Transition Team Co-Chairs

AYAME DINKLER

Principal, Crane Strategies, LLC

Ayame Dinkler is a strategic advisor and public-policy expert with more than 20 years of experience in government affairs, healthcare leadership, and coalition building. She is the Principal of Crane Strategies, LLC, which she founded in 2023 to help organizations navigate complex operational and financial challenges. Previously, she served as Chief Administrative Officer for LCMC Health, a nine-hospital nonprofit health system in New Orleans, where she oversaw government relations, innovation, and strategic partnerships.


Her career includes senior roles in federal and local government, including service as Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Chief of Staff for the City of New Orleans Health Department. She began her public service on Capitol Hill.

She serves on boards including Louise S. McGehee School, WWNO Public Radio, YouthForce NOLA, the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation, Eden Centers for Hope and Healing, and the ADL South Central Chapter. Ayame and her husband, Carling, live in the Fontainebleau-Marlyville neighborhood with their 8-year-old daughter, Ansley.