Angela Blanchard

Angela Blanchard is a globally recognized expert practitioner in community development. From long-term disaster recovery, to effective integration of immigrants and refugees, Blanchard’s breakthrough strategies have successfully revitalized neighborhoods, while providing a powerful roadmap for cities around the world. Angela works with business, civic, and nonprofit leaders tackling complex challenges of community transformation, long term recovery and resettlement. Her clients include housing developers, nonprofit leaders, elected officials and social impact entrepreneurs.

Angela has spoken to audiences on six continents, in dozens of cities on the role of cities in welcoming and resettling inflows of people. Her work and her wisdom have been featured in the New York Times, Fast Company Magazine, The Atlantic, Places Journal, CNN, Federal Reserve – “What Works in American Communities” Brown University, Watson Institute and Taubman Center, and numerous other national programs and publications. She was recognized multiple times by the Obama White House.  Angela was awarded the prestigious Heinz Prize for Improving the Human Condition while also serving as a Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution. For her advocacy on behalf of refugees and immigrants she has received several awards including the Underground Railroad Award, NCJW Hannah G. Solomon Award, Chinese Community Center Compassion Award. The Rice University Kinder Institute awarded her the Steven L. Klineberg Award for urban development.

Current Projects:

Shipwrecked Project: Documenting innovative people-centered urban responses to disasters.

Advising housing developers on strategies to strengthen vulnerable communities.

Advising social impact start ups in Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, California and Texas.

Mentoring nonprofit executives working to create evolutionary organizations.

Teaching public policy graduate course in Disaster and Displacement.

Current affiliations include:

President Emerita, BakerRipley

Senior Fellow, Watson Institute, Taubman Center Affiliate – Brown University

Board Member, Baker Institute – Rice University

Board Member, Business Innovation Factory

Advisory Board Member, Amegy Bank