Sharon K. Allen began her fundraising and nonprofit journey in college by serving as the Philanthropic Chair of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega. Showing early signs of fundraising prowess, she used her undergraduate business marketing skills to lead efforts to raise approximately $60,000 to improve her campus community.
As a first-generation college student, Sharon is keenly aware of the impact of education. At the encouragement of her university president at the University of Texas at Arlington, she chose to pursue a Master of Public Service and Administration degree at the Bush School of Government & Public Service, Texas A&M University. She was drawn to the Bush School because of its mission. “Public Service is a noble calling, and we need men and women of character to believe in their communities, in their states, and in their country.”
While Sharon was a student, President George H. W. Bush was a regular visitor at the Bush School. He would often visit the campus to share his experiences with students in guest lectures, fly fish in the pond out back, and compete in a friendly game of horseshoes. He encouraged students to engage in respectful discourse and welcome differing viewpoints. Sharon says, “There was no other program that offered this kind of access to a world leader, and I was honored to be a part of this community.”
After graduating from the Bush School in 2004, Sharon spent six years as Director of Development at the Texas A&M Foundation and nine years as the Chief Advancement and External Affairs Officer for the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. She is now the Senior Director of Principal Gifts at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she manages an international portfolio of the School’s most generous donors in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America and works with the School’s Center for International Development Middle East Initiative.
Sharon’s career has surpassed her expectations. During her tenure at the Center for Astrophysics, she led efforts to raise $52M, assembled a talented team, developed a prospect pool, and managed the design and implementation of a new organizational website. She oversaw the press for the release of the first-ever image of a black hole, which reached billions of people across the world. She has visited the Greenland Telescope at Summit Station, attended the launch of the Parker Solar Probe at Kennedy Space Station, and witnessed a total solar eclipse in the Chilean desert.
Sharon’s work has allowed her to travel the world and provided her with opportunities to engage with remarkable leaders such as NASA Commander Eileen Collins, Dr. Stephen Hawking, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and Grateful Dead musician Mickey Hart.
Through hard work and dedication, Sharon’s undergraduate fundraising experiences and public service graduate education at the Bush School have propelled her toward a fulfilling, exciting, and inspiring career. Her compelling advice to any past or present Bush School student is to seek out mentors, trust your instincts, and be innovative. “Focus on what you do best, and the rest will fall into place.”
