New Orleans Lawyer and Iraq War Veteran Appointed to Board of Directors of West Point
President Biden Appoints Roderick “Rico” Alvendia, to the Board of Directors for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
NEW ORLEANS – (Apr. 20, 2022) The President of the United States has appointed New Orleans Attorney and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, Roderick “Rico” Alvendia, to the Board of Directors of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. President Biden selected Alvendia to serve a three-year term on the board, wherein he will advise the President on the ongoing status and morale of the U.S. Military Academy.
Since 1802, West Point has educated and trained future officers to lead in the U.S. Army, and Alvendia will serve on its historic 200-year-old Board of Directors alongside senior members of Congress, including U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, U.S. Senator Richard Burr, and fellow Iraq War veteran U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
“I am honored and humbled to serve our great nation once again on this important bi-partisan Board. I appreciate the trust and confidence of President Biden in selecting me for this opportunity, especially during such challenging times around the globe. The men and women of West Point are central to our country’s future leadership at home and abroad,” said Alvendia.
Alvendia served honorably as an Army Officer for 25 years and received the Bronze Star Medal for his service during combat operations in Iraq in 2005 with the Louisiana National Guard 256th Brigade Combat Team, where he was part of an international team of lawyers who assisted Iraqi prosecutors in their criminal trials against insurgents.
A Loyola Law School graduate, Alvendia dedicates his time to raising his son, Noah, and co-managing The Alvendia, Kelly and Demarest Law Firm, while also helping Louisiana Veterans in need. In 2013, together with other Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, Alvendia started the Legion of Mars Mardi Gras Krewe, the first New Orleans carnival organization established to honor U.S. military veterans and their families. Alvendia and the Mars Krewe have since helped thousands of local veterans while deployed or in financial hardship.
Alvendia stated that he is proud to represent his fellow New Orleanians and Louisianans and will continue to help local veterans as he serves on the Board of Visitors. Alvendia will continue working at his law firm and remain based in New Orleans while traveling to New York and Washington D.C. throughout his three-year Presidential Appointment.
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu
Publisher — Black Source Media
Jeff Thomas
Publisher • Opinion Columnist • Licensed General Contractor • Real Estate Appraiser • New Orleans
Jeff Thomas is the publisher of Black Source Media and one of New Orleans’ most direct voices on civic affairs, economic justice, and Louisiana politics. He writes from the intersection of experience and accountability — as a licensed general contractor,a tech company founder and executive with over 30 years experience, and a businessman who has worked across the city’s civic, media, and construction ecosystems for decades.
His Sunday column covers Louisiana legislative politics, insurance discrimination, housing policy, and the forces shaping Black community life in New Orleans and across the state. Thomas writes in the tradition of Black journalists who hold power accountable without apology — building arguments from data, delivering verdicts from evidence, and speaking to Black New Orleans with the directness the moment demands.
He is also the principal of EA Inspection Services, LLC, a government inspection services company. Black Source Media is his platform for the civic conversation New Orleans has needed and too rarely had.
Selected Articles by Jeff Thomas
Black Neighborhoods Pay the Highest Insurance Rates in Louisiana. Here’s What They Don’t Want You to Know.
They Didn’t Yell the N-Word. They Went to Law School, Bided Their Time, and Rewrote the Constitution Instead.
Vappie vs. Morrell: Why Does Justice Look Different in New Orleans?
The State Has the Money. New Orleans East Just Needs Them to Use It.
The Failure of Mitch Landrieu