BATON ROUGE — Mayor-President Sid Edwards named Christel Slaughter as the permanent Chief Administrative Officer for East Baton Rouge Parish, the first woman to hold the position in four decades.

Slaughter had previously been serving as the interim CAO.

“Christel Slaughter is a proven leader who understands the complexities of government, values collaboration, and has an unwavering commitment to the people of East Baton Rouge Parish,” said Mayor-President Edwards.

The mayor's office said Slaughter has worked with the past four mayors-presidents, "bringing decades of experience in strategic planning, organizational management and executive leadership