Alana V. Allen
Founder Executive Director @I Am A Queen
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WORK HISTORY
Founder Executive Director @I Am A Queen
Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC, US
Founded and lead a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to mentoring and empowering girls and young women ages 10–18 through leadership development, workforce readiness, and community service initiatives across North Carolina.Provide executive and fiduciary leadership, overseeing organizational strategy, governance, compliance, and day-to-day operations while advancing the mission, vision, and long-term sustainability of the organization.Lead grant strategy and development, writing, managing, and submitting grant proposals; overseeing application timelines; and ensuring compliance with funder requirements, reporting standards, and grant agreements.Designed and implemented fundable, outcome-driven programs, including the Queen Arise Leadership Program and Ultimate Christmas Adoption Program, collectively impacting nearly North Carolina residents through direct services and community engagement.Develop and execute organizational sustainability and fundraising strategies, securing financial resources to support program expansion, staffing, and operational infrastructure.Oversee grant management and post-award reporting, including budget tracking, data collection, outcome measurement, and funder communications to support renewal and long-term funding relationships.Direct organizational operations encompassing program development, financial planning, marketing and public relations, donor stewardship, event coordination, and volunteer management.Serve as the organization’s primary spokesperson and relationship steward, cultivating partnerships with funders, community stakeholders, schools, and corporate supporters.
EDUCATION
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
Bachelor's Degree, Journalism & Mass Communications (Public Relations)
SKILLS
ABOUT ALANA V. ALLEN
Alana V. Allen is a results-driven communications and grant strategy professional with 18 years of experience spanning government, higher education, nonprofit leadership, corporate communications, and agency environments. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, funding, and public trust.Currently, Alana serves as Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications for the Division of Strategic Partnerships and Economic Development at North Carolina A&T State University, where she provides enterprise-level communications leadership supporting multiple university offices, affiliated entities, and high-profile corporate and government partnerships. Her work advances institutional visibility, economic development initiatives, alumni engagement, and executive-level stakeholder relations.Alana’s background includes senior roles in state government, public safety, and corporate communications, including serving as Deputy Press Secretary under North Carolina’s first female governor, Beverly E. Perdue, where she supported executive messaging, media relations, digital communications, and statewide public engagement initiatives.In addition to her university leadership role, Alana is the Founder & Executive Director of I Am A Queen, a youth development nonprofit she has led for more than 16 years, impacting nearly North Carolina residents through leadership development, mentoring, and community service programming for girls and young women.She is also the owner and Grant Writing Strategist of Alana Knows Nonprofits, LLC, where she partners with nonprofit leaders as an external funding strategist. Through her consulting work, she has secured more than in grant funding and in fundraising support, specializing in grant readiness, proposal development, funder alignment, and sustainability strategy.Alana is a graduate of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications (Public Relations concentration), a graduate of the Executive Leadership Academy (Guilford Nonprofit Consortium / Center for Creative Leadership), and an active member of the Grant Professionals Association.Her leadership and impact have been recognized through multiple honors, including Triad Business Journal’s 40 Leaders Under 40, Greensboro News & Record Women in Leadership – Nonprofit Excellence, and the AC Stowe Lifetime Achievement Award.
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