Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas

Boo is a visionary leader with experience in neighborhood-scale local community planning and redevelopment as well as statewide public participation and policy efforts. Well versed in local community planning activities, she has led neighborhood redevelopment efforts in Baton Rouge since obtaining her Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from LSU. As the former head of Plan Baton Rouge and the Mid-City Redevelopment Alliance, Boo has been an advocate for smart growth in Louisiana throughout her career.

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, she led CPEX in facilitating the Louisiana Speaks recovery process. This was the largest planning effort ever undertaken in Louisiana and set national records for public participation. The process resulted in the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan. Until her retirement in 2018, Boo continued to build on that plan, overseeing CPEX’s planning efforts in parishes across the state.At CPEX, Boo also secured funding from the EPA Smart Growth program to help Louisiana communities create and implement plans that support the regional vision, allowing CPEX to allocate funding, technical support and other resources to over 15 parishes’ comprehensive planning efforts. She led the successful transition from a grant-funded structure to membership, grant and consultant based funding strategy for CPEX. She catalyzed the formation of the CONNECT Coalition that promotes regional transit, accompanied by smart and equitable housing investments, and led the Old South Baton Rouge strategic plan implementation and redevelopment.

As the Executive Director of Plan Baton Rouge, Boo directed the comprehensive planning effort for the redevelopment of downtown Baton Rouge, coordinating state officials, city officials, project designers and private sector stakeholders; reviewed feasibility and led implementation of 104 projects, representing over $1.8 billion in public and private investment; contributed to the completion of the Old South Baton Rouge neighborhood plan that focused on revitalization and integrating mixed-income housing and multi-use development in a historic but disinvested community located between downtown and Louisiana State University.