For Immediate Release: October 5, 2020
Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939
Charleston, WV– The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Kelly Allen will serve as the organization’s new executive director. Allen will lead the nonprofit thinktank’s team of seven talented staff members into their thirteenth year as the state’s leading authority on state budget and tax policy.
Allen joined the WVCBP in 2018 as policy outreach coordinator. She became director of policy engagement in 2019 and was named deputy director in January 2020. Prior to her time with the Center, she spent nearly four years with the West Virginia Healthy Start Navigator Project, where she connected West Virginians with health coverage through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion and developed a passion for health policy. Allen most recently served as the WVCBP’s interim executive director, where she brought two new policy analysts onto the team and increased the organization’s funding.
Since joining the WVCBP, Allen has led the organization’s health policy portfolio, advocacy on policies that impact women and families, and federal safety net work. She has been actively engaged in policy research and advocacy working with legislators, stakeholders, organizational partners, and community members on policies that invest in our people to advance the well-being of all West Virginians. She is a lifelong West Virginia resident and holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Penn State University.
“Kelly has shown remarkable leadership in expanding our organization and in increasing the activity and direction of the Center’s Summer Policy Institute over the past few years. We look forward to continued growth and influence with Kelly at the helm,” said Marybeth Beller, Vice President of the WVCBP Board of Directors.
Kelly takes the helm following the departure of founding executive director Ted Boettner. She will work to maintain and expand the strong legacy built by Boettner.
