Debi Benoit serves as Director of Research and Sponsored Programs at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. Debi is responsible for managing all University research, including grant development, contracts, compliance, intellectual property, technology transfer, and serving as liaison with government and industry in support of economic development.
Debi began her career at Nicholls in 2003 after having served as the grant writer the Terrebonne Parish School System. In 1992, she and Pamela DuPont invented and patented the SafteyNet™ Medical Protective Garment, still used today by medical professionals in Louisiana Hospitals.
Debi has served as a federal grant reviewer for the US Department of Education since 1998, as a Louisiana State Program Evaluator for the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, as chair of the BESE Advisory Board, and the state Leadership Vice-Chair for the Louisiana Center for Women in Government and Business. She is currently Executive Director of the Assumption Education Foundation, appointed by Governor Jindal as a member of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, and was elected to the Terrebonne Parish School Board in 2010. She was the first female elected to the nine member board in over 16 years.
A native of New Orleans, Debi graduated with a BA in Business and Economics from Nicholls State University, completed a concentration in Grants and Program Evaluation from the University of New Orleans and holds an M. Ed. from NSU in Education Administration.
In 2011, Debi was honored as a Woman of Achievement for her contribution to Women’s History at Nicholls State University.