A New Orleans native, Cheryl Landrieu is a lawyer, author and founder of the New Orleans Book Festival. Cheryl has a long history supporting strategic community initiatives in New Orleans, most recently focused on literacy and advocacy for the advancement of women and girls.
Recognizing her passion for children and reading, Cheryl partnered with civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges in 2010 to found the New Orleans Children’s Book Festival, now the New Orleans Book Festival, an annual event that has hosted over 80 authors and 5,000 readers. Shortly thereafter, Cheryl founded GirlUpNOLA in partnership with the City of New Orleans to promote the importance of all girls and young women in the community. The initiative provided opportunities for girls to explore their passions and created networks of support as they worked to achieve successful futures.
In 2017, in commemoration of the Tricentennial of the City of New Orleans, Cheryl raised capital and managed an extensive renovation of Gallier Hall, the former City Hall of New Orleans and a national historic landmark. In conjunction with this project, she published a historical work detailing the building’s notable presence in city history.
Cheryl started her career in the law, first in private practice, then at the Louisiana state appellate courts for over 25 years and finally as the Clerk of Court for the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal.
She graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Sociology and later earned a Juris Doctor from Loyola College of Law. Cheryl is wife to Mitch Landrieu and mother to five grown children.