Gary Allen’s lifelong mission to serve, connect

Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service is proud to celebrate Gary Allen, a 2019 graduate of its Master of Public Administration program.

A dedicated public servant, educator and veteran, Allen has built a career defined by leadership and connection, in the military and the classroom.

Allen served four years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, served in the US Air Force Reserves and ultimately transitioned to the Ohio Air National Guard in 2019. Today, he continues his service as a military equal opportunity advisor in the Ohio Air National Guard. For the past two years, he has also served as an adjunct professor at OHIO.

Allen always wanted to join the military. Both of his grandfathers served, as well as his father, so Allen had seen the benefits of military service firsthand.

“I knew I wanted to serve because I wanted to be able to have that connection with them,” Allen said. He enlisted in the Air Force in 2008, immediately after graduating high school, as an active-duty medic.

“And I wanted to slay my dragon.," he said. "I wanted to have that kind of challenge, to be able to say I did it.”

There are still a few goals Allen wants to accomplish before retirement, but one of his proudest recent achievements was going through Officer Training School, which he graduated from in December 2024.

“I was getting yelled at by drill sergeants again and all that,” Allen recalled. "It was kind of like starting over.”

Allen has learned three skills — that he continues to hone — during his time in the military: organization, discipline and teamwork.

“At a really early age, I got to work with so many different kinds of people, and people from all over the country,” Allen said. “I was able to grow a lot faster because of just being around so many different people. That was invaluable, being able to just connect with so many different people from different
regions of the country and getting exposure to different cultures and personalities and mentality.”

Sharing his knowledge, experience with OHIO students, veterans

Today, Allen uses these interpersonal skills to teach graduate and undergraduate courses in human resources and public administration at OHIO. In the military, he learned that to get things done, you have to make connections in order to help people.

As well as teaching at OHIO, Allen works as a workforce development administrator at the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. In this role, he collaborates with a variety of state agencies to develop and implement statewide programs for Ohio veterans.

“When I transitioned out of the military, there were a lot of issues that I encountered because of our civilian counterparts not understanding what veterans bring to the table, and I get to help finish that story and bridge that gap for veterans today,” Allen said.

A third-generation veteran and lifelong public servant, Allen embodies the spirit of the Voinovich School and leads with connection and compassion. Whether in the classroom, the Guard, or state service, he continues to “slay his dragons” and inspires others to do the same.