Dr. Althe R. Allen joined Phoenix Union High School District as Assistant Superintendent for Instruction & Accountability in October 2010 and became the Associate Superintendent in July 2014. Dr. Allen was named the Chief Academic Officer in July 2016 and in 2019 served as the Chief Development Officer prior to her retirement in June 2022. Dr. Allen returned to PXU in July 2024 and currently serves as the Chief Officer leading the Talent, Technology & Logistics, Portfolio, and Safety Divisions. Dr. Allen continues to lead community partnerships to enhance the work within Portfolio and across the district.
Prior to coming to Phoenix Union, Allen was the Executive Director of Secondary Schools and Excelling Teaching and Learning at Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD). She served as a SUSD Cabinet member for ten years, responsible for all high school and middle school operations, K-12 student services, safety, and supervision of school leaders. She began in SUSD in 1998 as an assistant principal at Saguaro High School, became the Director of Alternative Education in 2000, where she developed alternative education programs across the district and established the SUSD alternative school, Sierra Vista. Dr. Allen was formerly a principal and teacher for schools in the Maricopa County Regional School District, beginning her education career teaching at Thomas J. Pappas School in 1992.
A native of New York, she earned her B.A. at the State University of New York at Albany, her Master’s at Northern Arizona University in Educational Leadership, and her doctorate in Educational Leadership Policy from Arizona State University. She has been a professor of educational leadership courses at both the master’s and doctorate level for both NAU and GCU and is an avid reader, writer, and “forever teacher”. She has a heart and passion for creating school communities that are just, innovative, caring spaces where students learn deeply about academic content, themselves, and the power they have to contribute to our world. Similarly, she believes in workspaces that support and foster adult growth in the same way. Dr. Allen lives in Phoenix with her family and enjoys travel, hiking, and the arts.