Progressive running on M4A, Green New Deal, Fight for 15, for US Senate against Marco Rubio in FLA

Allen was born in 1980 at Walker Memorial hospital in Highlands County, Florida and raised in Hardee County in a small agricultural town called Wauchula. I grew up in a three-bedroom mobile home with six younger siblings. My parents were very hard-working, genuine people. The example they set made a huge impact on me. My mother worked with disabled individuals for over 25 years, teaching life skills and the arts. My mother’s work opened my eyes to the ableism and discrimination disabled individuals in our society face. She taught me how to draw, paint, and make ceramics. I also inherited her strong gift of compassion for others.
Exploring my creative gifts opened my eyes to seeing the world as a beautiful, ever-changing place, evolving into new iterations of itself in times of need.

My father worked as an auto mechanic and professional auto body painter. I grew up spending summers with him working on cars. My Dad worked hard and always gave 150%. A man for whom quitting was simply never an option, he taught me to be a dedicated and determined man, and that anything was possible if I kept the course and trusted the process.

When I turned 11 years of age, my dad made me a deal that changed my life and gave me a deeper appreciation for the beauty of music.

He wanted me to learn to play the piano and told me, “If you learn how to play two songs on the piano before Christmas, I will get you a go-cart”. My 11 year old self took that challenge, because who wouldn’t want to get a go-cart?

He paid for my first lessons to get me started, and I really enjoyed learning how to play. Shortly after I started piano lessons, my father founded a church. These seemingly unrelated events, led me to quickly learning to play and I’ve been playing the piano in churches ever since. I felt that playing in a place of worship my father built connected me to my community in a way that can’t be described.

Music has a way of transcending generations, races, and religions, and playing music has taught me that we as people have a lot more in common than we think.

Growing up in an agricultural community, I spent a lot of time taking care of farm animals and picking oranges with migrant farmers. I learned that agricultural work is not for the weak, mentally or physically, and I have the utmost respect for ranchers and farmers.