Rosemarie Allen

Opening Plenary Session

Opening Plenary Community Response Panel

Center for Equity & Excellence President and CEO Dr. Rosemarie Allen has served as an educational leader for over 30 years. Her life's work is centered on ensuring ALL children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are developmentally and culturally appropriate. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her classes are focused on ensuring teachers are aware of how issues of equity, privilege, and power impact teaching practices. Allen has served in directorship roles with the Colorado Department of Human Services as the Director of the Division of Early Learning and in Youth Corrections. In Early Learning, she oversaw the State’s child care licensing program, the federal child care assistance program, the redesign of the State’s quality rating and improvement system, the implementation of the State’s professional development plan, and assisted in the creation of Colorado’s early learning guidelines. Allen also serves as the President and CEO for the Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence (IREE), which is the lead agency for ensuring equity in educational practices throughout the nation. In this capacity she has worked with the United States Department of Education as well as 48 State Departments of Education, the United States Customs and Border Protection, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Police Officer Standard Training (POST) and numerous police departments, school districts and other organizations providing training on implicit bias, microaggressions, anti-racism and racial equity. IREE is contracted with the State of Colorado to monitor and license early childhood facilities using a model she created, “Culturally Responsive Community Based Licensing”. Allen is a national expert on implicit bias and culturally responsive practices, speaking at conferences across the country. She is a respected keynote speaker, presenting on Implicit Bias, Racial Equity, Inclusive Practices, Culturally Responsive Practices, Cultural Competence, Micro-Aggressions, Disproportionality, Privilege, Power and Intersectionality, etc. She also has the distinct honor of being appointed as a “Global Leader” connecting with world leaders in early childhood across the globe. Allen earned her B. A. from California State University, Long Beach, Master’s of Education from Lesley University and Doctorate in Equity and Leadership in Education at the University of Colorado, Denver. She is married to Don Allen and they have two amazing children. Jasmine is a Couples and Family therapist in Denver, Colorado and Clarence is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. and currently works as a Community Organizer.