityBusiness’ Women of the Year in 2015 and again in 2023. In 2016, she represented the New Orleans Chamber in Leadership Louisiana and graduated from Delgado’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program, an intensive educational program which teaches techniques for running a successful business. Sandra completed her accreditation as a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) in 2018 making her the only practicing chamber executive in the State of Louisiana with this accreditation. In 2020, Sandra was named Top Female Achiever by New Orleans Magazine and Women to Watch by Biz New Orleans in 2022. In 2025 she was nominated by CityBusiness as one of the Power 50, the top fifty professionals who have made an impact in our community with energy and innovative ideas; and by Biz Magazine as one of the New Orleans 500 which includes influential, involved, and inspiring business leaders. Most recently she was named as a Women to Watch by Biz New Orleans.
Sandra is a graduate of the inaugural class of the New Orleans Regional Institute (NORLI) and the Jefferson Chamber Leadership Institute. She has sat on various boards and committees including the Louisiana Industrial Development Executive Association (LIDEA), Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI) the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is currently on the board of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and the past president for the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce Executives (LACCE).
Sandra is married to Eric Lindquist and has a 14 year old son, Colt Lindquist.
