Conference Participant
Andy Kopplin
First Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer, City of New Orleans
Andy Kopplin has served as First Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer since May 3, 2010. In this capacity, he oversees the day-to-day operational functions of City Hall. The Deputy Mayor also leads the Mayor’s effort to improve the performance of city government, and the Mayor’s charge to return the city to fiscal stability. Kopplin previously worked at Teach For America from 2008 - 2010, where he most recently served as senior advisor to the Founder & CEO. From October 2006-January 2008, Mr. Kopplin served as Founding Executive Director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), the agency charged with leading the state’s recovery efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, where he developed the strategy and built the bipartisan coalitions that more than doubled congressional appropriations for Louisiana's rebuilding, from $13 billion to $28 billion. Before heading the LRA, Kopplin was Chief of Staff to two consecutive Louisiana governors, Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Republican M.J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. He joined Foster’s staff in 1996 as Policy Director, and in that role led the pioneering effort to create the state’s community college system by building a collation of Republicans, Democrats, business, labor, educators, and students. Mr. Kopplin holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University; a master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and is a 1986 Harry S. Truman Scholarship winner.