Johanna Leblanc is a Haitian-American who specializes in national security law & foreign policy. She serves as a Senior Advisor to both Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her portfolio includes, but not limited to, promoting the interests of the state before the United States Congress and other institutions and advising the government on intergovernmental relations, immigration, national security, and bilateral trade investments.
She 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 Science in Public Administration from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Bethune- Cookman University (BCU). Ms. Leblanc delivered the commencement speech for the class of 2019 at BCU and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law.
In the past, Ms. Leblanc has advocated for better environmental policies, raised awareness of housing issues impacting immigrants, worked on women’s rights issues both internationally and locally, and served on various boards. She has worked extensively in Southeast Asia, Southern, and Western Africa on access to legal justice, child marriage issues, and electoral reforms.
Due to her work in the U.S. and abroad, she has earned numerous awards. In 2018, Ms. Leblanc received a Lifetime Trailblazer Award from the Association of Haitian Professionals in Washington, DC.Ms. Leblanc served as a member of the Military Observation Commission Project (MOCP), whereby 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 Guantanamo Bay.
In 2017, Ms. Leblanc was appointed to the Commission of African Affairs as a Commissioner by Mayor Bowser. Some of her duties include but not limited to; advising the administration on how to address issues impacting the African Diaspora through public policy.
She regularly appears on television across the African continent and the U.S., where she discusses foreign policy-related matters.
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