When Cheri Ausberry first moved to Baton Rouge from her native New Orleans in 2001, her boss at then Hibernia National Bank suggested she get involved in the community.
“Kyle Waters told me to volunteer for different boards and really get to know the community,” Ausberry recalls. “He said there was a lot of great things going on in Baton Rouge, and that I needed to get to know it.”
Ausberry, now 54, hit the ground running in the Capital City, working in community reinvestment and economic development during a 13-year stint in banking. She subsequently moved into health care, serving as director of community development and government relations for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Last summer, she transitioned to the utilities sector. As customer service manager for Entergy, Ausberry works with municipalities, educational and health care institutions and business and industry on utility and expansion plans, as well as ensuring these entities receive support during disasters and weather events.
“That’s ultimately what gives me motivation, the idea of using what a company does to improve quality of life in our community,” Ausberry says. “When that happens in any sector, it’s better for everyone.”
Ausberry recently received the D. Jensen Holliday Award for extraordinary leadership and exemplary service for her work on the Baton Rouge Area Chamber board, where she serves as chair of the diversity and inclusion committee. Ausberry led BRAC’s canvas trip to Cincinnati in 2018, and helped bring a procurement opportunity program for diverse businesses to the city of Baton Rouge. Being involved in the community has helped Ausberry appreciate diverse perspectives, she says.
“Being on the ground, and looking through the lens of a business owner, or a patient or doctor, or a person who wants to be self-sufficient, it’s so important,” she says. “You have to put yourself in their place and ask, ‘what can we do as an organization to help them reach this goal?’ It makes their experience as a customer better, and that creates a better business and a better community.”
Read more about Ausberry from the latest edition of Business Report.
