Alumni Talk with California State Senator Ben Allen AB '00 (SOLD OUT)
Harvard grad Ben Allen (AB ‘00) and Freshman State Senator is already making his mark in Sacramento. Join us for this special event. This event is sold out!
Sunday, September 20, 2015 4:00- 6:00pm (light reception will start at 3:45)
Location: Private residence in Brentwood (address will be emailed to registered guests)
This event is sold out!
Elected by a wide majority to the California State Senate in November 2014, Ben Allen has already been overwhelmingly chosen for several important posts. Join us for an intimate talk with Ben, who will share what he is learning about the process of governing, and will focus on the latest developments in Sacramento in the area of education policy.
Limited to the first 20 attendees - first-come, first-served.
Cost: $20 members; $25 non-members (includes reception before the event)
Contact: Madeleine Mejia at Madeleine_Mejia@post.havard.edu
About Senator Ben Allen
On November 4, 2014, California State Senator Ben Allen was overwhelmingly elected as a freshman senator to serve as chair of the Senate's Committee on Elections and Constitutional Amendments as well as the state legislature's Joint Committee on the Arts. He also serves on the Senate's Budget Committee, the Budget Subcommittee that oversees the state's education budget, the Veterans Affairs Committee, the Natural Resources and Water Committee, and the Transportation and Housing Committee.
Ben is a former board member, and former Board President, of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and was elected as the top vote-getter in both his 2008 election and 2012 reelection. On the School Board, Ben was a leader on issues of environmental sustainability, financial accountability, and community engagement. While President of the Board, Ben helped shepherd through a successful $385 million bond measure that is set to upgrade District facilities using cutting-edge environmental best practices and create good new local jobs. He helped lead the negotiations for the District with the City of Santa Monica that increased and stabilized City funding for the schools and has supported efforts to ensure that the District provides all students with high-quality educational opportunities regardless of their background or means.
He is also an attorney with the law firm of Richardson & Patel LLP and is a lecturer at UCLA Law School, where he teaches education law and policy. While in law school, Allen served as a voting member of the University of California Board of Regents and as a judicial clerk with the United Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Afterwards, Allen was a litigator with the law firm of Bryan Cave LLP and then led the successful Los Angeles launch of The Spark Program, a non-profit organization that connects at-risk middle school students with apprenticeships. He currently serves on Spark’s board.
Prior to his law career, Allen worked for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), and then as communications director for Congressman Jose Serrano (D-NY). He is a senior fellow with the international human rights organization Humanity in Action, is member of a Pacific Council on International Policy, and a graduate of the Jewish Federation's New Leaders Project. Allen has degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and UC Berkeley, and he is fluent in Spanish.