Bio Sketch - need your feedback; may be too flimsy

Rules: Following this format, please summarize in narrative paragraph format your background, education, major accomplishments, awards, community involvement, outside interests, and anything else that might distinguish you from other candidates.

Please note that your narrative must fit on one side of an 8-½ x 11” sheet of paper as a Microsoft

Word document, single-spaced, in 12-point, Times New Roman font, with one-inch margins. Please double-space between paragraphs. The biographical narrative should be written in the first person.

BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVE

2010-2011 White House Fellowships

ALLISON GREGG

As the director of a leadership program, I understand the importance of educating and engaging our future leaders to assure the success of a community. Understanding what it takes for people to work for the common good comes from a life of searching out ways to understand, communicate, and collaborate with those around me.

During my earliest years, my father’s career took us to Tehran, Iran. We stayed until 1978, when the unrest that would eventually lead to the exile of the Shah erupted. Following a brief stint in San Diego, we would return overseas, making a home in Sicily. Even though my brothers and I attend school on the American base, Sigonella, our family lived outside the gates.

By 1983, we found our way to St. Louis and eventually Seattle. I graduated from Mt. Rainier Senior High School in June of 1992 and began at Highline Community College the next week. In March 1995, I transferred to Western Washington University in Bellingham. I wrote for our school paper while earning a bachelor of arts in journalism/public relations.

Following graduation, I decided to move closer to my family. As such, I loaded my worldly belongings into a yellow 1991 Ford Festiva and drove to Huntsville, Alabama, a place I have called home for more than 12 years. Here I began a career in TV news, staying until September 13, 2001. At that time, I traveled to Australia. It was a unique time to be outside of my country, hearing the concern expressed from various angles and accents.

Upon returning to Huntsville, I secured a position at the Huntsville Museum of Art. Three years into my time with the Museum, I went through Connect Huntsville/Madison County, an experience that ultimately changed the course of my life. During this time, I helped form Huntsville Young Professionals and began volunteering on various boards in the community. A year after graduation, I was hired to run Connect. My most significant accomplishment is growing this community leadership development program into the success it is today. Teaching service, leadership, and community engagement is my life’s calling.

During the last few years, my interests have evolved from young professional retention to community engagement in education. I recently attended a conference hosted by the Harlem Children’s Zone. This propelled me toward collaborating with others to create a cradle to college pipeline that will help us reduce drop-out rates across the school system. Additional interests include promoting healthy lifestyles for children.

Outside of work and volunteering, I write a slice-of-life column in our local arts paper, Valley Planet. I hope to publish a compilation of my columns within the next two years. I am an active runner, having completed seven half-marathons. My two dogs receive more love than they can handle, but not as much as they deserve. I enjoy Sunday dinners with my family and the spirited debates on politics, pop culture, and religion that are served at our meals.