Michelle Courseault
French Quarter Management District
Executive Director
Assumed New Position: October 2024
Michelle Courseault could not have picked a busier time to start her new job as executive director of the French Quarter.
In just her first six months on the job, from October 2024 to March 2025, the Quarter played host to the highest grossing musical tour of all time, the 2025 Allstate Sugar Bowl, the 2025 Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. Heartbreakingly, it was also the site of a deadly terrorist attack that resulted in 15 deaths and 57 injuries, grabbing worldwide attention.
All of the action and chaos, however, has not fazed Courseault, a self-proclaimed “relationship cultivator,” whose position as executive director of the French Quarter Management District involves overseeing a $8.5 million budget and 13-member board of commissioners and working to balance the needs of both commercial and residential stakeholders of an area that drew more than 17 million tourists in 2023.
The Quarter’s recent Super Bowl glow up — many of the city’s 500 improvement projects were here — is something Courseault is determined to build upon.
“The opportunity right now is to harness that momentum: to raise our visibility by highlighting the tangible progress we’ve already made, to deepen trust through transparency and responsible stewardship of funds, and to build even stronger collaborations,” she said.
The FQMD has accomplished a long list of objectives in the past few years, including starting weekly free glass recycling for residents, creating a Supplemental Police Patrol that adds 10,000 police hours to the Quarter each year, creating a FQ Task Force app that allows people to report incidents in real time, installing 100 new iron trash cans throughout the area, creating a Mardi Gras bead recycling program and completing pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements on Rampart Street.
In November 2024, the FQMD also began efforts to inspect, repair and if needed replace approximately 985 streetlights. The massive undertaking is expected to continue until February 2026.
It’s not easy or cheap work, but it is important, which is why Courseault noted that educating residents on the importance of the “Quarter for the Quarter” sales tax renewal that directly sustains funding for FQMD is one of her top priorities before voting on the ballot measure occurs in November.
Courseault said she’s embracing the challenges each day brings in a job that is so critical to the city’s livelihood.
“While I’ve had many proud moments in my career,” she said, “I wonder if some of the most meaningful accomplishments may still lie ahead in this role.”
“My work with FQMD reaches far beyond just the French Quarter. It touches the lives of residents, supports local businesses, and shapes the experience of approximately 14 to 16 million tourists each year. This isn’t just local work—it’s work on a global stage in the heart of New Orleans and a major economic driver for the state of Louisiana.”
