Rodney R. Watson is the Executive Director of the Louisiana Retired Teachers Association, a membership organization representing the interests and concerns of the retired educators of the state of Louisiana.  He was appointed to the position in June 2015.

Mr. Watson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Louisiana State University in Shreveport, with master’s plus 30 graduate hours from LSU Shreveport and Centenary College.  He started his teaching career in Bossier Parish schools, then served in administrative positions in both the Bossier and Caddo school systems.

In 1993, Mr. Watson moved to Baton Rouge and joined the staff of the Department of Education.   During his tenure, he served as Program Manager for the Job Training Partnership Act, Project Facilitator for the Louisiana Content Standards Development Project, and Director for the Division of School Standards, Accountability and Assistance.  In 2001, Mr. Watson was appointed as the assistant superintendent for the Office of Student and School Performance. In 2004, State Superintendent Cecil Picard appointed Mr. Watson as his Confidential Assistant, a position he held until 2007. As Confidential Assistant, Mr. Watson served ex-officio on a number of boards representing State Superintendent Picard, including the Board of Trustees of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana.

Mr. Watson later served as interim superintendent of the Caddo Parish School System, before returning to the Department of Education as the Assistant Superintendent of the Office of Educator Support in 2008.

After his retirement, Mr. Watson held teaching positions on the faculties of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and Tulane University until 2015.

Mr. Watson holds membership in many professional organizations, including the Louisiana and American Societies of Association Executives and the Association of State Retired Teacher Executives (ASRTE). He is past president of ASRTE.