Luke Allen grew up on a grain and livestock farm in central Illinois and was an ag teacher in Clifton, IL before he joined as a Program Advisor for Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education (FCAE), where he has been now for 18 years. At FCAE, Luke serves as a resource for school officials, teachers, and others with an interest in agricultural education in Northeast Illinois.
Luke is invested in developing Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources (AFNR) programs in urban and suburban areas with special emphasis on inspiring nontraditional and under-served populations to find their passion in AFNR careers. Currently, he is chair of the planning committee of the Cultivating Change Foundation, which works to support LGBTQ+ people in AFNR careers. He has become a national speaker for LGBTQ+ inclusion in agriculture and AFNR education, and this work has led to co-chairing a new Ag Education Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Task Force in Illinois.
