Angela Glover Blackwell is founder and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute that works collaboratively to develop and implement local, state, and federal policies to achieve economic and social equity. Blackwell is a co-author of Searching for the Uncommon Common Ground: New Dimensions on Race in America (W.W. Norton, 2002). Written with Manuel Pastor and Stewart Kwoh, the book demonstrates the existence of continuing racial inequity and explores new policy framings to address the challenges that lie ahead. She also collaborated with Tavis Smiley to develop The Covenant with Black America-a New York Times best-selling book of community and policy strategies for economic and social empowerment-and contributed an essay to the volume. Blackwell founded PolicyLink after serving as senior vice president for The Rockefeller Foundation for three-and-a-half years. She directed the Foundation's domestic and cultural divisions and developed the Next Generation Leadership and Building Democracy programs, centered on issues of inclusion, race, and policy. For a decade, beginning in 1977, Blackwell served as a partner with Public Advocates, a nationally known public interest law firm representing the underrepresented. She successfully litigated class action suits and developed innovative non-litigation strategies in the areas of employment, education, health, and consumer affairs. Blackwell earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University, and a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley.