Vincena Allen is the Chief Growth Officer & Vice President at The SEED Foundation (SEED), a non-profit organization leading the nation’s first and only network of public, college-preparatory boarding schools providing a 24-hour, 5-day per week learning environment. With more than 15 years of executive management experience, she has dedicated her career to education, program design, human development, and collective impact.

Vincena is a strategic integrator across the organization and is responsible for the oversight and enhancement of critical areas such as: the internal and external growth of SEED’s College Transition & Success (CTS) services and College Matching Technology (CMT) solution; SEED network initiatives associated with human resources/talent integration and SEED’s college success model; and leadership and performance management for SEED heads of school. Additionally, Vincena supports board engagement and development, and served as Interim Chief Executive Officer during the CEO’s sabbatical.

Vincena’s previous professional experience includes serving in leadership positions at community-based organizations and higher education institutions in the mid-Atlantic and mid-west. She has presented at conferences such as the National College Access Network (NCAN), National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), The College Board, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA), ITS America, and the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence. Additionally, Vincena has written for the Huffington Post and was interviewed by the Harvard Social Impact Review.

Vincena’s interest in human development and education led her to study psychology at Allegheny College, earn a master’s degree from the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, and receive a certificate of non-profit management from Columbia University’s Executive Level Business program. Vincena is a Pahara Fellow, Recent Board Chair for the Common App, Circles Rising Leaders Program Fellow (Aspen Institute), cohort member of Emerging Human Capital Leaders Initiative (Education Pioneers), Trustee for SEED DC, and recipient of the Rosa Wessel Award for Outstanding Master’s Degree Student--MSW (School of Social Policy and Practice at University of Pennsylvania).