Anthony Barrows brings a scientist’s precision to the school of hard knocks in his lectures on how systems have to be co-designed with real people in mind. Whether he’s talking about his own youth navigating foster care in Boston, his professional experience improving the child welfare system nationally, or his conviction about challenging narratives of deservingness–he is always colorful, clear, and cutting-edge. He is currently serving as the Executive Director at LIFT New York, whose mission is the break the cycle of poverty by investing in parents. Before that, Anthony founded the Center for Behavioral Design & Social Justice at Project Evident, and led the Economic Justice portfolio at Ideas42 for 9 years, where he focused on using applied behavioral science to fight poverty. 

Anthony is taking the public conversation around proximity–most famously association with Bryan Stevenson–and channeling it into directives for action. How can we listen differently to those closest to the problems we are trying to fix? How can we re-humanize government so it actually serves our most vulnerable, rather than burdening them further with unnecessary bureaucracy? These are the kinds of questions that animate Anthony’s talks, making him an invaluable asset for design conferences, government gatherings, and university lecture series.