Upbringing
I am the youngest of three children born to hardworking Mexican parents who believed deeply in opportunity, education, and community. Although I was born in California, my family moved to Texas in 1992 and made Fort Worth our home. I was raised in Fort Worth public schools and graduated from Arlington Heights High School at just 16, an experience that shaped my belief in the power of strong public education and high expectations for our youth. I continued my education at The University of Texas at Arlington, majoring in Music Education, and later moved to Forney in 2009 to teach private flute lessons to middle and high school students. Through my work in Forney schools and my summers and weekends at Forney Animal Hospital, I gained firsthand insight into the needs of working families, small businesses, and local professionals. That experience ultimately led me into a leadership role managing the animal hospital, where I learned the importance of accountability, service, and responsible management.
Family
My family is made up of Sofia Grace, Noah Allen, and Shane Allen “Junior”. We love to travel and have made it a mission to visit each state capitol! We also enjoy local volunteer opportunities, our weekly board game nights, movie nights, and are active members of The Perot Museum, Dallas Zoo. Our family motto is, “What really matters is helping others win, too" by Fred Rogers.
Sofia
Sofia is in 4th grade and passionate about animals. She has recently joined FFA and hopes to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Sofia also takes piano lessons and horseback riding lessons.
Noah
Noah is in 3rd grade and has many passions and hobbies. Much like his mommy, he loves music and the arts. His most recent obsession has been birds. Noah is involved in basketball, takes piano lessons, and is now an active member of the Cornell Lab of Orinthology. Noah wants to be an engineer when he grows up.
Junior
Junior is in first grade and loves playing percussive instruments! He is also in piano lessons and plays basketball. Junior wants to be a police officer when he grows up and really enjoys spending all of his free time outdoors building things with his brother.
Community Life
By 2019 after welcoming my third child, I made the decision to step back professionally to focus on raising my family. During that time, I remained deeply engaged in the community through volunteering and local involvement. Like many parents, I became more aware of how local decisions directly affect our families and quality of life. The closure of our public library was a defining moment for me. It made clear that community assets can be lost when leadership fails to prioritize residents. That moment sparked my commitment to advocate for smart growth, accessible public resources, and a city that invests in education, safety, and quality of life. I believe strong communities with leadership that is strategic and future-focused, must be guided by vision and purpose.
Career
I was lucky to return to work after my youngest turned four. My professional career progressed rapidly when I became a veterinary practice consultant for a nationwide company, where I worked closely with veterinary teams to improve operations, strengthen leadership, and better serve their communities. I ultimately landed my dream role with Merck Animal Health, where I help veterinarians and their teams provide quality medicine and care to animals, serve people, and build sustainable, growing practices. My career and leadership experience has helped me understand the benefits of strategizing and being visionary. As the late Joel Barker said "Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world."
LEADERSHIP IN FORNEY
- I am starting my 6th 1-year term serving an elder at my church, First Presbyterian Church in Forney, where I am also the President of the church corporation.
- Founded and lead Citizens for a Forney Area Library, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing a library to the Forney area.
- Director of North Texas Veterinary Leaders (formerly Veterinary Practice Managers of Dallas) for 2 years.
