Johanna Leblanc

Advisory Board

Ms. Johanna Leblanc is a Haitian-American trained lawyer specialized in national security law and foreign policy. As a Partner at Adomi Advisory Group, PLLC, she offers invaluable guidance to a diverse clientele on matters such as trade, debt financing for projects in emerging markets, public relations, sanctions, federal legislative processes, and diplomacy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Howard University.

Before joining the firm, Ms. Leblanc excelled as a Legislative Director at the United States Congress. In this capacity, she provided strategic counsel on both domestic and international affairs, overseeing legislative matters and appropriations. In her role, she was instrumental in advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives and fortifying economic security through trade

diplomacy. She also served as a liaison to the White House, State Department, Department of Education, Department of Veterans, and other agencies, including financial institutions in Washington, D.C. Her commitment to enhancing U.S. and allied interests was further demonstrated when she was selected to participate in a specialized seminar in Israel, to deepen her insights into U.S./Israel relations and Middle East security challenges.

Prior to her tenure in Congress, Ms. Leblanc served as a Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to three sitting Haitian ambassadors to the United States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her portfolio included, but not limited to, promoting the interests of the Republic of Haiti before the United States Congress, White House, Department of State, and other institutions, and advising the government on intergovernmental relations, immigration, national security, and trade. In 2020, Ms. Leblanc successfully lobbied for the ten- year renewal of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), a trade bill that generates over $1billion dollars in annual revenue in Haiti and creates over fifty thousand jobs in the textile industry. Through her efforts, the sitting Ambassador, in 2020, delivered a statement before Congress as the first sitting Ambassador to do so since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1862. Ms. Leblanc also testified before the International Trade Commission (ITC) on the renewal of Generalized Systems of Preference (GSP) and CBTPA.

Ms. Leblanc previously served as the Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the National Bar Association, focusing on the African Continent and Latin America. Upon the completion of the President’s term, Ms. Leblanc was tapped to serve as the Senior Foreign Policy Advisor & Co-Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution AfCFTA initiatives.

Since 2017, Ms. Leblanc has served as a member of the Military Observation Commission Project (MOCP), where by the approval of the Pentagon, she travels to (a) attend; (b) observe; (c) analyze; (d) critique; and (e) report on military commission war crimes hearings at Guantanamo Bay. In 2017, Ms. Leblanc was appointed to the Commission of African Affairs as a Commissioner by D.C. Mayor Bowser and served as the vice-chair. She advised the administration on issues impacting the African diaspora and testified at hearings.

In the past, Ms. Leblanc has advocated for better environmental policies, raised awareness to 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. Ms. Leblanc is passionate about women empowerment and often speaks on issues impacting women and girls globally.

In recognition of her exceptional contributions, Ms. Leblanc has received prestigious awards both domestically and internationally. Her accolades include the Next Generation Woman Award by the African Diaspora Advisory Board (2022), the 40 under 40: Nation’s Top Advocates by the National Bar Association (2021), and the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), Under 40, Global 100 Award (2020) during the U.N. General Assembly. 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.

A recognized media commentator, Ms. Leblanc has appeared on prominent platforms such as FOX 5 DC, Voice of America (VOA), Roland Martin Unfiltered, Black News Channel (BNC), and international networks like Channels TV in Nigeria, Citizen TV in Kenya, Press TV in Iran, and NBS Uganda, providing incisive analysis on issues of domestic and foreign policy.

Ms. 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). In 2019, Ms. Leblanc delivered the commencement speech at her alma mater, BCU, and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the President and the Board of Trustees.