Jo Lynn "Jody" Allen (born February 3, 1959) is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is the sister of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

co-founder

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which ...

, and served as the chief executive officer of his investment and project management company,

Vulcan Inc. Vulcan LLC is a privately held company founded by the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his sister Jody Allen in 1986 to establish and oversee the family's diverse business activities and philanthropic endeavors. It includes Vulcan Real Estate ...

, from its founding in 1986 until 2015. She is also the co-founder and president of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Following the death of her brother in October 2018, Allen was named executor and trustee of his estate, pursuant to his instructions, giving her responsibility for overseeing the execution of his will and settling his affairs with tax authorities and parties with an interest in his projects. Among some of the properties she took control of upon his death were the Seattle Seahawks of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, the ''Octopus'' super-yacht, and the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, along with minority ownership of the Seattle Sounders FC of the

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Early life and education

Allen was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

on February 3, 1959, the daughter of schoolteacher Edna Faye (Gardner) AllenMaureen O'Hagan
Faye Allen, mother of Microsoft co-founder, dies at 90
, ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...

'', June 3, 2012 and Kenneth Sam Allen, an associate director of the

University of Washington Libraries The University of Washington Libraries (UW Libraries) is the academic library system of the University of Washington. The Libraries serves the Seattle, Tacoma, and Bothell campuses of the University of Washington and the university's Fri ...

. Her older brother

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

went on to become co-founder of

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washingt ...

.William Plummer
Paul Allen: Rich and Reclusive, Microsoft's Other Cofounder Goes Hollywood
, ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

'', June 19, 1995 She grew up in Seattle's

Wedgwood Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...

neighborhood and graduated from Lakeside School in 1975. She studied drama at

Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacific ...

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

, and was a member of the class of 1980.

Career

In 1986, Allen co-founded

with her brother to manage their family's business and charitable endeavors. Vulcan's former chief financial officer described her as being "responsible for having the trains run on time" and said she had "a particular passion for real estate development, building things in general." She currently serves as vice-chair of First & Goal Inc., which oversees operations of the Seattle Seahawks. She was involved in negotiating the public-private partnership that led to the construction of

Lumen Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, t ...

in Seattle, and was an adviser to her brother when he first considered buying the Seahawks.Brier Dudley
Seahawks Sign Lease For 30 Years At New Stadium
, ''

'', September 25, 1998Linda Keene
The Enigmatic Paul Allen -- Everyone Knows What He Does, But Few Really Know Who He Is
, ''

'', June 11, 1997 In 1997, a Seattle reporter wrote: "Jody Patton thought buying the Seahawks was a great idea; thus was born Allen's efforts to acquire the team and build a new football stadium." During her career Allen also supervised construction of the

Moda Center Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is the primary indoor sports arena in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is used for basketball, ice hockey, rodeos, circuses, conventions, ice shows, concerts, and dramatic productions. The arena h ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, renovation of the

Seattle Cinerama The Seattle Cinerama Theatre is a landmark movie theater in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's Belltown neighborhood, it was one of only three movie theaters in the world capable of showing three-panel Cinerama films until ...

, and also helped bring the

EMP Museum The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

(now the Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP) to Seattle.Melanie McFarland and Patrick MacDonald
The EMP has been 'long, major journey'
, ''

'', June 23, 2000 She is also president of

Vulcan Productions Vulcan Productions produced documentary films, television programming and virtual reality experiences that drove awareness around environmental and social issues. The company was founded in 1997 by late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his si ...

, a company that produces films, digital programs, and outreach initiatives, and has produced or executive-produced more than a dozen documentaries and feature films. In 2013, she signed on as a backer of two documentaries, the Richard E. Robbins-directed film ''Girl Rising'' and the nuclear power documentary ''

Pandora's Promise ''Pandora's Promise'' is a 2013 documentary film about the nuclear power debate, directed by Robert Stone. Its central argument is that nuclear power, which still faces historical opposition from environmentalists, is a relatively safe and clean ...

''.Rebecca Ford
'Girl Rising' Picked Up by Regal Cinemas for Weeklong Engagement
, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'', April 5, 2013Kerry A. Dolan
Why Billionaire Paul Allen Backed Pro-Nuclear Power Film Pandora's Promise
, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'', June 14, 2013 In 2013, five of her former security guards accused her of sexual harassment.Levi Pulkkinen
Bodyguards: Vulcan CEO Allen tried to smuggle bones out of Africa
, ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was f ...

'', February 28, 2013 The lawsuit was settled out of court.

