Oni Blair joined the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas as the executive director in June 2021. As the leader of this statewide, nonpartisan organization, Oni directs the organization’s efforts to protect and advance civil rights and civil liberties for every Texan, no exceptions.
Prior to the ACLU of Texas, Oni led LINK Houston, a transportation justice organization that shaped a $7 billion transit plan and won $51.5 million for Black and Latinx communities impacted by a highway expansion.
Before entering nonprofit leadership, Oni worked as a foreign service officer (U.S. diplomat) with the U.S. Department of State. During that time, Oni served as director of the Near Eastern Affairs Office in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. She also worked in the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State's Office as the special assistant covering the Middle East and North Africa.
Additionally, Oni worked at the U.S. Embassies in Jordan, Pakistan, and Iraq. As the humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, Oni managed $150 million in humanitarian assistance for displaced persons and refugees. Through special programs at the State Department, Oni served as an advisor on trade and international affairs in the Houston Mayor's Office and taught graduate and undergraduate courses related to humanitarian diplomacy and national security at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.
Oni is currently a Council on Foreign Relations member and Truman National Security Project fellow. She is a former fellow of Harvard's Belfer Center, the International Career Advancement Program (ICAP), the American Council on Germany Young Leaders, the Georgetown Leadership Seminar, and the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program. Oni graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
