Veterans Day program set for Nov. 10

Kent Laborde, a member of the Class of 1987, will deliver the keynote address during the program set for 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in Treen Auditorium.

Laborde earned a B.A. from the Louisiana Scholars’ College at Northwestern State University in 1991 and an M.A. from the University of Maryland in 2008.

In his civilian life, Laborde is a foreign affairs specialist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He works on international cooperation on environmental issues ranging from protecting marine resources to building climate resiliency.

In previous assignments, he worked at the Pentagon where he helped to incorporate impacts from environmental change on regional stability into long-term strategic defense planning.

Laborde is a lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve, where he currently serves as a public affairs officer on the headquarters staff of the United States European Command. He has also served as the senior NATO advisor for communications for the National Police and Army of Afghanistan, helped build security cooperation among coastal African nations and taught communications at the Naval War College.

He began his military career as a United States Marine, where he served two tours of duty in Haiti on intelligence and civil affairs missions.

For more information  call Karen Townsend at 357-2580 or email her at ktownsend@lsmsa.edu.