ANGELA BLANCHARD

“You Can’t Build On Broken.”

Welcome

If you’re here it’s probably because you know a bit about me or my work. It may be that you want to learn something about how to work with me, or find out more about what I’m doing now. Perhaps you’re a colleague, past or present, student of mine, or a potential client. Glad you’re here.

I’ve taken experiences from 30 years leading a large community development organization and working with organizations around the world, and turned these lessons into tools and processes to help other leaders. 

I focus on helping those who are running purpose driven organizations – either for-profit or social sector. I work with leaders to help them leverage resources toward more impact. These engagements take the form of projects – new approaches to planning or a culture reboot, for example. Or in some cases, we set up long term retainer relationships – where I am on call for coaching and extra strategy help, available to think through urgent or tough issues. 

An essential part of my research work is to take lessons from those individuals, communities and cities who have experienced major disasters and worked their way toward a rebirth. Those who have learned to reconstitute community have lessons that benefit all of us. Capturing those experiences, sharing them so that others may put them to use, is my passion project. This work has taken me all over the world. My research, writing and work in these arenas continues. 

Learn more here through the descriptions of my work and tools, or through my journal where I chronicle and share what I’m learning and how I’m feeling about the work I see in the world. 

When I’m not working you’ll find me in my garden. There is something about tending to plants – caring for the soil, watering and weeding, snipping and clipping –  all of which mirrors the work of rebuilding and reconstituting community. Work I believe to be central to surviving and thriving. 

Perhaps one day you’ll come for a visit.

Love,

Angela

Meet Angela

Angela Blanchard is an evolutionary leader and visionary problem-solver with a whole-systems approach to caring for people facing unthinkable challenges. 

From long-term disaster recovery to effective integration of immigrants and refugees, her breakthrough strategies have successfully revitalized neighborhoods and supported city, state, and regional disaster recovery, while providing a powerful roadmap for city leaders around the world–specifically business, civic, and nonprofit leaders tackling complex challenges of community transformation, long term recovery, and resettlement. 

Angela has forged a set of principles and practices to bridge the cultural and political divides that hinder effective responses to emerging threats. These practices help leaders build evolutionary institutions capable of responding to extreme crises.

Angela’s Work

Angela is a sought-after business consultant, leadership coach, workshop facilitator, and speaker known for her blistering insight and poignant humor, often capturing complex concepts in home-spun phrases reminiscent of her Cajun heritage. Her Good Tools toolkit gives practical wisdom to leaders ready to make a difference. 

Angela has worked with leaders 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 numerous national and international publications including the New York Times, Fast Company Magazine, The Atlantic, and on CNN, as well as featured in the Federal Reserve book, “What Works in American Communities.” 

Angela’s clients include large social enterprises, housing investment shops, financial institutions, and elected officials. Some examples of her work projects include

  • The Shipwrecked Project: Documenting innovative people-centered urban responses to disasters
  • Advising real estate developers on strategies to strengthen vulnerable communities
  • Advising social impact startups in Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, California, & Texas
  • Mentoring executives working to build evolutionary organizations
  • Creating strategy sessions for executives responding to rapid growth

Recognition & Awards

Angela has received numerous awards and recognition, including the prestigious Heinz Prize for Improving the Human Condition. She has been a Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution and Brown University’s Watson Institute. She was recognized multiple times by the Obama White House and President Obama for her work in rebuilding communities. For her advocacy on behalf of refugees and immigrants, she received several awards including the Underground Railroad Award, NCJW Hannah G. Solomon Award, Chinese Community Center Compassion Award. 

Ready to work together?

Ready to work together?

Join Her on the Journey

Media & Featured Work