Jody Allen
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]
Jody Allen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jo Lynn Allen February 3, 1959 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Other names | Jody Patton, Jo Lynn Patton, Jo Allen, Jody Allen Patton, Jo Allen Patton |
| Alma mater | Whitman 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) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Paul Allen (brother) |
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, the Octopus super-yacht, and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association, along with minority ownership of the Seattle Sounders FC of the MLS.[5][6]
Early life and education
Allen was born in Seattle, Washington on February 3, 1959, the daughter of schoolteacher Edna Faye (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
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]
In 2013, five of her former security guards accused her of sexual harassment.[20] The lawsuit was settled out of court.[21]
Philanthropy
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
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[update], Allen lived on Mercer Island, Washington, outside of Seattle.[13]
Filmography
Executive producer
- Men with Guns (1997)[16][33]
- The Luzhin Defence (2000)[16][33]
- The Safety of Objects (2001)[16][33][34]
- The Soul of a Man (2003)[16][33]
- The Blues (2003)[16][33][34]
- Lightning in a Bottle (2004)[16][33][34]
- Hard Candy (2005)[16][33][34]
- American Masters: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)[16][33][34]
- Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (2006)[16][33][34]
- Where God Left His Shoes (2007)[16][33][34]
- Girl Rising (2013)[35]
- Pandora's Promise (2013)[18]
- We The Economy (2014) [36]
Producer
- Inspirations (1997)[16][33]
- Me & Isaac Newton (1999)[16][33]
- Titus (1999)[16][33]
- Coastlines (2002)[16][33][34]
- Far from Heaven (2002)[16][33][34]
References
- ^ "The $12 Billion Education Of Paul Allen". Bloomberg.com. May 3, 2004. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ a b c . vulcan.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b c d . pgafoundations.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Paul Allen's sister Jody named executor, trustee of late billionaire's estate, Seattle Times, October 24, 2018". October 24, 2018. from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
- ^ . Archived from the original on October 17, 2020.
- ^ "Vulcan CEO Jody Allen steps down amid controversy - Puget Sound Business Journal".
- ^ a b Maureen O'Hagan, Faye Allen, mother of Microsoft co-founder, dies at 90 June 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, June 3, 2012
- ^ a b "Paul Allen". People. from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b William Plummer, Paul Allen: Rich and Reclusive, Microsoft's Other Cofounder Goes Hollywood July 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, People, June 19, 1995
- ^ a b Rich, Laura (January 17, 2003). The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471356318. from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e Melanie McFarland and Patrick MacDonald, The EMP has been 'long, major journey' April 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, June 23, 2000
- ^ "Allen Foundation grants Whitman College $150K for HJT - Whitman College". whitman.edu. August 10, 2010. from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Mike Rogoway, Trail Blazers, Vulcan look ahead as Paul Allen faces cancer April 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Oregonian, November 21, 2009
- ^ Brier Dudley, Seahawks Sign Lease For 30 Years At New Stadium November 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, September 25, 1998
- ^ a b Linda Keene, The Enigmatic Paul Allen -- Everyone Knows What He Does, But Few Really Know Who He Is April 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, The Seattle Times, June 11, 1997
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Jody Allen". IMDb. from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Vulcan Productions". www.vulcanproductions.com. from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Rebecca Ford, 'Girl Rising' Picked Up by Regal Cinemas for Weeklong Engagement May 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, April 5, 2013
- ^ Kerry A. Dolan, Why Billionaire Paul Allen Backed Pro-Nuclear Power Film Pandora's Promise March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Forbes, June 14, 2013
- ^ Levi Pulkkinen, Bodyguards: Vulcan CEO Allen tried to smuggle bones out of Africa May 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 28, 2013
- ^ "Allen, sister settle security team suits". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton, Washington. November 14, 2013. p. 5.
- ^ 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
- ^ "MoPOP - Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle Washington". Museum of Pop Culture. from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ . alleninstitute.org. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ . alleninstitute.org. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Jody and Paul Allen's Win Streak by Rick Anderson, Seattle Weekly, December 10, 2013". seattleweekly.com. from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Rich, Laura (January 17, 2003). The Accidental Zillionaire: Demystifying Paul Allen. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780471356318. from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Sports - Druids Glen Opens With Rave Reviews - Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. from the original on April 15, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Foundation gives grants to Oregon programs, Portland Business Journal, January 15, 2009". from the original on May 16, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
- ^ Borsook, Paulina (August 1, 1994). "The Accidental Zillionaire". Wired. from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019 – via www.wired.com.
- ^ "The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, 2012 College of Fellows Dinner" (PDF). rcgs.org. (PDF) from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ . Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Yahoo! Movies". yahoo.com. from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Movies". The New York Times. from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Vulcan Productions". www.vulcanproductions.com. from the original on May 12, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "About". We The Economy. from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
External links
- Jody Allen at IMDb