Laura Allen, CPFO, ICMA-CM
GFOA Past President, Professor of Political Science, Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland
Laura Allen (she/her), CPFO, ICMA-CM, is currently a professor of Political Science at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. Ms. Allen has over 30 years of local government experience, eleven at the executive level in California and Maryland specializing in small communities. Previously, she served as a Budget Analyst III in the Office of Capital Budgeting at the State of Maryland Department of Budget and Management, and as the Town Manager of Berwyn Heights, Maryland.
As a member of GFOA she has served as a reviewer for the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award program for over twelve years. Ms. Allen became a CPFO in the spring of 2012. She joined the Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning in 2013 and became the Vice Chair in 2016. She joined the Executive Board in 2019.
Ms. Allen has presented at GFOA and ICMA conferences on topics ranging from capital planning and infrastructure to creative placemaking for small communities. She co-authored What Governments Look for in a CFO, Government Finance Review, February 2016.
Ms. Allen has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno. She is a graduate of Leadership ICMA and the Senior Executive Institute (SEI) at the University of Virginia, Darden Graduate School of Business.