Draft:Johanna Leblanc

Johanna Leblanc is a Haitian-American expert in national security law and foreign policy. She serves as a partner at Adomi Advisory Group PLLC, where she leads the firm's global public policy practice. Leblanc is also an adjunct professor at Howard University.

Education

Leblanc holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where she focused on international law, a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law from The George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C. She also holds a Master of Applied Social Sciences with a concentration in Public Administration from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bethune- Cookman University (BCU).

Career

Leblanc previously served as a Legislative Director at the United States Congress, where she advised a member of Congress on domestic and international related matters and oversaw all legislative matters and appropriations for the office. She oversaw Community Funding Projects(CFP), where she helped secure over $10 million. She was also responsible for advancing U.S. foreign policy and economic security/trade diplomacy. During her tenure, Leblanc was selected to attend a seminar in Israel to deepen her understanding of U.S./Israel relations and the security threats impacting the Middle East.

Prior to her role in Congress, Leblanc served as Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to three sitting Haitian Ambassadors to the United States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In 2017, Leblanc was also appointed to the Commission of African Affairs as a Commissioner by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and served as the vice chair. She advised the administration issues impacting the African Diaspora and testified at hearings. Leblanc previously served as the Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the National Bar Association (NBA), focusing on forging relationships with countries across the African continent and Latin America and advising the administration on matters with foreign policy implications.

During Leblanc’s tenure, she led two delegations to West Africa and the Caribbean. Upon the conclusion of the administration, Ms. Leblanc was appointment as the co-chair of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) in the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section NBA.

In the past, Leblanc has advocated for better environmental policies, raised awareness about housing issues impacting immigrants, worked on women’s rights issues both internationally and locally, and served on various boards. She has lived and worked in Southeast-Asia and across the African continent on access to legal justice, child marriage issues, and electoral reforms.

Leblanc currently serves as a member of the Military Observation Commission Project (MOCP)], where by the approval of the Pentagon, she traveled to (a) attend; (b) observe; (c) analyze; (d) critique; and (e) report on military commission war crimes hearings at Guantánamo Bay.

Honors

• In 2022, Leblanc received the Next Generation Woman Award by the African Diaspora Advisory Board in Prince Georges County, M.D.
• In 2021, she was named 40 under 40: Nation’s top Advocates by the National Bar Association (NBA).
• In 2020, Leblanc was named one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), Under 40, Global 100 Awards during the U.N. General Assembly.
• In 2019, she was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Bethune-Cookman University.
• In 2018, she was presented with the Lifetime Trailblazer Award for Driving Change and Innovation by the Association of Haitian Professionals (AHP) in Washington, DC.