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Justin and Marie Centanni joined Discover Lafayette to share their journey together and how they work as a team to support each other. Independently successful in their own fields, you'll hear in this interview how their loving bond makes each of them stronger to tackle the myriad of family, work, and political issues that come their way. Marie and Justin Centanni on their wedding day in 2004. The couple met while in college at a Kappa Alpha Rush party, and Marie jokingly added, "I'm 5'10". I looked over and saw a boy taller than me! He was well-dressed and smart," and Marie was impressed. They were friends for years and were married after she graduated with a Master in Legislative Affairs at the George Washington University in 2004. Marie's interest in politics stems back to her early college days as a Page in the Louisiana House of Representatives where when she met Cavan Bordelon who was a general assignments reporter for KLFY. He showed her how a full day of news could be broken down into "one piece of paper" that could be shared easily on the evening news. For the first time in her life, "I became so interested in state government and civic life, which had been so foreign to me in my own upbringing" in a family immersed in the medical field. She was hooked and went on to work at KLFY in Lafayette for two years and eventually at WAFB in Baton Rouge as a Capitol Correspondent. Marie had met Gov. Kathleen Blanco while she was at UL-Lafayette and had the honor of serving as her Press Secretary following the double-hit of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She spoke of Blanco's kindness and strength as well as how she cared for her staff members. Blanco's decision not to run for a second term as governor was a poignant one, as Marie stated, "She was the last bi-partisan governor that we'll see. The national party politics that focused on Louisiana (post-Katrina) divided our state and I don't know that we'll ever see that division come back together." With Blanco's retirement, Marie started Centanni Communications in 2009, where she helps people and organizations achieve their goals through targeted messaging and legislative strategy. Additionally, she serves as Director of Public Affairs at Louisiana Association of Business and Industry ("LABI"), where she calls upon her news skills to relay what's going on at the State Capitol in a precise, memorable, easily understand, and impactful way to its members. Marie also serves as Program Facilitator for the Council for a Better Louisiana's Leadership Louisiana. Marie and Justin Centanni at the groundbreaking of Southside High School. Justin Centanni is a graduate of Nicholls State University in Computer Information Systems, and the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in Natchitoches. He has worked with IBERIABANK since 2010 when he and Marie moved back to Lafayette, where they had always wanted to live. Working at the downtown branch, Justin is able to walk to work from the couple's Saints Street area home and he looks forward to doing that post-COVID. His current position is Assistant Vice President - Database Analyst for the bank, which is now a part of First Horizon. On his 37th birthday, Justin decided to run for Lafayette Parish School Board, and made that decision only one week before candidate qualifying time. It was a time of immense turmoil on the school board during the tenure of Superintendent Pat Cooper and people were ready for change-makers who could bring peace as well as stability to the budget. Justin's background in finance gave him the tools that were a good fit for the job. He turned to his wife, Marie, for help, and in the first big project they did together, she ran his campaign on a budget of $16,000 (half of which they self-financed with cash on hand). Justin campaigned door to door and shared the story of his children, then "6, 4 and 2 years of age" and how they would be public school students.