Director of Vote16USA
LaJuan’s Bio “LaJuan Allen began his career as the Community Relations Coordinator for Mayor Jorge O. Elorza in Providence, Rhode Island, and most recently served as Director of Policy & Partnerships. His portfolio included leading, implementing, and coordinating policy initiatives and high-quality, quick turnaround research, and analysis in support of the mayor’s policy agenda. LaJuan, in collaboration with the city’s COVID recovery office, provided leadership with the implementation of the City of Providence’s COVID-19 Recovery and Resiliency Plan, including exciting key programs and initiatives recommended by the city’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Task Force. In his role, he supported the Director of Diversity., Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) by providing strategic guidance around city policy and was responsible for broadening and strengthening meaningful partnerships with key external stakeholders. LaJuan served as the lead advisor on all aspects of the Mayor’s Youth & education priorities, providing creative and strategic leadership that supports the implementation of the mayor’s investments around youth & education, including overseeing the City’s participation in Harvard’s By-All-Means Initiative and served as the key liaison between the Providence School Board, Providence School Department, Rhode Island Department of Education, and Charter Schools.
He currently serves as the Director of Vote16USA at Generation Citizen, an organization committed to amplifying the voices of young people in our democracy. LaJuan leads Vote16USA’s strategic initiatives, communications, fundraising, partnerships, and grassroots campaigns. Under Allen’s leadership, the organization plans to drive forward an intrapreneurial campaign to move Vote16USA from a successful phase of incubation at Generation Citizen to becoming an independent hub for the movement to lower the voting age to 16, expand its outreach efforts, engage with policymakers, and build a broad coalition of supporters to advance the movement for voting rights for 16- and 17-year-olds
LaJuan became the first person in his family to graduate from college earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science/Public Policy and Sociology from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2018. In May of 2022, LaJuan graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth with a Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Education Policy. LaJuan currently serves as a member of the Providence Promise Board of Directors and is an adjunct faculty at College Unbound in Providence, Rhode Island.
