Joanne Antoine is Founder and CEO of At The Forefront Strategies, a political consulting firm established following the 2015 elections in Haiti focused on engaging the Caribbean Diaspora in support of women candidates in the Caribbean and Democratic women candidates of Caribbean descent here in the US.  As a Haitian American, born and raised on the Jersey Shore, she recognized early on that being brought up in a culture where most believe “politik e pa plas fanm” (politics is no place for a woman) along with the very few illustrations of women leaders in New Jersey politics and within the diaspora, women lacked political ambition. This sparked her interest in building a political career for herself and other women leaders. With a passion for empowering women, love for Haiti and knack for organizing, she hopes to use her skills to help identify and train young Caribbean women leaders through Forefront Academy, a political leadership training program set to launch in 2017, and advocate for the equal participation of women in politics which she believes will help strengthen democratic institutions within the Caribbean.

Ms. Antoine most recently served as a consultant for a woman candidates campaign for mayor in Haiti and Senior Organizer for Planned Parenthood’s coordinated campaign in support of Hillary Clinton for President led by Community Outreach Group, LLC. She also served as DC Statewide Grassroots Organizer at Hillary for America, the official campaign to elect Hillary Clinton for President in 2016, and Operations Manager at Ready for Hillary PAC, the grassroots organizing effort that persuaded Hillary to run. She worked on the 2013 campaign to elect Cory Booker for Senate and in the 2012 campaign to re-elect President Obama. She has spearheaded numerous voter registration efforts in NJ targeting those of Caribbean descent and led multiple clinics encouraging and preparing Haitians to start on the path to US Citizenship.

Ms. Antoine holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Bachelor of Arts in English. She is a graduate of American University’s WeLead 2015 class, DST’s Claudia L. McKoin Public Service Leadership Training Academy and PPMW’s Developing Leaders Program.