Associate Director, Development

Allyson has a B.A. in Biology and Art from a small, liberal arts college located in the same town in central Texas where she grew up. She started her professional journey in the environmental sector but quickly switched to non-profit work when she observed that state agencies disproportionately penalized immigrant-run businesses. She served as a Healthy Schools volunteer with the Peace Corps in rural Guatemala from 2015-2017, where she learned Spanish and adopted a street dog named Esperanza. Upon returning to the U.S., she and Esperanza joined her husband (then partner), Kau, in Providence, RI, where she spent some time as a Program Manager and Chief of Staff for a small, highly-effective community development non-profit. The three relocated to Tucson, AZ in summer 2019 when Kau accepted an assistant professor position at the University of Arizona. Allyson served as the Staff Writer at a local Girl Scout council for a year before joining Springboard Collaborative in February 2021. Her favorite childhood book is Where the Wild Things Are because it encouraged her active imagination, and it was her father’s favorite book to read together at night.

Email