Matthew Willard
Matthew Willard is an American politician serving as a member of the New Orleans City Council since January 12, 2026. He previously served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 97th district.
Early life and education
Willard was born and raised in New Orleans. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from the University of New Orleans.Career
From 2012 to 2016, Willard worked as an account executive at Schulkens Communications. He then joined Fluence Analytics, working as a growth specialist and later senior manager for marketing and communications. He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in November 2019 and assumed office on January 13, 2020.In December 2023 Willard was elected as leader of the House Democratic caucus.
Willard was selected as a Future Caucus Innovation Fellow for the 2024 Healthcare Innovation and 2025-2026 Prenatal-to-Three cohorts for young legislators invested in building bipartisan policy to address key healthcare issues.
Willard resigned from the Louisiana House in January 2026 after being elected to the New Orleans City Council.