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Jody Allen

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For the senior editor at the Pew Research Center, see Jodie Allen.

Jody Allen
Born
Jo Lynn Allen

(1959-02-03) February 3, 1959 (age 65)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Other namesJody Patton, Jo Lynn Patton, Jo Allen, Jody Allen Patton, Jo Allen Patton
Alma materWhitman College
Occupation(s)Vice-chair of First & Goal Inc.
Co-founder of Vulcan Inc.
President of Vulcan Productions
Spouse
Brian Patton
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2009)​
Children3
RelativesPaul Allen (brother)

Jo Lynn "Jody" Allen (born February 3, 1959) is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is the sister of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and served as the chief executive officer of his investment and project management company, Vulcan Inc., from its founding in 1986 until 2015.[1][2] She is also the co-founder and president of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.[3]

Following the death of her brother in October 2018, Allen was named executor and trustee of his estate, pursuant to his instructions, giving her responsibility for overseeing the execution of his will and settling his affairs with tax authorities and parties with an interest in his projects.[4] Among some of the properties she took control of upon his death were the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Octopus super-yacht, and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), along with minority ownership of the Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer (MLS).[5][6]

Early life and education

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Allen was born in Seattle, Washington on February 3, 1959, the daughter of schoolteacher Edna Faye (née Gardner) Allen[7] and Kenneth Sam Allen, an associate director of the University of Washington Libraries.[7][8] Her older brother Paul went on to become co-founder of Microsoft Corporation.[9] She grew up in Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood and graduated from Lakeside School in 1975.[9][10] She studied drama at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, and was a member of the class of 1980.[10][11][12]

Career

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In 1986, Allen co-founded Vulcan Inc. with her brother to manage their family's business and charitable endeavors.[2] Vulcan's former chief financial officer described her as being "responsible for having the trains run on time" and said she had "a particular passion for real estate development, building things in general."[13]

She currently serves as vice-chair of First & Goal Inc., which oversees operations of the Seattle Seahawks.[2] She was involved in negotiating the public-private partnership that led to the construction of Lumen Field in Seattle, and was an adviser to her brother when he first considered buying the Seahawks.[14][15] In 1997, a Seattle reporter wrote: "Jody Patton thought buying the Seahawks was a great idea; thus was born Allen's efforts to acquire the team and build a new football stadium."[15]

During her career Allen also supervised construction of the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, renovation of the Seattle Cinerama, and also helped bring the EMP Museum (now the Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP) to Seattle.[11] She is also president of Vulcan Productions, a company that produces films, digital programs, and outreach initiatives, and has produced or executive-produced more than a dozen documentaries and feature films.[16][17] In 2013, she signed on as a backer of two documentaries, the Richard E. Robbins-directed film Girl Rising and the nuclear power documentary Pandora's Promise.[18][19]

Controversies

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In 2013, five of her former security guards accused her of sexual harassment, and extensive unethical activity, including bribing customs officials to smuggle animal bones out of Africa and Antarctica.[20] The lawsuits were eventually settled out of court.[21]

Philanthropy

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Allen co-founded the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation in 1990.[3] Since then, the foundation has given more than $469 million in grants to over 1,400 nonprofit organizations.[22]

Allen is the president of the board of trustees of the Museum of Pop Culture, a nonprofit museum dedicated to pop culture and music.[3][23] The Seattle Times credited Allen with helping her brother make the museum a reality: "Although Allen gets most of the credit...it is the brainchild of both these close siblings. Allen provided the money and inspiration; Patton, as executive director, is largely responsible for the vision that made it happen."[11]

With her brother, Allen co-founded the Seattle-based non-profit organization Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2003, of which she serves as chairman of the board. The Institute provides free online public resources to scientists around the world.[24][25] Other boards on which she has served include those of the Seahawks Charitable Foundation, ArtsFund, the Theatre Communications Group, the University of Washington Foundation, the Museum of Glass, the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.[3]

