Allyn Brooks-LaSure

Allyn Brooks-LaSure joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 2020, bringing more than 20 years of communications, management, and policy experience—in the United States and internationally—to his role as vice president, Communications. His work advances the Foundation’s mission through a high-impact communications strategy that supports mindset changes and drives policies that address health equity and the social determinants of health.

Allyn praises RWJF’s “dynamic, celebrated reputation in addressing long-standing health inequities through its commitment to building a Culture of Health.” Crediting his family for providing a model for service to others, he values the opportunity to promote the Foundation’s mission-driven commitment to helping everyone in America have an equal opportunity to pursue a healthier life.

Before joining the Foundation, Allyn served as the executive vice president for communications at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights—a 70-year-old coalition of more than 220 civil rights organizations leading the fights that matter most to communities in America. In this role, he helped broaden and extend the reach and effectiveness of the traditional civil rights movement.

He previously served as a U.S. State Department foreign service officer, with domestic and overseas postings in Washington, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. As communications advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change, he managed efforts to highlight U.S. leadership on climate change—most notably at the 2015 Paris climate negotiations.

As an Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency political appointee, Allyn co-led all aspects of web communications, public engagement, media relations, and production for the agency. He has also served as spokesperson for two U.S. Senators, the National Prostate Cancer Coalition, and the Save Darfur Coalition. At the Caraway Group, a Washington, D.C.-based minority-woman-owned communications firm specializing in diversity counsel and public policy and legislative advancement, he led public relations client accounts for the Microsoft Corporation and the U.S. Army Accessions Command. He is also a past board member of the Greater Washington Urban League Thursday Network and a founding board member of the Virginia Leadership Institute.

Allyn completed his BA in Psychology at The Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Born in Bridgeton, N.J., he currently resides with his wife and daughter in northern Virginia. In his spare time, he enjoys good food, good films, and spending time with good friends.