Angela Blanchard

President & CEO, Neighborhood Centers, Inc.

Angela Blanchard's pioneering work in asset-based community development  focuses on the human, social and cultural strengths of vulnerable populations. As the president and CEO of Houston-based Neighborhood Centers Inc., one of the top 1% of U.S.-based charitable groups that serves 250,000 clients annually through 60 facilities in the Houston and Gulf Coast regions, she has developed a powerful transformational model for community redevelopment with important implications for other efforts throughout the nation.

Angela joined Neighborhood Centers in 1986 and was named president and CEO in 1998. She rapidly expanded the scale of the 104-year-old agency and grew its operating budget from $40 million to more than $220 million. Today, the agency is widely respected for achieving outstanding results in a number of public-service initiatives, including community schools and place-based education programs; immigration and citizenship outreach and advocacy; senior services; economic development; tax services; and disaster-recovery services coordinated in the wake of devastating hurricanes. In 2010, more than 300 organizations applied for Promise Neighborhood Grants from the U.S. Department of Education – and Neighborhood Centers Inc. was selected as one of only 21 recipients nationwide.

Angela has been honored by a number of organizations for advocacy on behalf of working immigrants, her excellence in nonprofit leadership, and outstanding achievements in community service. She has been named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Women Magazine and was a “Shattered Glass” honoree of the Harris County Women’s Political Caucus. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center honored Blanchard with its “2007 Everyday Freedom Hero Award” for her advocacy on behalf of the nation’s working immigrants, and the Chinese Community Center has recognized Blanchard with its “Compassion Award.”