Baton Rouge, LA - On July 02, 2024, Governor Jeff Landry announced the appointment of Joseph F. Toomy as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and Roderick Clark as the President of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.   

“I am proud to announce the appointment of Joseph Toomy as the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans and Roderick Clark as the President of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners. I am confident that with their background and experience, they will do great work for our State,” said Governor Jeff Landry.   

“It is indeed a privilege to be part of the leadership team for the Port of New Orleans as we continue the important work of creating more jobs and opportunities for our citizens. In order to maintain its role as a major economic driver for our region and state the Port of New Orleans must effectively utilize its resources to remain competitive in international commerce. As we embark on hiring a permanent CEO it is critical that our primary focus continue to be the development of the Louisiana International Terminal and its Transportation Corridor in order for Louisiana to remain competitive with Ports in other states,” said Joseph Toomy. “In addition, I will personally continue to encourage all the Ports on the Lower Mississippi River to coordinate their efforts in collaboration with the state’s economic development initiatives to expand international trade in Louisiana.” 

"I’m deeply honored and humbled to be asked by Governor Jeff Landry to serve as President of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.  With the Governor’s leadership and support, I will make every effort to assure the life, safety, and health of our fellow citizens. In addition, my goal for the agency is to provide efficient and effective service-oriented licensure to the many physicians and allied health licensees we the LSBME serve,” said Roderick Clark 

Background: 

Joseph F. Toomy 

Joseph F. Toomy graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Tulane University in 1971 and a Masters of Business Administration from Tulane University in 1973. He represented District 85 in the Louisiana State Legislature from 1984 until 2008. During that time, he was a senior college administrator at Delgado Community College and later an insurance broker. He served as chairman of the board of commissioner overseeing the Port of New Orleans from 2009-2014 and was again appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards in 2019 to present. 

Roderick Clark MD MBA 

Roderick Clark was born in Alexandria, La. He moved to Lafayette as a child and it has been his home ever since. He graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and was then selected for medical school at LSU New Orleans. After graduating medical school, he was accepted into the LSU Internal Medicine program at University Hospital and Clinics in Lafayette. He moved onto nephrology at the University of Mississippi. Upon completing the nephrology fellowship, he moved back home to Lafayette to practice.  

He was elected to the Lafayette Parish Medical Society Executive Committee and then became president in 2005 during Hurricane Katrina. He was appointmed to the Board of Governors of the Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS) as a counselor, served on many committees and later served as vice-president of the LSMS. He was nominated in 2014 by the LSMS and appointed by Governor Jindal to the Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME). He served on the LSBME for 10 years and was President during the challenging Covid years.

During these years, he became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a fellow of the American Society of Nephrology. Roderick pursued further education and received a Master’s in Business from the University of Texas in 2015. He was inducted into the AOA and received the Laureate award from the Louisiana chapter of the American College of Physicians last year.