Tonya Allen

Tonya Allen is president of the McKnight Foundation, a Minnesota-based family foundation that advances a more just, creative, and abundant future where people and planet thrive. The Foundation grants approximately $120 million annually in support of equitable communities, a clean energy economy, global food systems, artists and culture bearers, and innovative neuroscience research. Allen heads a majority women, majority people-of-color senior leadership team and a diverse team of about 60. 
Previously, Allen served as president and CEO of The Skillman Foundation, and she co-founded Detroit Children’s Fund and Detroit Parent Network. She is currently serves on the Council on Foundations, co-chair of the Executives’ Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, and a board member of the GHR Foundation, WPO Minnesota, and Greater MSP.  Allen holds a master’s degree in public health, a master’s degree in social work, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology, each from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.