Barbara Allen moved to Camano Island on a permanent basis, from the Greater Seattle metropolitan area over 30 years ago, and has never regretted the decision to live in peace, amidst nature, on the shore of the great ocean that surrounds the world.

She’s been a card carrying member of the working press since age 14, when she cut her photojournalist teeth as a staff member of a Columbia University first prize award winning High School newspaper, during the McCarthy hearings  (“witch hunts”).  She’s won awards since then as a playwright, author, newspaper byline columnist, and writer. Barbara served as President of the Humane Society of Seattle and King County.  In 1985, she accepted ordination, now retired.

A few years later she trained and worked for the Dispute Resolution Center of Snohomish County, then trained for the Crisis Center, feeling that this additional education would be valuable.  (It also added another title: Rev. Barbara Allen, CMP.)  No longer active other than on Camano, she’s been a volunteer with the American Red Cross Disaster Action team, for about 15 years; and trained with a CERT long ago at Warm Beach.

Other interests include nature, growing most of the fruit and vegetables consumed year ‘round, photography, painting, wood carving, RV’ing, and occasionally, politics.

She has four adult children and three grandchildren all of whom reside in Washington State.

An experienced gourmet chef and culinary creative artist she’s working on a healthy mostly ethnic cookbook for publication; a play manuscript for performance; and enjoys reading the Camano Community news and its contributors.