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Ebony Woodruff is a first-generation attorney, legal entrepreneur, and a former legislator. She is the first woman elected to represent District 87 in the Louisiana House of Representatives. During her tenure in the legislature, she developed a passion for agricultural and food policy  Currently, Ebony is the Director of the Southern University Law Center Agricultural Law Institute for Underserved and Underrepresented Communities. She is 2023 Aspen Institute Food Leaders Fellow, a 2024 Louisiana Food Fellow, and serves on the Board of Directors for the New Orleans Food Policy Action Council.  Ebony earned a Master of Laws in Agricultural and Food Law from the University of Arkansas School of Law, a Juris Doctor from the Southern University Law Center, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Louisiana State University. 

Ebony was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a Certified Agricultural Mediator, Louisiana Master Gardener, an herbalist apprentice, genealogist, and budding seamstress. 

EDUCATION

LL.M., Agricultural and Food Law

University of Arkansas School of Law

J.D., Civil Law

Southern University Law Center

B.S., Business Administration

Louisiana State University

LICENSES

Louisiana State Bar #32274

Louisiana Notary #88658

ORGANIZATIONS

Black Professionals in Food and Agriculture

Black Women in Ag

Louisiana Women in Agriculture

EXPERIENCE

 

Southern University Law CenterDirector of the Agricultural Law Institute for 

                                                           Underrepresented and Underserved Communities

Provost Farm Heritage Center and Community Garden, Inc.Board of Directors Member

New Orleans Food Policy Action CouncilBoard of Directors Member

Federation of Southern Cooperatives/ Land Assistance FundAttorney

John Deere / Federation of Southern CooperativesLegal Fellow

New Orleans Food Policy Advisory CommitteeCo-Chair

Louisiana Obesity Prevention & Management CommissionCo-Chair

Louisiana House of Representatives, State Representative (Jefferson Parish, District 87)

Jefferson Parish Attorney's Office, Assistant Parish Attorney

Jefferson Parish Finance AttorneyTrustee

Jefferson Parish Council District OfficeClerk

Louisiana Office of the Honorary Consul for the Republic of South AfricaAssistant

Law Office of Ebony T. Woodruff, LLC, Founding Attorney & Notary Public

 

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Upcoming​​

Agricultural Law, Presenter

Southern University Law Center 2024 End of Year Continuing Legal Education

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

December 13-14, 2024

Past

Heirs Property, Presenter

Build Our Economic Wealth

Webinar

October 22, 2024

Land Tenure and Farm Transitions, Presenter

Underserved Farmers Webinar Series

Webinar

September 11, 2024

Heirs Property Certification Program, Presenter

Southern Regional Risk Management Conference

Pensacola Beach, Florida

August 5-6, 2024

Heirs Property / Transition Land to the Next Generation, Presenter

Southern Family Farmers and Food Systems Conference

San Marcos, Texas

August 3-6, 2024

Estate Planning, Presenter

Southern University Law Center

Webinar

July 18, 2024

Legal Frameworks: Navigating Legality of Forming a  Cooperative, Panelist

The National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda

St. Paul, Minnesota

June 13, 2024

Heirs' Property, Presenter

Southern University Law Center

Webinar

May 29, 2024

Heirs' Property Update, Panelist

USDA National Agricultural Library (NAL)

Webinar

May 14, 2024

 

Gaining Ground Screening, Panelist

The (In)Justice For All Film Festival International

Chicago, Illinois

April 6, 2024

 

Gaining Ground Screening, Panelist

MANRRS 38th Annual Training Conference and Career Expo - Diversity Summit

Chicago, Illinois

March 20, 2024

 

Funding Fundamentals and Fellowships for Agricultural Entrepreneurship, Panelist

MANRRS 38th Annual Training Conference and Career Expo - Diversity Summit

Chicago, Illinois

March 21, 2024

 

Heirs' Property, Presenter

Zinpro 

Webinar

February 20, 2024

 

Estate Planning, Presenter

Save Rural America Conference

Amite, Louisiana

January 23, 2024

 

Land Tenure Challenges for Black Farmers, Presenter

2023 End of the Year CLE

Southern University Law Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

December 15, 2023

 

