Today, Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret announced that Kristy McKearn has been appointed as LED’s new undersecretary. She will start Monday, Aug. 3. In this role, McKearn will be responsible for business incentive services, including management of staff functions for the Board of Commerce ‘Industry and the Louisiana Economic Development Corp.; accounting and budget control; procurement and contract management; human resources; program analysis; business recovery services; and legislative relations.“We are excited Kristy has accepted our invitation to serve in an important role in Gov. Jindal’s administration. Her impressive skills and experience make her very well positioned to help lead our team at LED,” said Moret.McKearn currently is senior vice president of governmental affairs for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, or BRAC, where she is responsible for leading all aspects of BRAC’s governmental advocacy efforts at the federal, state and local levels. Prior to BRAC, she served as a public policy advisor at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell ‘Berkowitz. McKearn also served as chief strategic officer/vice president of business operations for the New Orleans Hornets, and worked as a policy analyst in the office of former Gov. Mike Foster.In addition to her professional accomplishments, McKearn has completed all of the required coursework and written exams for her doctorate in political science from Louisiana State University. She also holds a master’s degree in public administration from LSU and a bachelor’s of arts in political science from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She completed an executive education program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.