Janet L. Woodka

Lagniappe, LLC

 

Janet Woodka is a former senior Obama Administration official with deep experience in responding to disasters, rebuilding communities, and addressing energy and environmental challenges.  She has been an advisor to White House officials, Cabinet members, legislators and others and is known for a practical, no-nonsense approach that is focused on results.  She is highly adept at building relationships and partnerships between multiple federal agencies, state and local governments, and affected stakeholders from all perspectives to fully address challenges and develop concise policies and workable solutions.

 

She is currently writing about her experiences, recently publishing an article entitled “How Women Lead” in Conscious Company Magazine.  She has a strategic consulting firm, Lagniappe, LLC, which, in addition to consulting on energy, environmental and sustainability issues, provides pro-bono services to non-profits and startups to teach them about working with the federal government.  She was recently chosen to participate in the “Be The Change” program in New Zealand and will be launching a component of the program in New Orleans.  She serves on the Board of Friends of New Orleans

She also serves as a mentor to entrepreneurs at 1776, an incubator in Washington, D.C. focused on social impact industries such as energy & sustainability, education, health, transportation and cities. 

 

She served as the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding in the Obama Administration, helping the communities of the Gulf Coast recover and rebuild from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by coordinating the efforts of all federal agencies.  She was an integral force behind and a principal member of the Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, which issued the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) in 2013, and the Louisiana-Mississippi Ecosystem Restoration Working Group, which examined the coastal restoration needs of Louisiana and Mississippi.  Building on her experience rebuilding communities after disasters, she helped the White House develop its “Strong Cities, Strong Communities” initiative to help build the relationship between cities seeking to better themselves and the federal government.  She served as a Senior Advisor to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson from 2010-2014, coordinating EPA’s response to the BP oil spill and establishing the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force.  Janet’s expertise was also called upon by HUD Secretary Shawn Donovan to establish and structure the Hurricane Sandy Task Force.

 

Janet served as the Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu from 2006 – 2007 working on legislation to assist in the post-Katrina recovery efforts.  Prior to public service, Janet was a lawyer in the law firm of Van Ness Feldman in Washington, D.C. where she focused on energy, environment, and natural resource issues.  Early in her career, Janet practiced law in New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

Janet received her law degree from Tulane University and her B.A. from Boston College.