Joanne Lyles White

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, White worked with the Louisiana Governors Office to investigate discrepancies between the treatment of incarcerated women and juveniles. When she was in her late 70s, White was chair of the Rapides Parish Workforce Investment Board.

In the 1980s, White helped to establish the Hope House, a shelter for battered women and their children; the Shepherd Center, an ecumenical ministry for the poor and dispossessed; and Angel Care, a charity that provided services and resources to the parents of disabled children. In the early 1990s, President George H. W. Bush named the Hope House as one of his 1,000 Points of Light.

In 1951, Joanne Lyles married Paul Donald White. Together, they had six children.

In 1950, White graduated from LSU with a Bachelors in Science in Speech and Social Studies. While at LSU, White was a founding member of the Delta Gamma sorority. In 1999, White earned a certificate from the Harvard School of Divinity's Summer Leadership Program.

White was first inspired to service as a young girl, after reading Pearl Buck's accounts of peasant life in rural China. She began her career as a teacher at Bolton High School, and she taught history and coached debate from 1950 until her retirement in 1963.

Lillian Joanne Lyles White (September 12, 1929 – March 9, 2011), known as Joanne White, was an American philanthropist, teacher, humanitarian, and social entrepreneur from Alexandria in Rapides Parish, who founded and co-founded several non-profit organizations and service agencies in Central Louisiana, including Angel Care, the Hope House, the Shepherd Center, Rapides Parish Habitat for Humanity, the Central Louisiana Food Bank, Care and Share, and Christmas Cheer for Children. Mrs. White was a founding member and first President of the Louisiana High School Speech League and the Tournament of Champions. Mrs. White also helped to create the Kuumba Center, the Wally White Lecture Series, and Aiken Option School. In 2011, following her death, White was specifically commended as one of "Louisiana's finest daughters" by the Louisiana House of Representatives.