The new CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton
After acting as interim CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton, Crystal Allen was appointed to the position permanently in July. She previously held multiple positions with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati. We spoke with Allen about the nonprofit itself and what she enjoys about her job.
What’s your background?
I was born and raised in Cincinnati and had the wonderful opportunity and pleasure of attending Central State University. I graduated in 2005. After graduation, I worked for the Greene County Health District and was really able to help some families out there. I went back home to Cincinnati to work and I took a job with the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati. I was promoted to club director and ran a pretty successful club in Cincinnati for about six years. And then I transitioned to vice president of Human Resources. And I did that for about five months before I was promoted to vice president of Operations. And then from there, I took a job as the interim CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton while simultaneously the COO in Cincinnati. Then I joined this team as the official CEO.
What do you enjoy about the Dayton region?
I think what I enjoy most about the Dayton region is really just how community-centered we are. And it’s just a real community that is centered around building community, building each other up. I think that’s what I’ve been most impressed with and most thankful for is how the entire community has really rallied around the club to support the club and the families and the kids who need us most.
What do you enjoy most about the Boys and Girls Club of Dayton?
Probably the fact that we are a learning organization. We’re always challenging ourselves to be better. To think bigger, to think broader. How do we serve more kids in a more impactful way? And I’m just very honored to be a part of such a great legacy. We’re about 20 years away from celebrating 100 years in this community, in this great city. And so just to be able to be a part of that and knowing the impact that the organization has had in our region is absolutely amazing.
Can you describe some of the work the organization does?
We are true youth development. And what that means is we are a very structured program that provides academic success support. We provide health and wellness support for our young people and we also provide an opportunity to become civically engaged. For 45 minutes every day, they are engaged in some sort of academic enrichment. They also participate in at least 45 minutes of physical movement. We also provide snacks and meals. We want to make sure that they are prepared with the right skills to be able to be successful.
What are your hopes for the Boys and Girls Club going forward?
Going forward, we are hoping to become the youth development after-school and summer program of choice for every young person and family in Dayton. We want to make sure that when folks think about quality, space, engagement, fun [and] age-appropriate youth development that they think about the Boys and Girls Club. We want to make sure that we position our young people to be great citizens of this great city.
