Team member: Janelle Winston
Janelle Winston, Esq.
General Counsel
Janelle L. Winston joined the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) as general counsel in May 2026, overseeing the legal department and providing legal guidance across all aspects of anti-doping enforcement, adjudication, and governance. Prior to HIWU, Winston spent a decade as counsel for the National Football League (NFL), where she administered its policies on substances of abuse and performance-enhancing substances and represented the NFL and its Member Clubs in labor-management disputes including litigation, arbitration, settlement negotiations, and insurance coverage claims.
Earlier in her career, Winston served as senior labor relations counsel at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority - New York City Transit, where she supervised labor attorneys, advised leadership on disciplinary matters, and delivered comprehensive counsel to hearing officers and labor relations teams. Her legal career began in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office in the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Bureau, prosecuting misdemeanor and felony cases involving both child and adult victims.
Beyond her professional career, Winston’s commitment to both integrity in sport as well as education is reflected through her previous service on the Board of Governors for the Partnership for Clean Competition[AR1.1][KA1.2][AR1.3], as well as her founding of the JL Winston Foundation, a nonprofit that provides scholarships and mentorship to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Winston graduated from Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and received her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law.