April Allen, PhD, MPA, is a forward-thinking and forward-looking changemaker with a passion for using data to transform systems that serve children, youth, and families. She is the Founder and CEO of Spark Learning for Organizations LLC, an independent consulting firm that supports human services organizations with community-engaged research, performance measurement, and organizational learning that builds data competence. Her professional life includes senior roles in research, government, and nonprofit settings, diverse in subject matter (health, human services, intergovernmental relations) but unified by her passion for making the world a better place.
Dr. Allen’s proudest accomplishments include convening and building the capacity of communities to translate data into action. She recently launched Amplify Action Research, an initiative that trains and empowers people with lived experience to be the authors and leaders of the research, evaluation, and performance measurement that will drive critical system change in child welfare and related human services systems.
In addition to her national consulting practice, Dr. Allen is a Visiting Research Scholar at Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management and a Founding Partner of Breakthrough Convenings, a boutique firm that provides virtual and blended
Research Interests: Child Welfare & Foster Care Systems, Maltreatment Prevention & Home Visiting, Mixed Methods
