Shreveport, La- After almost 22 years of serving the City of Shreveport, Stephen Jean was named the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Planning Commission at the public hearing meeting on Wednesday June 3, 2026. This comes after Stephen affectionately served as Interim Executive Director, beginning in December 2025 after the retirement of now former Executive Director Alan Clarke. But this was not Stephens first time serving as Interim Executive Director of the MPC as his first time was in 2014 ahead of Mark Sweenys appointment to Executive Director.

Over the years Stephen has diligently served the City of Shreveport, specifically in the MPC. He is a seasoned urban planner, former licensed architect and public sector executive as well as a certified member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

While voting ensued for the three options regarding the naming of the new Executive Director, Stephen Jean stepped out of the room to allow for neutral voting and deliberation.

These options included the following:

1. Hold a nation-wide search for an Executive Director to fill the role come September 1, 2026.

2. Hold a local search for an Executive Director to fill the role come September 1, 2026.

3. Promote the current Interim Executive Director to Executive Director effective immediately.

The outcome of the voting awarded Stephen, the position of Executive Director of the Metropolitan Planning Commission effective immediately. The news was presented to him as he returned to his seat.

“I’m overwhelmed, said Stephen I coined a phrase during a meeting, the word TEAM, I thought about it when we were speaking earlier. It stands for Together Everyone Achieves More, that’s what team means, we have a great team here, that includes the board and members of the community that we’ve worked with. We work together because we all want the same thing, the best for our city, and the parish. Thank you so much for your trust, your confidence and for allowing me to serve in this capacity because I never approached this position as an interim, I approached it as the Executive Director.”

When speaking with Winzer Andrews, the current Chairperson of the MPC Board, he had the following to say about the appointment of Stephen as Executive Director. “I have served the MPC for about 13 years; I was here before Charles Kirkland retired and through other subsequent directors. During those times, we depended on Stephen to keep the organization in forward motion while waiting for a new director to be named. In this day and time, the city could not have found a more knowledgeable and capable individual to lead this organization in a positive direction.”

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Contact: Myldred Ingram

Email: myldred.ingram@shreveportla.gov