Philanthropy

Allen co-founded the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation in 1990. Since then, the foundation has given more than $469 million in grants to over 1,400 nonprofit organizations.The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation’s New $6.87M Grant Cycle Lends Strong Support to Scientific Research
''

Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which ...

'', August 5, 2013 Allen is the president of the board of trustees of the Museum of Pop Culture, a nonprofit museum dedicated to pop culture and music. The '' Seattle Times'' credited Allen with helping her brother make the museum a reality: "Although Allen gets most of the credit...it is the brainchild of both these close siblings. Allen provided the money and inspiration; Patton, as executive director, is largely responsible for the vision that made it happen." With her brother, Allen co-founded the Seattle-based non-profit organization

Allen Institute for Brain Science The Allen Institute for Brain Science is a division of the Allen Institute, based in Seattle, Washington, that focuses on bioscience research. Founded in 2003, it is dedicated to accelerating the understanding of how the human brain works. Wit ...

in 2003, of which she serves as chairman of the board. The Institute provides free online public resources to scientists around the world. Other boards on which she has served include those of the Seahawks Charitable Foundation, ArtsFund, the

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...

, the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Foundation, the

Museum of Glass The Museum of Glass (MOG) is a 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m²) art museum in Tacoma, Washington, dedicated to the medium of glass. Since its founding in 2002, the Museum of Glass has been committed to creating a space for the celebration of the st ...

, the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...

and the

Oregon Shakespeare Festival The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States, founded in 1935 by Angus L. Bowmer. The Festival now offers matinee and evening performances of a wide range of classic and contemporary pla ...

Personal life

Allen has three children: Duncan (born 1989), Gardner (born 1994) and Faye (born 1997) with Brian Patton, whom she divorced in 2009 after 21 years of marriage. Allen's ex-husband is a golf-course manager. She was known as Jody Patton, Jody Allen Patton and Jo Allen Patton while married. She is a member of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada—its people a ...

and the

Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

. , Allen lived on

Mercer Island, Washington Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to it ...

, outside of Seattle.Mike Rogoway
Trail Blazers, Vulcan look ahead as Paul Allen faces cancer
, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'', November 21, 2009

Filmography

Executive producer

* ''

Men with Guns ''Men with Guns'' ( es, Hombres armados) is a 1997 American political drama film written and directed by John Sayles, inspired by the 1992 novel ''The Long Night of White Chickens'' by Francisco Goldman. It stars Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado, ...

'' (1997) * ''

The Luzhin Defence ''The Luzhin Defence'' is a 2000 romantic drama film directed by Marleen Gorris, starring John Turturro and Emily Watson. The film centres on a mentally tormented chess grandmaster and the young woman he meets while competing at a world-class ...

'' (2000) * ''

The Safety of Objects ''The Safety of Objects'' is a 2001 American drama film based upon a collection of short stories of the same name written by A. M. Homes and published in 1990. It features four suburban families who find that their lives become intertwined. The f ...

'' (2001) * '' The Soul of a Man'' (2003) * ''

The Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...

'' (2003) * ''

Lightning in a Bottle Lightning in a Bottle (LIB) is an annual music festival in the Central Valley region of California first held in 2006. It is presented by The Do LaB, which seeks to promote sustainability, social cohesion, and creative expression. The Do LaB ...

'' (2004) * ''

Hard Candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varieti ...

'' (2005) * ''

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...

'': ''No Direction Home: Bob Dylan'' (2005) * ''

Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas ''Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas'' is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Scott Lew, starring Patrick Fugit and Olivia Wilde. Plot The film starts out with the quote "Nothing can ever be truly, fully understood. Not even the mos ...

'' (2006) * ''

Where God Left His Shoes ''Where God Left His Shoes'' is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Salvatore Stabile and starring John Leguizamo, Leonor Varela, David Castro, Samantha M. Rose, Jerry Ferrara, and Manny Pérez. It premiered at the 2007 Tribeca ...

'' (2007) * ''Girl Rising'' (2013) * ''

'' (2013) * '' We The Economy'' (2014)

Producer

* '' Inspirations'' (1997) * '' Me & Isaac Newton'' (1999) * ''

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...

'' (1999) * ''

Coastlines The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

'' (2002) * '' Far from Heaven'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Jody 1955 births Philanthropists from Washington (state) American sports businesspeople Businesspeople from Seattle Film producers from Washington (state) Lakeside School alumni Living people National Basketball Association owners Whitman College alumni Women National Football League executives Women sports owners 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century philanthropists American women philanthropists Seattle Seahawks owners 20th-century women philanthropists 21st-century women philanthropists