Jennifer Leonard joined Crisis Group in June 2002. As Deputy Director of the Washington DC office, she works across the spectrum of Washington's foreign policy actors – including the Administration, Congress, media, think­tanks, and non­governmental organisations (NGOs) – to design and implement strategies that impact the policy process. She also has primary responsibility for advocacy and research in Crisis Group's Central Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia and Caucasus projects.

Jen came to Crisis Group after three years with the U.S. Department of Energy where she worked for the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Nonproliferation, then as special assistant to the Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. At the Department of Energy she oversaw aspects of a new non­proliferation initiative, helped establish the Russia Task Force, worked at the U.S. Embassy Moscow, and liaised with other U.S. government entities, international organisations, and foreign governments on national security matters. Before joining the government, she worked with variety of NGOs, including Conflict Management Group, a non­profit consulting company dedicated to promoting peacebuilding through engagement, training and research.

She has been an Associate at Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation, a Graduate Fellow at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, and a regular contributor to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's election­-related activities in the Balkans and Caucasus. She earned her MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a B.A. from Connecticut College.