Kamala Allen, MHS, is the senior vice president for program and strategic planning at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). In these roles, Kamala ensures the effectiveness and efficiency of the organizational infrastructure that supports programs and oversees CHCS’ child-focused efforts, including the direction and financial management of several multi-year initiatives. She has extensive experience in the application of quality improvement methodologies and the use of managed care in public child-serving systems. Kamala also leads CHCS’ internal strategic and annual planning efforts, as well as external projects supporting strategic planning within state government agencies.

Kamala has served in previous roles at CHCS, including as Chief of Staff, as associate director for special projects for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Medicaid Managed Care Program — where she oversaw the development and execution of state agency training in health care measurement and quality — and as associate director for program analysis and communications. Prior to joining CHCS, Kamala was a program analyst in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s Office of Program Development, and project coordinator for the Centers for Disease Control’s Maryland Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, where she co-developed and oversaw the implementation of a school-based health promotion curriculum in two Baltimore middle schools.

Kamala serves as a member of several advisory and expert panels. She is also a member of the National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health Board of Directors, the Newark School of the Arts Board of Trustees, and the Children’s Oncology Group Patient Advisory Committee.

Kamala holds a master of health science in maternal and child health from the Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Hygiene and Public Health. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration in developmental disabilities from the University of California at Los Angeles. Kamala also holds several certifications in nonprofit management.

When not at work, Kamala is busy raising awareness about pediatric cancer, doing community service through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., or serving as a Registered Parliamentarian