Susan Brown Allen

Susan Allen ( Brown; born 1964) is an American author, political consultant, and talk radio host. She served as First Lady of Virginia from 1994 to 1998 as the wife of Governor George Allen.

Early life and family Allen was born Susan Brown in 1964 in Florida. She was raised in Virginia, with her family moving to Albemarle County after her father's service as a Marine Corps pilot during the Vietnam War. She graduated from the University of South Carolina.

In 1986, she married George Allen. They have three children and reside in the Virginia Beach area.

First Lady of Virginia Allen became First Lady of Virginia in January 1994 upon her husband becoming the 67th governor of Virginia. As first lady, Allen was an active advocate for tourism in the state, children's issues, and drug intervention programs. As first lady, she appeared in national television commercials to promote family getaways in Virginia. In 2008, Allen hosted a weekly talk radio program on WDBT and has written and co-written political editorials.

She is an active campaigner and owns and operates SBA Concepts, LLC, a political consultancy. Her clients have included Anne Ferrell Tata, the Campaign for Honest Change, and her husband's campaign committees. In 2010, she was the chairwoman of the Republican Women's Federal Forum.

Allen served as co-chair on the inaugural committee for Virginia governor Bob McDonnell in 2009–10. She was also a founding member of the Jennifer Byler Institute. In 2012, Allen was appointed to the board of James Madison University. In the 2012 presidential election, she chaired "Women for Romney" in Virginia. In 2014, Allen was a member of a delegation led by the Center for Strategic and International Studies that traveled to Taiwan to compile the report "Taiwan's Marginalized Role in International Security."

In 2023, Allen was appointed to the board of visitors of Old Dominion University by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Published works

The Remarkable Ronald Reagan: Cowboy and Commander in Chief, 2013