We are excited to be bringing you a great lineup of experienced and talented education law professionals for this year's conference! To learn more about each one keep reading below.

Nathan Roberts

Professor
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Nathan M. Roberts is a Professor in Education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He earned both his law degree and his Ph. D. from Louisiana State University. Nathan is a former school board attorney who teaches masters and doctoral courses in school law, organizing the learning environment, and legal liability in tourism, sports and recreation. His research focuses on legal issues that affect educational leaders. He served as the chair of the educational leadership program redesign for the college and on the Ed. D. design team with UL Lafayette and SELU.

Over the past five years Nathan has co-edited 3 books and written numerous book chapters, and refereed journal articles, and also conducted presentations in five states and at the Education Development Center, Inc. & The Wallace Foundation Practitioner’s Forum regarding the efforts in Louisiana to redesign educational leadership programs including the lessons learned at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He is a Louisiana Mediator for Special Education cases, a former Due Process Hearing Officer, and a frequent presenter at the national Education Law Association conference, the Louisiana Athletic Directors meeting, and the state Super Conference on Exceptional Children. He is also a founding board member of the non-profit National SAMs Innovation Project that is found in over 800 schools in 22 states.

Amanda Mayeaux

Associate Professor 
Coordinator, Ed.D Program
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Amanda Shuford Mayeaux is an associate professor in the Educational Foundations and Leadership department and the coordinator for the Ed.D. program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has been an educator for over thirty years on a variety of campuses spanning grades Pre-K through 12 across several districts and contexts from teacher to administration. Her diverse career has allowed her to understand, regardless of the circumstances, that an expert educator can change the life of a child and a group of expert educators can change the world.

Her research interests include expertise in teaching, motivation factors, professional learning, change process, school culture, and effective leadership. Currently, she is driven to assist students and schools in increasing ACT scores and awareness of post-secondary opportunities. Dr. Mayeaux's books, TeamWork: Setting the Standard for Collaborative Teaching and Expertise in Every Classroom: Guidelines to Bridging Research and Practice focus on expert teaching. She has several academic publications on effective teaching and learning in leading journals and puts theory into practice with her work with schools and districts.

Dr. Mayeaux received the Rayma Harchar Outstanding Research Paper Award from the Louisiana Educational Research Association in 2014 for her dissertation research. Dr. Mayeaux has won several national teaching awards, including the Milken Educator Award in 2003 and Disney's Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 2006, along with her teaching team partners, Monique Wild and Kathryn Edmonds. Her undergraduate degree is from Northwestern State University. She also has a master degree in Curriculum and Instruction and another in Educational Leadership, both from Louisiana State University. Her doctorate is in Educational Leadership from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Joey Mayeaux

Retired Major
Uniform Patrol/Traffic Division 
Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office

Captain Joey Mayeaux is a FBI National Academy graduate with over over 32 years of law enforcement service. He retired from the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2018 rising from the rank of deputy to Major. In his last command position, he leads over 100 people in the Patrol, Traffic, and School Security Officers divisions. He is responsible for policy-making and implementation in his divisions. Captain Mayeaux’s experience includes working undercover operations in the Narcotics Division and leadership positions in the Patrol Division. He is responsible for the operation Field Training Officer program, which is a four-month training program where new deputies receive additional training and final evaluation before being allowed to serve independently. He currently works with the St. Martin Sheriff's Office as a firearms instructor.

Captain Mayeaux created, wrote, and managed a federal grant, which funded the Street Crimes team for nine years. This unit targeted the eradication of street-level narcotics in Ascension Parish. Additionally, he was a member of the Crisis Response Team (SWAT) with the primary role of team sniper and entry team member. Captain Mayeaux also created and ran the APSO Go Team, which was a small unit used for special assignments, including high risk warrants, security for high risk court cases, surveillance teams, and targeted narcotics operations. He has extensive training experience including assisting in running and managing the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office Training Facility. His certifications include POST/FBI Firearms instructor, PRISM instructor and a chemical weapons instructor.

Captain Mayeaux began his career with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office and worked for the Louisiana State University Police. He is a Louisiana POST Academy graduate and a completed four years in the United States Marine Corp where he held the position of Platoon Sergeant. He is a former Assistant Scout Master for the Boy Scouts of America and serves in his local church. Captain Mayeaux and his wife are the proud parents of three children, including a Ragin’ Cajun graduate student and a Ragin' Cajun sophomore.