Our Founder, President and CEO, Dr. Rosemarie Allen has served as an educational leader for over 40 years. Her life's work is centered on ensuring ALL children have access to high quality early childhood programs that are developmentally appropriate and culturally sustaining.  She is currently a 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, power and justice impact teaching practices.  Rosemarie 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. 

Dr. 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 organizations throughout the nation and internationally. In this capacity she has worked with the United States Department of Education as well as 47 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, trauma healing practices, 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”. Dr. Allen is also on faculty with Georgetown University and the Pyramid Model Consortium and a Professor of Research with the Children's Equity Project at Arizona State University

Rosemarie has the distinct honor of being appointed as a “Global Leader” connecting with world leaders in early childhood across the globe. She is the recipient of the prestigious T. Barry Brazelton Friends of Children Award, sharing this honor with other recipients such as First Ladies, Hilary Clinton, Rosalind Carter, and Laura Bush. She has been honored to receive the MLK Peace Award, the Rosa Parks Diversity Award and numerous other awards and honors. She 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.