Corinne Allen, executive director of the Benwood Foundation, talks about her years of service to the organization.ABOUT HER• Name: Corinne Allen• Born: Charlotte, N.C.• Age: 64• Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with education degree• Work: Headed the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Education Foundation in North Carolina before becoming Benwood Foundation executive director in 1999WHAT’S NEXTA national search for a new Benwood Foundation executive director will begin later this year. Allen will remain with the foundation during the transition period. The foundation also plans to complete a strategic plan at the end of the year.
The woman who championed a public education initiative that pumped about $18 million into Chattanooga’s elementary schools and helped bring about a decade of reform is stepping down from the helm of the charitable foundation that made it possible.
At the end of this year, Corinne Allen said she will retire from the Benwood Foundation after 13 years.
Under her leadership, the foundation also has focused on community development and arts and culture.
But it’s the Benwood Initiative, an effort that has benefited thousands of students, that has garnered the most attention.