Sen. Carolyn Allen (R-AZ)

2007 Honoree - State Legislature Arts Leadership Award

Biography

Nominated by the Arizona Citizens for the Arts, Senator Carolyn Allen (R-AZ) received the 2007 State Arts Leadership Award for her arts advocacy throughout her state. Despite an extremely conservative environment with leadership from her own party opposing public funding for the arts, Senator Allen has been for several years the most vocal arts advocate in the state legislature who refuses to vote for the state budget when it did not include arts funds. In 2003, Senator Allen prevented the Arizona Commission on the Arts annual appropriation from being zeroed-out, and in 2006 led the effort to ensure that the completion of the Arizona ArtShare endowment was completed—a $7 million budget item, finishing the state's promise of $20 million in total.

Senator Allen has been a board member of Arizona Citizens for the Arts since 2003. Prior to her election, she was development director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and the Scottsdale Cultural Council. She also served as executive director and president of the Board of Directors of the Scottsdale Arts Center Association.