Children and Families First to honor UD alum Tony Allen

1:21 p.m., Feb. 4, 2005--Children and Families First (CFF) will honor UD alumnus Tony Allen with its J. Thompson Brown Award at a dinner, dance and fund-raising event at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 5, at the Wilmington Country Club. CFF is a private, nonprofit social service agency that responds to community needs throughout Delaware.

Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Delaware, a master’s degree in public administration from Baruch College (CUNY) and a doctorate in urban affairs and public policy from UD.

A native Delawarean, Allen has long been committed to public service and children. Allen began his career as a substance abuse prevention coordinator for the Wilmington Cluster Against Substance Abuse and as a counselor for The Children's Home, a residential facility for children without parents.

In 1994, Allen cofounded Public Allies Delaware, a leadership development organization for young adults, 18-30, interested in public sector careers. In 1996, Allen was chosen to become a National Urban Fellow, a prestigious 14-month academic fellowship for public sector administrators across the country.

In 1997, Allen worked as special assistant to U.S. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., and in 2000 he became the founding president of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League. Over the next four years, the organization became a leading public policy group for people of color in Delaware and served more than 30,000 Delawareans through its advocacy efforts in education, minority procurement, policing and urban revitalization.

In 2003, the National Urban League awarded Allen the Whitney M. Young Award for Advancing Racial Equality, the highest honor an Urban League affiliate and its president can receive. In 2004, Tony became an executive vice president in corporate communications with MBNA America Bank.

Tickets for the fund-raising event, which range from $100-$250 per person, should be reserved by Feb. 22 by contacting Leslie Newman at (302) 658-5177 or by e-mail at [Leslie,newman@cffde.orgAbout].

E-mail this article

To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here.