April Callen is the Vice President, Racial Equity Programs & Narrative Strategy at Purpose Built Communities. She provides critical leadership to and project management of all aspects of Purpose Built and the network’s racial equity and justice work, including the Truist Foundation Racial Equity Ambassadors program.

A cultural critic and communications strategist by training, April has analyzed popular media and communications, politics, and culture to identify necessary intervention points to tell new, more affirming stories about Black people and other people of the global majority for more than ten years. Collaborating with media and nonprofit organizations through various platforms across different issue areas, April’s practice is to support advocates in developing deeper understandings of racial equity, gender justice, and economic mobility and applying those lessons to their own work in purposeful, creative, and engaging ways. Before joining Purpose Built, April was a principal strategist at the FrameWorks Institute, a communications think tank based in Washington, DC. There, April worked alongside a multi-disciplinary team of social scientists to advance the organization’s strategic outreach and engagement initiatives with partners across various advocacy fields, including housing, education, health, and human services. During her time at FrameWorks, April co-led a project to reframe intergenerational poverty and race to support Purpose Built’s narrative change strategies. April also led FrameWorks’ equity working group and external communications efforts.

Prior to joining FrameWorks, April was the manager of communications at Chicago Foundation for Women and a frequent on-air contributor to Vocalo, a next-generation radio station part of Chicago Public Media. She holds a BA in communications and rhetoric studies from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and an MA in media, culture, and society from DePaul University in Chicago.