Anthony Armstrong builds capacity for personal, organizational, and societal change with equity at the center.

Anthony (he/him) has been there with organizations at critical moments for 20 years, with empathy, honesty, and purpose.

He founded Make Communities in 2013 and has since worked with more than one hundred organizations across twenty states. Make Communities’ philosophy is to pursue transformational work, no matter the industry or sector. We have worked with foundations, governments, public space developers and managers, the financial and health care industries, public policy and housing sector non-profits, academia, and more.

Anthony has worked with a cross cutting array of organizations to advance planning; culture change; professional development; movement building and collective impact.

— Racial equity training in partnership with Just Partners, Inc.’s Race Matters Institute, focused on developing a shared understanding of racial equity and implementation of practical tools for advancing racial equity in policy and institutional practice
— Project management, message development, and lead authorship of a regional racial equity data and causal analysis for the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, culminating in The Opportunity Dividend report to inform regional equity strategy for the emergent Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable

— Previously led public policy, community planning processes, collaboration initiatives and contributed non-profit technical assistance efforts for the Buffalo office of Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the nation’s largest community development intermediary

— Executive level support for corporate, foundation, and non-profit clients to align operational strategies and management approaches with racial equity aspirations

— Internal equity audits and community based engagement coordination to inform equitable decision making and guide programmatic priorities.

Anthony comes from an interdisciplinary background in community development: analyzing, convening, coaching, advocating, and building capacity for change.

He has served as a program officer; project manager; board member, treasurer, and chair; coop founder; policy fellow; legislative constituent liaison; and government affairs representative. Anthony holds a B.A. in Media Study from University at Buffalo Honors College, an M.S. in Urban Affairs with a concentration in Community Development from Hunter College, and teaches Neighborhood and Community Development at Buffalo State University.

He has been quoted on equitable and community development issues by media outlets such as Planning Magazine, Reuters, al Jazeera, StreetsBlog, and USAToday.