Eric Dexter

Biography: In August 2023, I joined the Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) as the first Vice President of Civic Leadership Initiatives. In this role, I oversee major projects and implement initiatives aligned with BRAF's Opportunity Agenda, which is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, fostering regional resilience, strengthening neighborhoods, promoting healthier outcomes, advancing education, and driving economic prosperity. Before joining BRAF, I spent 8 ½ years as Vice President and Director of Business Development for Civil Solutions Consulting Group, a Baton Rouge-based civil engineering, surveying, and consulting firm. This role deepened my commitment to impactful infrastructure projects and community growth. I am deeply invested in community service, serving on boards, committees, and councils, including the Apex Collegiate Academy, Baton Rouge Area Chamber, Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, Brotherhood Sisterhood Committee, Capital Area United Way, Complete Streets Citizens Advisory Committee, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), Dialogue on Race Louisiana, Downtown Development District, Forum 35 (225), LABI, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Manship Theatre, Louisiana Slavery Ancestral Burial Preservation Commission, Ochsner Baton Rouge, Sustainable Transportation Action Committee, Urban Congress on African American Males, and the You Aren’t Alone Project. I value professional development and am a proud graduate of the Baton Rouge Area Leadership Program (2015), Forum 35’s John W. Barton, Sr. Community Development Leadership Program (2013), and the CABL Leadership Louisiana Program (2019). These experiences have refined my leadership skills and strengthened my commitment to community advocacy. My career honors include being named a Baton Rouge Business Report Forty Under 40 honoree (2015); LABI’s Young Businessperson-Free Enterprise Champion (2016); a Boys & Girls Club of Greater Baton Rouge Great Futures Gala Honoree (2017); one of the 'Capital Region's 100 Most Influential Black Men' by the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce (2022); a Baton Rouge Area Volunteer Activist by the Emerge Center (2022); a "Capital Region 500" Leader by the Baton Rouge Business Report (2023, 2024); and the WTS Greater Baton Rouge Honorable Ray LaHood Man of the Year (2023). Originally from Alexandria, Louisiana, I earned a degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing from Northwestern State University. This foundation shaped my professional journey and passion for meaningful change.