Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness names outstanding alumni

Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness named Staci Albritton Mitchell and Garrett Sonnier the 2019 Outstanding Alumni.

Mayor Staci Albritton Mitchell is a successful, local business owner and has served as mayor of the city of West Monroe since March 2018. Mitchell received 60% of the vote and unseated a forty-year incumbent. She served as an alderman from August 2011 until taking office as mayor. She works tirelessly in the community and has served as chairman of the West Monroe West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce. She is involved in the West Monroe Kiwanis Club, the Downtown West Monroe Revitalization Group, the West Monroe High School Foundation, the Cancer Foundation League, First United Methodist Church, The Center for Families and Children and she serves on the board for Glenwood Regional Medical Center. Mitchell has a degree in Agricultural Economics from LSU. She is married to Jay Mitchell who is an assistant district attorney. They have four children and two grandsons.

 

Garrett Sonnier is an associate professor and the Zale Corporation Centennial Fellow at the University of Texas, Austin, McCombs School of Business. Sonnier was a strategic planning and research manager for Toyota Motor Sales where he constructed models for consumer behavior and managed demand forecast for electric and hybrid-electric vehicles in California. He was also a junior resource specialist with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Sonnier has a bachelor of science in Agricultural Economics, a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and Ph.D. in Marketing from UCLA.