Rita Benson LeBlanc

Rita (Mae) Benson LeBlanc (born January 11, 1977 ) is Vice Chairman of the Board of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. She is the granddaughter of Tom Benson, the principal owner of the Saints.

Born in Houma, Louisiana when her family lived in nearby Cut Off, she was raised on a ranch near Johnson City, Texas, where she attended Lyndon B. Johnson High School before receiving a bachelor of science degree in agribusiness at Texas A&M University. She began interning for the Saints and in various league offices while still in high school, and went to work for the Saints after college. In 2003 she took over management of the New Orleans VooDoo, the Arena Football League team also owned by Benson, and was named the indoor league's top executive. (The VooDoo ceased operations in 2008. ) In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she began to take on a more public role and greater responsibilities in the management of the Saints. She chairs the NFL Employee Benefits Committee, and she has been publicly identified as Tom Benson's intended successor as principal owner of the team. http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2012/04/rita_benson_leblancs_conspicuo.html