John Paul Funes serves as the Business and Industry Liaison for Parole Project. He has served in business and volunteer leadership positions throughout his career. Unfortunately, his greatest failure is what he is best known for. In 2019, he was sentenced to 33 months at FCC Terre Haute (a federal prison in Indiana) for one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
Prior to his incarceration, John Paul served as President/CEO of Our Lady of the Lake (OLOL) Foundation for 11 years. His primary focus at OLOL Foundation was raising funds to build a freestanding Children’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. Previously, he served as the Administrator of OLOL Children’s Hospital. He served on the National Diversity Advisory Board at Louisiana State University as well as on the Center for Planning Excellence Board of Directors. Additionally, he was a Board Member of the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge and a member of the Kiwanis Club of Baton Rouge. He served for nine years on the Board of Directors for Special Olympics Louisiana and for ten years as the Volunteer Director for the Special Olympics Indoor Games in Baton Rouge. In 2012, he was awarded the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Unsung Hero Award by the Louisiana State University Office of Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach.
He holds a master’s degree in healthcare administration and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Louisiana State University. He is married to Ann Jewell Funes of New Roads, LA and they have three children; Victoria, Patrick, and Kate. The Funes family attends St. Aloysius Catholic Church.