Black Civic Leader Named To President's Council

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has announced his intent to appoint Angela Glover Blackwell, to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

· The President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships brings together religious and secular leaders as well as scholars and experts in fields related to the work of faith-based and neighborhood organizations in order to make recommendations to the government on how to improve partnerships. The President will announce additional members to this Council at a later date.

President Obama said, “I am pleased to announce that these experienced and committed individuals have agreed to join this Administration, and I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead.”

Angela Glover Blackwell, Appointee for Member, President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships

Angela Glover Blackwell is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Policy Link, a nonprofit organization that strives to advance economic and social equity, improving access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, education and infrastructure. Prior to founding PolicyLink, Ms. Blackwell served as Senior Vice President at the Rockefeller Foundation, where she oversaw the Foundation’s Domestic and Cultural divisions. Previously, she founded the nationally-acclaimed Oakland Urban Strategies Council, where she pioneered new approaches to neighborhood revitalization. From 1977 to 1987, Ms. Blackwell was a partner at Public Advocates, a public interest law firm. She serves on numerous boards and was co-chair of the Task Force on poverty for the Center for American Progress. Ms. Blackwell is a frequent commentator on some of the nation's top news organizations. She holds a B.A. from Howard University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.