Allison Smythe is the senior project manager for the Civitas Institute and the School of Civic Leadership. In this capacity, she oversees academic and community events; branding, marketing, and alumni engagement. Prior to joining the Civitas Institute, Allison was senior program coordinator at the Kinder Institute at the University of Missouri where she developed strategic marketing campaigns for undergraduate and graduate student recruitment; designed an alumni engagement program; and promoted and coordinated local and international academic and community events and conferences. She graduated from Texas Tech with a B.F.A. in design communication and studied creative writing as an M.F.A. student at the University of Houston. Her essays and poetry have been published in the Southern Review, the Gettysburg Review, Relief Magazine, Verse Daily, and others.