PolicyLink is a national research and action institute dedicated to advancing

economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

social equity Social equity is concerned with justice and Social justice, fairness of social policy. Since the 1960s, the concept of social equity has been used in a variety of institutional contexts, including education and public administration. Overview D ...

. It focuses on policies affecting low-income communities and communities of

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

. It is a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, with branch offices in New York City; Washington, DC; and Los Angeles.

Background

Founded in 1999 by

Angela Glover Blackwell Angela Glover Blackwell is an American attorney, civil rights advocate, and author. In 1999, she founded the research and advocacy nonprofit organization PolicyLink and currently serves as its Founder in Residence after twenty years as president an ...

, PolicyLink aims to create sustainable communities by improving communities' access to quality jobs,

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

, good schools, transportation, and other prerequisites for healthy neighborhoods.Begun, James W.; Malcolm, Jan K. (2014).
Leading Public Health: A Competency Framework
'. New York: Springer. . pp. 60-61. Taking an approach that emphasizes localism, it pursues its mission by facilitating local organizations and

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

organizers. The group shares its findings and analyses through its website, publications and blog; it also convenes national summits, and holds briefings with national and local policymakers. PolicyLink is staffed by attorneys and public policy experts in California, Washington, D.C., and New York. As of 2021, PolicyLink holds a 4-star rating from

Charity Navigator Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial s ...

, based on an overall score of 95.45 out of 100.

Focus areas

Center for Health and Place

Angela Glover Blackwell, PolicyLink CEO, wrote in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' that "

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

must start thinking of health beyond health care .... We can no longer afford to have a 'sickness-driven' view of our health. We must create healthier communities—places with easy access to fresh food, parks, safe streets, and clean air—to help all Americans live healthier, longer lives and reduce health-care costs while we're at it."Blackwell, Angela Glover (June 6, 2009).
Building Healthy Communities
. ''The Washington Post''. washingtopost.com. Retrieved 2017-06-10. This focus on health policy has led to the group’s collaborations with the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

's Center to Prevent

Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of ...

and The Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership.

Bay Area Equity Atlas

PolicyLink manages the Bay Area Equity Atlas with the USC Equity Research Institute and the San Francisco Foundation. Research conducted by the Bay Area Equity Atlas is used to lobby the state legislature.

Board of directors

As of 2021, PolicyLink's board of directors includes: * Dolores Acevedo-Garcia,

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , pro ...

* Richard Baron,

McCormack Baron Salazar McCormack Baron Salazar is an American real estate development firm based in St. Louis, Missouri specializing in economically integrated urban neighborhoods with more than $4.23 billion invested in affordable and mixed-income housing project ...

, Inc. * Sheri Dunn Berry, Community Partners *

Geoffrey Canada Geoffrey Canada (born January 13, 1952) is an American educator, social activist and author. Since 1990, Canada has been president of the Harlem Children's Zone in Harlem, New York, an organization that states its goal is to increase high scho ...

, author and CEO of

Harlem Children's Zone The Harlem Children's Zone (HCZ) is a nonprofit organization for poverty-stricken children and families living in Harlem, providing free support in the form of parenting workshops, a preschool program, three charter schools, and child-oriented ...

Radhika Fox Radhika Fox is an American government official who is currently the assistant administrator for water at the Environmental Protection Agency. Education Fox received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1995, where she major ...

, US Water Alliance * Stewart Kwoh,

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL) formerly known as Asian Americans Advancing Justice - LA (Advancing Justice - LA), is a non-profit legal aid and civil rights organization dedicated to advocacy, providing legal ...

Joan Walsh Joan Maureen Walsh (born September 18, 1958) is a liberal American political pundit and journalist. Walsh is national affairs correspondent for ''The Nation,'' and was previously an on-air political analyst at CNN and MSNBC. She produced the 202 ...

, ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

References

External links

PolicyLink

PolicyLink's ''Equity Blog''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Policylink Organizations based in Oakland, California Research institutes in California