Since 1987, Ms. Laborde has been the senior producer for the New Orleans PBS
station, WYES-TV, where she has developed, produced, and hosted documentaries
and in-studio productions about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. In addition to
“Canal Street: The Great Wide Way,” she has produced, narrated, or consulted for
over forty-five documentaries, including “Where New Orleans Shopped,” “The Lost
Restaurants of New Orleans,” “The French Quarter That Was,” “Mardi Gras: The
Passing Parade,” “Holy New Orleans!”, and “Streetcar Stories,” among others. She
also hosts Steppin' Out, New Orleans' only weekly arts and entertainment
review program, now in its nineteenth season, and winner of the New Orleans
Press Club Award in the Public Affairs category.
Prior to her work with WYES, Ms. Laborde worked as a general manager and
writer/producer at WLAE-TV in New Orleans (PBS) and at WDSU-TV (NBC affiliate)
in New Orleans. At both stations she produced documentaries about local history
as well as magazine programs about local events and personalities.
Ms. Laborde has been honored for both her community and professional work,
earning awards from the Press Club of New Orleans, the Mayor's Conference on
Women, the Public Relations Society of America, the American Council of Career
Women, and American Women in Radio and Television. Since the '80s she has been
active in the New Orleans community, from theater and the arts to revitalization
and conservation efforts. She has served as president of the Tennessee
Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival since 1992 and has held leadership
positions with the Arts Council of New Orleans, the Metropolitan Area Leadership
Forum, the New Orleans Coalition, the Mid-City Improvement Association, and the
Canal Street Area Service Association.
Ms. Laborde received her bachelor of arts degree in political science at the
University of New Orleans in 1975. She is married to Errol P. Laborde, the
editor of New Orleans Magazine and producer of the weekly television news
roundtable Informed Sources on WYES-TV, New Orleans. In addition to her interest in New Orleans, especially jazz and Mardi Gras, her hobbies include singing, theater, photography, and architectural preservation.
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