Tanisha S. Matthews, PHR

I ask for your vote to be the next employee representative of the State Civil Service Commission. I am committed to creating work environments where employees can succeed while feeling valued and respected. I believe the Civil Service Commission is uniquely positioned to support this work.

I have 22 years with the State of Louisiana. I began my state career in 2000 as a Cadet with DOC at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. I promoted to Human Resources and worked within DOC in an HR capacity from 2002 to 2021. In 2010, I became the first African American Human Resources Director of a major state agency, where I worked directly with State Civil Service, for 11 years. In 2021, I was appointed as Director to the newly created DOC Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

I was appointed by Governor Edwards to serve on the “State as a Model Employer” taskforce. I served as President of the State Human Resources Managers Association and Treasurer of the North American Association of Wardens and Superintendents. I am a long-standing member of several professional and law enforcement organizations.

I have a proven record of working with State Civil Service to meet the needs of DOC leadership and staff and I aim to continue that work for all state employees. I have served on the front lines as a Correctional Officer and worked in both management and leadership positions. I believe these varied experiences make me the best candidate to represent you and I ask for your vote.

Codi Neyland

Codi Neyland is a native of St. Amant, Louisiana, and currently serves as the Construction Coordinator for the Baton Rouge District Office with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. A 2010 LSU alum, Codi graduated with her B.S. in civil engineering and is a licensed Professional Engineer with over 12 years of state service and currently serves as the Baton Rouge District Board member representative for the Louisiana Society of Professional Engineers in Civil Service.

It is Codi’s position that civil servants need and deserve to have compensation befitting the current economic climate – that an inflation adjustment be added to the current pay structure. Civil Service does have a mechanism to have salaries increase with the cost of living. The 2018 compensation redesign was adopted in a low-inflation environment but has exacerbated this problem in the face of inflation, as it lowered the rate of pay increases for many state employees vs. the traditional model of 4% raises across the board. In light of this, we need a provision that will trigger when there is inflation above a set threshold (e.g., in excess of 5% in a one- calendar year period).