Yolanda Dixon may hold the title of secretary of the Louisiana Senate, but to her colleagues in the state and across the nation, she’s also a trusted leader and friend.
Dixon
“Very few people have the ability to model professionalism the way that Yolanda does,” Louisiana House Clerk Michelle Fontenot says. “She has high standards for her own work—to always be prepared, and always professional. That’s what draws people to her.”
Oregon Senate Secretary Obie Rutledge agrees. He met Dixon through their involvement in the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, one of NCSL’s nine professional staff associations. “Yolanda demonstrates the power and effectiveness of quiet leadership and is highly respected by her colleagues, members and the society,” Rutledge says.
Dixon grew up in Louisiana, the daughter of educators and one of four children. Her father served as president of Grambling State University and Talladega College, and her mother was an elementary school teacher and guidance counselor. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder while her father sought a doctorate there. Dixon returned to her home state to obtain her law degree from Southern University Law School in Baton Rouge and began her legislative career in 1988 as counsel to the Senate Education Committee, following a role in the Louisiana attorney general’s office. “In those early years, it was always exciting and interesting,” Dixon says. “And I always had the opportunity to move upward.”
Her advancement brought her into key roles in redistricting and confirmations, and introduced her to Glenn Koepp, who became secretary of the Senate in 2004. One of his first moves? He named his longtime colleague Dixon as his first assistant. When Koepp retired in 2020, the Senate unanimously chose Dixon as his successor.
Profiles in Service: Legislative Staff
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, NCSL is running a special series of profiles highlighting the invaluable contributions of legislative staffers across the nation. Each of NCSL’s nine professional staff associations chose staffers who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, creativity and impact in their legislative roles. We’re publishing the profiles throughout NCSL’s 50th anniversary year. To read more profiles, visit Profiles in Service: Legislative Staff.
Koepp encouraged Dixon’s participation in NCSL and the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries, or ASLCS. “It’s a smaller group of people who really understand what you’re doing and what you’re going through, and that’s unique,” Dixon says. “I made friends and was happy to do the work that was really relevant to what I was doing in my own professional life.”
Those ASLCS friends describe her as modest, humble and quietly groundbreaking.
“Yolanda’s resume is impressive, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. She’s shattered a lot of glass,” Rutledge, the Oregon Senate secretary, says. Dixon is the first woman to serve as secretary of the Louisiana Senate and served as the first Black female president of ASLCS.
Dixon “is the Senate’s legislative resource and conductor who ensures every senator is on solid ground in the performance of their Senate roles and responsibilities,” Louisiana Sen. Joseph Bouie Jr. says. “She is a reservoir of knowledge related to parliamentary procedures, Senate rules, protocol and processes of the legislative upper chamber.”
Dixon and Fontenot, the Louisiana House clerk, assumed their offices on the same day, which, coincidentally, their predecessors did as well. Six weeks into their new roles, COVID-19 hit.
“There was so much confusion about what we could do and what we had to do in terms of legislative procedure. We had to manage something that no one really saw coming,” Fontenot says. “During that chaotic period, Yolanda and I established a working relationship. We spoke every day and continue to do so.”
When Louisiana hosted the NCSL Legislative Summit in 2014, Dixon says the meeting “opened my eyes” to more of what the organization does. She became more active in NCSL, earning a spot on the Executive Committee and, in the past year, serving as president of ASLCS. She appreciates how her peers in other states help each other. She currently chairs NCSL’s Mason’s Manual Commission, which updates the legislative parliamentary “bible” every 10 years, making sure rules and procedures are accurate and in step with the times.
She appreciates her interactions with NCSL staff and the connections they’ve helped her make with her legislative colleagues. “When I’ve had questions for NCSL staff, they’ve always come through. And that’s helped me and made me look smarter.”
She recalls a time, after work hours, when her senators needed a rule change to enact the next morning. “I was able to call the assistant clerk in Virginia who, of course, answered my call even though it was 8 p.m., and then sent me information. I was able to do the rule, which we adopted the next day. That’s an example of how valuable relationships are and the advantages of all of the resources that an organization like NCSL provides.”
Learning to Be Flexible
Still, Dixon says her focus remains squarely on the institution itself. “There are challenges and attacks on the institution, which are challenging and frustrating. I think the challenge right now is learning how to be flexible. We must adapt to serve today’s members without compromising our foundations.”
She’s also grateful for the relationships built over decades of public service. “These are people I grew up with. We’ve gone through life together.”
Fontenot praises Dixon’s ability to blend tradition with innovation. “Yolanda works hard to maintain the traditions of the Senate, while also working to modernize how the work is done.”
Their friendship and professional bond run deep, Fontenot says. “I could not ask for a better partner in my work for the Louisiana House of Representatives. Yolanda is more than a colleague to me. She is a trusted adviser and great friend. I rely on her for an honest assessment, and I have learned a great deal from her.”
Fontenot also looks forward to their end-of-session lunch. “We have a couple of laughs about the chaos, you know, the late nights, the funny things that happen on the floor. We reserve that time to close out that session, have a couple of laughs, decompress—and then get right back to work.”
Gene Rose is NCSL’s former communication director. He retired from NCSL in 2023.