Ahndraea Allen
Training and Outreach Specialist

Ahndraea Allen joined the Center for the Study of Sport in Society in 2006 as a Training and Outreach Specialist in the Violence Prevention and Diversity (VPD) department. As a member of the VPD team, Allen is responsible for conducting trainings on issues regarding gender violence, diversity awareness, conflict resolution and disabilities in sport.

Before joining Sport in Society, Allen was part of a comprehensive youth outreach program called Generation Xcel, located in the projects of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The group was a band of youth armed with the belief that they were not the �Generation X� they had been labeled, but were instead a generation born to �Xcel� and make a difference. The group became a catalyst for change and a vehicle for community outreach and renewal. As part of the staff, she was encouraged to think positively and constructively about neighborhood problems.

Allen credits her parents and their work as outreach ministers in Manhattan as being the foundation for her own life-long dedication to social justice. She spent most of her young and adolescent life working with youth her own age, encouraging them to believe that there was a better way of life for them. She started a youth choir, a drama program and a hip hop dance group, in which she was a chorographer. She also formed a Hip Hop band that performed throughout New York called �4 the-1 Messiah.� During high school she also worked as a counselor for the Christian-based youth summer camp, Lake Champion, which allowed inner-city children the opportunity to escape their problems at home and deal with the issues that they couldn�t talk about with their parents.

A native of Roselle Park, New Jersey, she became a champion in Track and was named All-State three out of the four years she ran. She also broke several State, Regional and Town records. Allen finished her high school career having broken every school record in her sport and winning 51 medals. Allen came to Northeastern University on a full track scholarship. While at Northeastern, Allen became the first and only athlete in the history of America East to win the same four events four years in a row. She was named America East Track Performer of the Year three times each for the indoor and outdoor seasons and won 10 America East indoor titles and 16 outdoor titles. She set Northeastern records in 7 events outdoor and indoor combined. At the highly competitive ECAC Championship, Allen was a three-time champion in the indoor 400 and also won an outdoor title in the 400. Northeastern won America East Championships in seven of eight seasons Allen competed. In her senior year Allen became an All-American by taking 8th place in the 400 at the national meet.

Allen graduated from Northeastern in 2005 and earned a BA in Music Industry with a minor in African American Studies. Shortly after, she joined the Northeastern track & field staff as assistant coach with an emphasis on helping with the Huskies' sprinters. Since graduating from NU, she has continued to run professionally and has competed in many high-level meets.

E-mail: [email protected]

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