Monique Marie Edwards was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards as the Commissioner of Conservation and was the first woman to hold the position until February of 2024. The Office of Conservation is located within the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR) and has the statutory authority to regulate all oil and gas activities in the state. The staff of over one-hundred-eighty-five (185) includes geologists, engineers, GIS, and attorneys. Under her leadership the office collected over $1 million in penalties; the most the office had ever collected. Ms. Edwards previously served as a Visiting Professor at the Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she taught Louisiana Obligations, Common law contracts, State and Local Government, Professional Responsibility and Law Office Practice. Previously, she was appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal as the first African American secretary of the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board and Assistant Secretary for the Office of Mineral Resources also in LDNR. As Assistant Secretary Ms. Edwards managed a staff of seventy-two (72) employees consisting of auditors, geologists, accountants, engineers and GIS professionals. The Office of Mineral Resources has the statutory authority to lease, manage and audit oil and gas exploration and production activities on state owned lands and water bottoms.

A Louisiana native, Attorney Edwards has served as counsel to the Louisiana House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources and Environment. This committee has oversight over Louisiana Departments of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources and Wildlife & Fisheries. Prior to that, she was the managing member of Edwards, Valdez and Ellis, LLC of Orlando, Florida, in charge of the business law and governmental relations areas. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s Dominican College formerly in New Orleans and received her Juris Doctor from the Southern University Law Center on May 10, 1986 in Baton Rouge. She continues to serve as the principal of The Edwards Law Group, LLC.

Her activities include being a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Louisiana Advisory Committee, Junior League of Baton Rouge, the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the National Panhellenic Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Inc., the Catholic Charities for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Advisory Board and the Diocesan School Board for the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Ms. Edwards is a member of both the Louisiana State Bar Association and The Florida Bar. Her service to the LSBA includes past Chair of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Committee, a member of the Committee on the Profession and she serves as a mentor for new lawyers. Her professional affiliations include being a member of the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute Advisory Council, being the first African American woman to be a member; the National Bar Association where she was selected to serve on the Centennial Commission to commemorate the establishment of the organization in 1925; and the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society of Greater Baton Rouge. Previously, Ms. Edwards served as the Louisiana state representative to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC). She was appointed by the Chair, Governor Mark Gordon of Wyoming to the Operational Finance Committee and serves as Vice Chair of the IOGCC Legal and Regulatory Affairs Standing Committee.