Meaning making is the heart of human creative agency. Shared meaning making is the soul of social change efforts. Knowledge work embraces both.
Dr. Frusciante is founder and principal of Knowledge Designs to Change, an equity-focused research and strategy practice that supports changemakers. As a socio-political scholar, Angela brings over twenty-five years of experience working in social science inquiry within the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors and in local, state, and national arenas. She is dedicated to advancing equity and supporting individuals and organizations in reaching their full potential. Angela believes in the power of the social sector to influence larger systemic change and has an enduring curiosity for how groups activate equity through a shared voice, specifically how foundation funded change efforts inform and influence social, institutional, and policy action.
Angela is a vetted member of both the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) and the National Coalition of Independent Scholars (NCIS). She serves on the national planning team of the Urban Research Based Action Network (URBAN) and is chair of URBAN’s Connecticut node where she leads URBAN’s theme on philanthropic initiatives. Angela is founding co-editor of the Journal of Collaboration for Equitable Change (JCEC) and has served, since its founding, as a reviewer for The Foundation Review, the first peer-reviewed journal of philanthropy. Angela is a proud alumnus of the Council on Foundations Career Pathways program for leaders in philanthropy.
Before founding Knowledge Designs to Change, Angela worked as the first “knowledge development officer” in Connecticut philanthropy. In this role, she created and managed grant and contract investments related to organizational learning, management systems, program support, and network learning partnerships. She established the foundation’s statewide university partnerships as an emerging network of equity scholars and supported engaged research leading to increased opportunity for children across Connecticut.
Prior to that, Angela served on the faculty of Jackson State University, an HBCU in Mississippi where she coordinated the Urban Planning Department’s Urban Studies undergraduate redesign and took part in the department’s first accreditation of the Master’s program during the University’s transition to a research institution. Angela builds her current work on these experiences and her ten years in the Washington DC metro area working on research in multiple arenas including social contexts of education, community engagement, leadership development, university-community partnerships, and foundation funded change efforts.
Angela holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Policy, Planning, and Administration from the University of Maryland in College Park, a Masters in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut.
Angela K. Frusciante curriculum vitae
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Short bio
Angela K Frusciante, MRP, PhD, is principal and founder of Knowledge Designs to Change, a strategic research and knowledge practice focused on change efforts. As an engaged socio-political scholar, Angela brings more than twenty years of experience working in qualitative inquiry and evaluation across the community, nonprofit, academic, and philanthropic sectors and in local, state, and national arenas.
Angela is dedicated to advancing equity and supporting individuals and organizations in reaching their full potential. She believes in the power of the social sector to influence larger systemic change and has an enduring curiosity for how groups and communities activate equity through a shared voice and how funded change efforts inform and influence social, institutional, and policy action.