Emily Allen is the Director of the Workforce Initiative for the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Foundation. 

Previously, Ms. Allen served in a number of capacities in the education and workforce arena.  Following graduation from Westminster College with degrees in psychology and English, Ms. Allen worked as a special education teacher at the New England Center for Autism, as a teacher at Manatee Community College in Bradenton, Florida, and as the administrator of the elementary school on a military testing site on Andros Island in the Bahamas.

In 1995, Ms. Allen accepted the position as Project Director for the Senior Community Service Employment Program with AARP Foundation.  She served as area manager and assistant national director for the program before being named to her current position in 2005.

As the Director of the Workforce Initiative, Ms. Allen is responsible for managing a multi-faceted program designed to create a national awareness regarding the value of the 50-plus workforce and its future impact on the economy. Through the Workforce Initiative, AARP is working to become an integral part of the workforce system by forming sustained and substantive relationships with various groups and segments of the national business infrastructure and working together to craft the strategies to effectively engage the 50-plus workforce as a business solution to worker and skill shortages.