Joanne Brooks, Esq. is Founder and CEO of JSSB Consulting LLC, a boutique-consulting firm with national reach and reputation for transformational programming for contractor development. Joanne served as Vice President and Counsel of The Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) for five years, during which time the Maryland Washington Minority Companies Association named her Best Surety Executive for Minority Business. She is also recognized by the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey as a “Women Who Empowers.”
Joanne graduated from American University, with a BS in Urban Affairs and Administration of Justice, in 1982, and the University of Maryland School of Law in 1985. Her surety career began in the Claim Department, Salvage Division, at Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland (F&D). She held many positions at F&D and Zurich North America, during her 24-year career including claims, underwriting, and risk management, culminating in the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer. Joanne also worked at Hanover Insurance Company, where she held the position of Chief Risk Officer. The uniqueness of her background, her expertise in surety, coupled with her passion for empowering small, minority, and under-utilized businesses, was ignited when Joanne began to work at SFAA in 2013, where she began working in partnership with the US Department of Transportation as the power behind the Bonding Education Program, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in bonding growth and capacity for small and minority firms.
Joanne is passionate about educating anyone who will listen about the transformational power of the surety underwriting process and declares with great confidence that bonding, used appropriately, is an empowerment tool. Joanne has traveled around the United States promoting the importance of building sustainable businesses and how to use bonding to grow strong businesses and produce legacy wealth. Joanne is currently administering the Small Business Bonding Readiness Program for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority working with the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. She has also recently been selected to participate on the advisory board of the Construction Equity & Inclusion Council (CEI). Other clients include Turner Construction where Joanne serves as a consultant and advisor on diversity and inclusion issues. Joanne is a member of COMTO, AMAC and ACCA. She has served as a judge for the ABC Diversity Awards for the past 3 years. She is a sought after speaker and focuses on her goal to “Make a difference.”
Joanne is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, The Links, Incorporated, The Northeasterners and is also an American Bar Foundation Fellow. She has authored many articles, papers, and most recently is featured in the book, Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Rebuilding America, by Mary Scott Naber.
