Norma Jane Sabiston
Norma Jane Sabiston was a trusted advisor to Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and Mayors. However, she would tell you her most important legacy will be the hundreds of young leaders she mentored during her extraordinary 40-year career at the center of public policy in Louisiana and Washington, D.C. “NJ” as she was known to those who loved her, never forgot that it was not the powerful and well connected she was working for but the forgotten, left behind and hard working families of Louisiana and the country who needed her powerful voice and the voices of those she worked with.
Norma Jane served on the staff of Congressman Billy Tauzin and Senator John Breaux before engineering the historic election of Mary Landrieu as the first woman from Louisiana and the Deep South to serve in the United States Senate. After that election, NJ served as Landrieu’s Chief of Staff for 15 years before returning to New Orleans to set up the governmental relations firm. Her work for Senator Landrieu and the congressional delegation was key in securing billions of dollars of relief for Louisiana’s citizens and infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as numerous natural disasters. Optimism, focus, and determination were the hallmark traits she carried into every endeavor. Eternally stylish, her diminutive stature belied the steely strength she carried into every political fight and the causes she believed in since she was a young woman. NJ was the consummate dealmaker and would work tirelessly to bridge any gap that stood to block her goal. New Orleans was always at the center of everything NJ did. Whether it was working with her sister, Dottie Belletto, promoting the uniqueness of the city to organizations around the world, being the lead champion of the city’s arts programs in Congress, or working tirelessly to elect a progressive city leadership, she had a love for New Orleans that was unmatched.
Norma Jane was born July 20, 1955, the daughter of Norma Lyttle and Walter “Spec” Sabiston. NJ graduated from Marion Abramson Senior High, then attended the University of New Orleans where she majored in Political Science. She served on many boards where she worked on behalf of climate solutions, racial equity, youth leadership, and education. Most notably, she worked with the Audubon Commission, Louisiana Youth Seminar, E Pluribus Unum Institute and Fund, UNO Alumni Association, NORD Foundation, New Orleans Tricentennial Commission, LSU Health and Sciences Foundation, and Louisiana ArtWorks. Always committed to empowering women, she co-founded the Louisiana Center for Women in Government and Business Hall of Fame at Nicholls State University, where she was inducted in 2002.
Her legacy lives on through many of our public institutions and nonprofit entities that she dreamed of and helped to build.