 Blackwell has served on many boards, including the Urban Institute, The James Irvine Foundation, the Foundation for Child Development, and Common Cause.Currently, she serves on the boards of the Children’s Defense Fund, the W. Haywood Burns Institute, Levi Strauss and Co., and the Corporation for Enterprise Development.For a decade, beginning in 1977, Blackwell served as a partner with Public Advocates, a nationally-known public interest law firm representing the underrepresented.