Vice President for Human Resources

Biography

Ramona Allen is vice president of human resources at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before beginning this role in October 2019, Allen was assistant dean for human resources in MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P). She joined MIT in 1989, and through a variety of human resources roles has advised three deans and helped the leaders of numerous departments, labs, and centers across the Institute. Her human resources experience has emphasized employee relations and includes labor relations, compensation, promotion and tenure processes, and training programs. She has developed flexible and creative workplace structures along with diversity and inclusion plans. 

Prior to joining the MIT staff, Allen spent nine years in healthcare human resources. Her first MIT role was as a personnel officer in MIT Human Resources, where she supported the interdisciplinary research centers and laboratories under the vice president for research. She next served as human resources administrator in the Department of Biology, then joined the MIT Media Lab (a part of SA+P) as its first director of human resources in 2001, and assumed additional responsibilities for human resources activities across SA+P in 2004. Allen became SA+P’s first director of human resources in 2008 and its first assistant dean for human resources in 2013.