Vincena Allen, Chief Growth officer

Vincena Allen describes herself as an education advocate. Still, she never imagined that a work-study job in the financial aid office would inspire her to pursue a career in higher education and eventually lead her to working with educational non-profits. In her current role as Chief Growth Officer at The SEED Foundation, Vincena manages all college transition and support efforts, while also providing support and strategic thinking to college readiness and counseling initiatives at the SEED Schools.

Throughout her professional career, Vincena has traveled in the U.S. & Caribbean conducting college and financial aid seminars, recruiting students, and facilitating college access workshops for urban education outreach efforts. She is grateful for the experience she acquired during her time managing college campus visitation, alumni admissions and multicultural student recruitment programs. Her involvement with community-based college access programs started when she became the assistant director of the D.C. Metro Area Consortium of Universities’ College Information Center. Over the years, she has shared her knowledge of access and success at several national conferences including the National College Access Network (NCAN) and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Her expertise in college access and success led to an invitation to join the Outreach Advisory Group for The Common Application, which promotes integrity in the college application process.

Vincena’s interest in and passion for human development and education led her to study psychology at Allegheny College, earn a master’s degree from the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, and receive a certificate of non-profit management from Columbia University’s Executive Level Business program. For fun, Vincena enjoys listening to music, reading, spending time with family and friends, and walking her dog Chester.