Personal life

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Allen has three children: Duncan (born 1989), Gardner (born 1994) and Faye (born 1997) with Brian Patton, whom she divorced in 2009 after 21 years of marriage.[8][11][26][27] Allen's ex-husband is a golf-course manager.[27][28] She was known as Jody Patton, Jody Allen Patton and Jo Allen Patton while married.[11][29][30]

She is a member of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society[31] and the Explorers Club.[32]

As of 2009, Allen lives on Mercer Island, Washington.[13]

Filmography

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Executive producer

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Producer

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References

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  1. ^ "The $12 Billion Education Of Paul Allen". Bloomberg.com. May 3, 2004. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Vulcan Inc., Leadership". vulcan.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, About the Founders". pgafoundations.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  4. ^ "Paul Allen's sister Jody named executor, trustee of late billionaire's estate, Seattle Times, October 24, 2018". October 24, 2018. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. ^ "Jody Allen Takes Ownership Lead, Seahawks Won't Be Sold". Archived from the original on October 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "Vulcan CEO Jody Allen steps down amid controversy". Puget Sound Business Journal. October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Maureen O'Hagan, Faye Allen, mother of Microsoft co-founder, dies at 90 Archived June 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, June 3, 2012
  8. ^ a b "Paul Allen". People. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  9. ^ a b William Plummer, Paul Allen: Rich and Reclusive, Microsoft's Other Cofounder Goes Hollywood Archived July 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, People, June 19, 1995
  10. ^ a b Rich, Laura (January 17, 2003). The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471356318. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ a b c d e Melanie McFarland and Patrick MacDonald, The EMP has been 'long, major journey' Archived April 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, June 23, 2000
  12. ^ "Allen Foundation grants Whitman College $150K for HJT - Whitman College". whitman.edu. August 10, 2010. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  13. ^ a b Mike Rogoway, Trail Blazers, Vulcan look ahead as Paul Allen faces cancer Archived April 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Oregonian, November 21, 2009
  14. ^ Brier Dudley, Seahawks Sign Lease For 30 Years At New Stadium Archived November 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, September 25, 1998
  15. ^ a b Linda Keene, The Enigmatic Paul Allen -- Everyone Knows What He Does, But Few Really Know Who He Is Archived April 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, June 11, 1997
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Jody Allen". IMDb. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  17. ^ "Vulcan Productions". www.vulcanproductions.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Rebecca Ford, 'Girl Rising' Picked Up by Regal Cinemas for Weeklong Engagement Archived May 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, April 5, 2013
  19. ^ Kerry A. Dolan, Why Billionaire Paul Allen Backed Pro-Nuclear Power Film Pandora's Promise Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Forbes, June 14, 2013
  20. ^ Levi Pulkkinen, Bodyguards: Vulcan CEO Allen tried to smuggle bones out of Africa Archived May 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 28, 2013
  21. ^ "Allen, sister settle security team suits". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton, Washington. November 14, 2013. p. 5.
  22. ^ The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation’s New $6.87M Grant Cycle Lends Strong Support to Scientific Research, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, August 5, 2013
  23. ^ "MoPOP - Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle Washington". Museum of Pop Culture. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  24. ^ "Allen Institute for Brain Science, Founders". alleninstitute.org. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  25. ^ "Allen Institute for Brain Science, Public Resources". alleninstitute.org. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  26. ^ "Jody and Paul Allen's Win Streak by Rick Anderson, Seattle Weekly, December 10, 2013". seattleweekly.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  27. ^ a b Rich, Laura (January 17, 2003). The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471356318. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
  28. ^ "Sports - Druids Glen Opens With Rave Reviews - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  29. ^ "Foundation gives grants to Oregon programs, Portland Business Journal, January 15, 2009". Archived from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  30. ^ Borsook, Paulina (August 1, 1994). "The Accidental Zillionaire". Wired. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via www.wired.com.
  31. ^ "The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, 2012 College of Fellows Dinner" (PDF). rcgs.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  32. ^ "Leadership : Vulcan.com". Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Yahoo! Movies". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Movies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  35. ^ "Vulcan Productions". www.vulcanproductions.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  36. ^ "About". We The Economy. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
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