Johanna Leblanc

Ms. Johanna Leblanc is a national security law and foreign policy expert and a highly sought after television commentator in the U.S., Africa, India, and the United Kingdon. 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 where she teaches courses on U.S. foreign policy and trade.

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 high-level 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 generated over $1billion dollars in annual revenue in Haiti and created 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 Haitian 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 (NBA), 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. Ms. Leblanc initiated and co-led the negotiations, which led to the signing of a historic MoU between the National Bar Association and AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, Ghana to support with implementation.

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 and girls empowerment.

Ms. Leblanc is a well-sought-after speaker on the global stage. Her commanding presence and incisive expertise have led her to headline and moderate high-level discussions on topics such as trade and trade financing hosted by institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the AfCFTA Secretariat, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the United States Congress, various foreign embassies, and the National Action Network (NAN), among many others.

Since 2017, Ms. Leblanc has served as a mentor to countless Mandela Washington Fellows at Howard University and has partnered with fellows to host a series of empowerment training sessions for women, girls, and teachers in Zimbabwe through the Reciprocal Exchange Program administered by the Department of State and IREX. In 2024, through the same program, she partnered with the United States Department of State and IREX to provide professional development training young women in orphanages in Eswatini. Ms.Leblanc also presented before the Parliament of the Kingdom of Eswatini, where she provided training to women who are members of parliament.

In recognition of her 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, the 40 under 40: Nation’s Top Advocates by the National Bar Association, and the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD), Under 40, Global 100 Award 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 domestic and international prominent platforms such as Al Jazeera, BBC, FOX 5 DC, Voice of America (VOA), Roland Martin Unfiltered, Black News Channel (BNC), Channels TV in Nigeria, Citizen TV in Kenya, Press TV in Iran, WION in India, CNBC in Rwanda, Africa 24 Cameroon, NewzRoom Afrika in South Africa, eNCA in South Africa, SABC in South Africa, and NBS Uganda, providing incisive analysis on national security law and foreign policy related matters.

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.

Ms. Leblanc immigrated to the United States from the Republic of Haiti at the age of nine years old. She enjoys traveling and outdoor activities.