Cindy Bishop

I started my career at age 19 with the Louisiana Dental Association, working for 1,700 dentists for 13 years. After leaving there, I started my own company, Checkmate Strategies, and that's when I went into the public policy arena. Throughout my 31 years in this field, I've worked mostly in healthcare and childcare, but I've also lobbied for several different types of industries including meat processors, athletic trainers, the American Cancer Society, and the National Highway Safety Administration. Some of my proudest accomplishments include passing a bill to ban smoking in restaurants, which gave people the ability to go to restaurants without worrying about having an asthma attack or emphysema, and passing the primary seatbelt law. When I got hired to do that bill, only 37% of Louisiana citizens wore their seatbelts, and now that number is closer to 90%. Right now I'm working with Ambulatory surgery centers throughout the state of Louisiana to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates. I worked for 20 years on public policy for early care and education for childcare education. Although I may never do something transformative like invent an iPhone or develop a vaccination, my ability to shape public policy in a way that helps people and changes their lives for the good is a wonderful feeling. I can lay my head on the pillow at night and rest well knowing that the efforts of my work are not going unnoticed and that they change the world we live in.