Meet Attorney & Founder Halima Woodhead:
Halima Woodhead is an International Employment Lawyer with 14+ years of experience in the international labor and employment context. She is the Attorney behind Woodhead’s Law Practice.
She started her career as a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Labor; then at the U.S. Department of State building labor diplomacy in Honduras; and spent another ten years at DOL providing strategic advice to the highest levels of governments, corporations, and civil society regarding global employment law and policy. As a civil servant, she contributed to and then led DOL’s efforts to include employment standards and labor rights in Central America foreign policy under the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations. Along the way, she led award-winning teams and unlikely coalitions to creatively disrupt the idea that being a good employer and being profitable are separate goals. In August 2024, Halima set out to give businesses access to better tools, and launched Enterprise for Humankind, her first business.
In 2025, Halima continued to build Enterprise, aced the bar exam in her newly adopted home state of North Carolina, and then stepped back for maternity leave. When she returned to work in April 2026, Halima channeled that experience into Woodhead’s Law, a solo law practice handling tricky cross-border, international, and global employment law matters.
Halima holds a J.D. and M.A. (International Affairs) from American University and a B.A. from the University of Arizona (Comparative Politics). She has held a New York law license since 2013 and North Carolina since 2025.
Halima speaks fluent English and Spanish, thanks to a bilingual public education in her hometown of Washington, D.C. She resides in Hendersonville, N.C. with her husband, son, and dog. You can find her volunteering in her community or running on the local trails.
Experience:
Global Employment Counsel | Woodhead’s Law Practice | April 2026 - Present
Helps companies navigate the legal complexities of employing workers across borders, from compliance and risk audits to crisis management and workforce structuring.
Maternity Leave | September 2025 - March 2026
Founder & Principal | Enterprise for Humankind | August 2024 - September 2025
Founded and led consulting firm aimed at providing discreet support to entrepreneurs, start ups, brands, and companies on business and human rights including global labor standards.
Senior International Labor Advisor for Central America Initiatives | Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), United States Department of Labor (USDOL) |January 2021 - June 2024
Lead civil servant for the U.S. Department of Labor’s work with the White House to infuse human rights into foreign, trade, and development policy in Central America.
Represented the USDOL to the White House on all matters pertaining to Central America.
Advised private sector actors on improving human rights conditions across supply chains.
Imagined, wrote, and persuaded the adoption of the labor pillar of the Biden-Harris Administration Strategy to Address the Root Causes of Migration in Central America and the Good Governance Good Jobs Declaration.
Senior International Labor Advisor for Trade Policy | Office of Trade and Labor Affairs (OTLA), ILAB/USDOL |November 2017 – January 2021
Led several multi-disciplinary teams to design and implement creative solutions to business and human rights problems.
Award-winning leader for multiple successful high-priority initiatives that advanced global labor and employment standards concretely for workers and companies.
Regularly advised high-level actors (private, public, and NGO sectors) on business and human rights issues.
Represented ILAB to domestic stakeholders including unions, businesses, academics, advocacy groups, Congress, the media, and the general public.
Represented USDOL to other U.S. government agencies to promote inclusion of global labor and employment standards in government-wide initiatives.
Interim Chief | Monitoring and Enforcement of Trade Agreements (META) Division, OTLA/ ILAB/USDOL | February 2018 – June 2018; November 2021 – April 2022; September 2023 - April 2024
Managed high-performing team with employees based worldwide charged with monitoring compliance with the labor provisions of free trade agreements; developing and implementing strategies to engage governments, employers, and civil society to improve labor conditions and advance innovative solutions to labor and employment challenges; advising leadership, sister agencies, and program implementers on country context and the relevance of labor and employment policy to foreign policy; and serving as U.S. government experts on global labor and employment issues.
Hired, onboarded, trained, and mentored permanent staff and interns with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, servant leadership, and long-term professional growth.
Led strategic planning, budgeting, and performance measurement for the team; developed innovations in work strategies to improve access for stakeholders, sustainability of efforts, and office morale.
International Labor Advisor for Trade Policy | META/OTLA/ILAB/USDOL | October 2014 – November 2017
Imagined, pitched, and led negotiation and oversight of the historic U.S.-Honduras Labor Rights Monitoring and Action Plan, the only ESG/S initiative under the labor chapter of a free trade agreement with the public backing of all stakeholders, sustainable and measurable outcomes, and built-in tripartite dialogue.
Developed deep expertise and trusted networks on public policies related to labor rights in Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.
Political Officer for Labor and Human Rights| United States Department of State, Embassy Tegucigalpa, Honduras | March 2014 – October 2014
Invited by the Ambassador to perform a special assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Represented the U.S. government in local labor, employment, and human rights engagements.
Served as the Mission’s labor and employment expert to integrate labor equities into existing workstreams.
Presidential Management Fellow | META/OTLA/ILAB/USDOL |April 2012 – March 2014
Led investigation of a comprehensive complaint against the Government of Honduras under the Labor Chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement alleging that the government failed to enforce labor laws regarding freedom of association, the right to organize and bargain collectively, the minimum age for the employment of children and the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, and acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health in the apparel, textile, and auto parts manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation and shipping sectors.
Interviewed over 1,000 workers in Spanish, reviewed official documents, conducted legal analysis, and wrote the most authoritative and comprehensive report in decades documenting labor conditions in Honduras and making recommendations to the government for enforcement improvements.
Education:
Juris Doctor
Washington College of Law, American University, 2011.
Master of Arts in International Affairs, concentration in International Development Policy
School of International Service, American University, 2011.
Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Political Science, minor in Regional Development
University of Arizona, 2007.
Awards:
Secretary of Labor’s Award for Professional Excellence (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023);
Secretary of Labor’s Award for Leadership (2019);
Runner-up for the Joint Secretary of State and Secretary of Labor Award for Excellence in Labor Diplomacy and the first nominee ever from outside of the Department of State (2017);
Ambassador’s Distinguished Appreciation Award (2014);
Additional Notes:
Native English, Fluent Spanish.
New York and North Carolina Law Licenses.