Stafford Olivia Palmieri competed in the New York City Marathon. Her goal: to average 10-minute miles to complete the race in less than four-and-a-half hours. There’s no doubt she’s come along way in a short time.

In October 2010, she threw her belongings in a U-Haul and drove 1,500 miles to trade in work at a Washington, D.C., think tank to become Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education and workforce policy advisor.

In December 2011, she was promoted to policy director. Her department of seven advisers is involved with anything to do with policy decisions and projects involving the Cabinet, communications, legal or operations teams. Her largest project was crafting the 2012 education reform legislation and shepherding the package through the state Legislature.

Palmieri’s impact on Baton Rouge extends beyond the Capitol. Despite her 70-hour workweek, she volunteers at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Center through the Junior League and has reinvigorated the Yale Alumni chapter.

The transplanted Northerner has gained an appreciation for the Bayou State—for more than its hospitable climate for year-round running. “I’m a kind of intense person; but, Louisiana mellowed me out a little,” she explains. “To [be around] people who love each other, love to do things for each other and love life can be a good complement [to that intensity].”

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