Janice M O'Connell

Janice O’Connell brings foreign and international economic policy experience spanning three decades, having served as a professional staff member of both the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and Banking Committees. She previously served as Senior Foreign Policy and National Security Advisor to Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. As a Senior Vice President at Gephardt Government Affairs, Janice oversees the firm’s international clients, providing strategic, political, and legislative advice to international clients considering market growth in the United States and overseas. Janice has been involved in broad array of international economic and foreign policy legislation considered by the Senate, including legislation related to direct foreign investment in the United States (CFIUS); economic sanctions policies; reauthorization of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the U.S. Export Import Bank; extradition treaties; bilateral investment treaties; bilateral foreign assistance programs and reform; immigration reform; compensation for victims of terrorism; trade agreements, including the Caribbean Basin Trade Initiative (CBI), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Andean Trade Preference Agreement (ATPA), and the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR); international narcotics cooperation; and U.S. funding and policies related to international agencies, including the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Inter-American Development Bank. Widely recognized for her specific expertise in U.S.-Latin American relations, Janice provided policy input for Senators participating in the U.S.-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Group, an annual gathering of U.S. and Mexican congressional delegations. She also was a point of contact in the Senate for Latin American embassies, and forged strong relations with many Latin American diplomats during her tenure. Janice most recently served at Hogan & Hartson as a Senior International Advisor and concurrently as a Senior Advisor with the strategic consulting firm Stonebridge International, LLC. Janice earned a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Massachusetts and bachelor’s degree in Math and Economics from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.