Heirs Property, Presenter

50th Annual Bayou Classic CLE

Southern University Law Center

New Orleans, Louisiana

November 24, 2023

The Path Forward - Heirs' Property Certification Program, Panelist

Heirs' Property Practitioners Network Retreat

Winston-Salem, North Carolina

October 28, 2023

 

Bridging the Gap - Creating a Transformative Pipeline for MBEs Success in Agriculture, Panelist

National Minority Supplier Development Council 2023 Annual Conference & Exchange

Baltimore, Maryland

October 25, 2023

Food, Policy & Law Forum: Legacies of American Slavery in Farming & Agriculture, Panelist

Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture

New Orleans, Louisiana

October 19, 2023

Generational Land Management, Panelist

AgFTAP Training

Weslaco, Texas

October 11, 2023

USDA DFAP Assistance, Presenter

Provost Farm Heritage Center, Inc.

New Iberia, Louisiana

September 23, 2023

USDA DFAP Assistance, Presenter

Morehouse Parish Black Farmers & Landowners

Bastrop, Louisiana

August 29, 2023

 

Heirs Property / Transition Land to the Next Generation, Presenter

Southern Family Farmers and Food Systems Conference

San Marcos, Texas

August 6-8, 2023

 

Heirs Property and Heirs Property Certification Program, Presenter

Southern Regional Risk Management Conference

Pensacola Beach, Florida

August 2-3, 2023

The Importance of Wills, Presenter

Morehouse Parish 2023 Farm Field Day

Bastrop, Louisiana

July 21, 2023

 

Heirs Property, Presenter

Louisiana State Bar Association CLE

Webinar

June 23, 2023

 

Heirs Property: Practical Tips and Pointers for Resolving Title, Presenter

Tenth Annual Mid-South Agricultural & Environmental Law Conference

Memphis, Tennessee

June 8-9, 2023

HBCUs and Cooperative Community Development, Panelist

The National Conference on Black Cooperative Agenda

Las Vegas, Nevada

June 1-3, 2023

Heirs Property: A Case Study of Cultural Competency in Pro Bono, Presenter

25th American Bar Association / National Legal Aid & Defender Association Equal Justice Conference

Dallas, Texas

May 4-6, 2023

Growing Careers in Agricultural & Food Law for Law Students, Guest Speaker

The National Agricultural Law Center and the American Agricultural Law Association

Webinar

March 29, 2023

Heirs Property, Presenter

Alabama A&M University and FSC/ LAF Conservation Reserve Program Workshop

Gainesville, Alabama

March 25, 2023

 

2023 Farm Bill and Heirs' Property, Presenter

Mississippi Association of Cooperatives 51st Annual Meeting

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

March 17 - 18, 2023

Agricultural Law, Presenter

Southern University Law Center 2022 End of Year Continuing Legal Education

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

December 16-17, 2022

Estate Planning Essentials for Heirs Property Owners, Presenter

Forward 2023 National Heirs Property Conference

Atlanta, Georgia

December 1-3, 2022

Social and Economic Justice in the Black Belt: Opportunities and Challenges for Transformation, Panelist

80th Professional Agricultural Workers Conference

Tuskegee, Alabama

November 13-15, 2022

Heirs Property & Implications for Funding & Financial Access, Moderator

CDFIs and Regenerative Agriculture, Panelist

9th Conservation Finance Roundtable

Durham, North Carolina

November 1-3, 2022

Rising from the Depths of Slavery: Legacies of Cultural Expression, Food, Music & Tourism, Mistress of Ceremony

Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture Symposium

New Orleans, Louisiana

October 28-29, 2022

Land Advocacy Fellowship Session , Panelist

National Young Farmers Coalition Session

Virtual

October 18, 2022

Heirs Property & the USDA Heirs Property Relending Program, Presenter

American Community Gardening Association 43rd Annual Conference

New Orleans, Louisiana

October 6-9, 2022

Estate Planning, Heirs Property & USDA Heirs Property Relending Program, Presenter

11th Annual Louisiana Small Farmer Conference

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

September 21-23, 2022

DOCUMENTARY APPEARANCES

Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land

Al Roker Entertainment

2023​

 

Weediquette (Season 1, Episode 3 - The War on Weed)

Vice TV

March 15, 2016​​​​

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