User Profile

President & Chief Executive Officer, The Skillman Foundation

Tonya Allen works to align the complexities of education reform, urban revitalization, and public policy to improve the well-being of Detroit's children. Some key professional accomplishments include serving as the architect of the 10-year, $100 million Good Neighborhoods program, orchestrating the development of a $200-million citywide education reform organization called Excellent Schools Detroit, and designing a high school improvement strategy that resulted in 18 new college-preparatory high schools, which has increased high school graduation and college-going rates in Detroit. She currently co-chairs the 40-member foundation coalition, Executive Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, aimed at increasing opportunities and addressing systemic biases for this population. Before joining the Skillman Foundation in 2004, Tonya worked as a Program Officer for both the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Thompson-McCully Foundation. She founded and was the executive director of Detroit Parent Network, a parent membership organization dedicated to improving educational options for children, and led the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Rebuilding Communities Initiative. Her two-decade long career has centered on pursuing, executing, and investing in ideas that improve her hometown of Detroit and reduce the plight of underserved people, especially children. Tonya has been instrumental in many successful philanthropic, government, and community initiatives and has a comprehensive understanding of philanthropic governance and strategy. Tonya is a Fellow of the 12th class of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.