PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
A New Orleans native, Allison’s love of music paved the way to adventure in nine cities across three countries. She started playing piano at the age of 3. In her twenties she worked in Advertising and performed across New York City in the ‘00s indie rock band Action Painters. She then earned a Masters in Global Entertainment & Music Business at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain in 2012-2013. A decade-long music business chapter followed, heavily draped in leather jackets and leopard print. During that time she managed bands such as Dum Dum Girls and Raveonettes, ran the small record label Instant Records, and supported global album releases under the independent wings of Sony Music and Warner Music.
A common thread to Allison’s work is the desire to inspire love and connection through artistic projects. Inspired by the birth of her niece, she produced a series of recordings called “Instant Love: Songs Between Women” in 2017-2018. Dubbed her “ultimate girl power moment,” Allison leveraged her access to artists and recording studios to record women singing covers of classic love songs to other women. The first of its kind, the series had one mission: for women to feel love for each other on a new and unexplored level. (Read more about this on Substack.)
Throughout 2025 she worked as Marketing Director of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. She now takes on a variety of creative freelancing projects in New York, Illinois, and Louisiana that tap her unique skill stack. She resides in Barrington, IL (just north of Chicago) with her husband and is the proud mom of Ocho the cockapoo, the inspiration for her business / independent publishing imprint Ocho Doberge.
WRITING
Allison self-published her debut nonfiction book Happy Gifting: A Pathway to Connection with Hundreds of Gift Ideas in 2023. It’s about the art of gift giving in four simple steps, plus hundreds of inspiring gift ideas for more meaningful connections. The book is equal parts inspirational read and reference guide, and has led to numerous speaking engagements. The topic was inspired by Allison’s goal to creatively maintain relationships during decades of long-distance adventures.
In 2024 Allison released her second nonfiction book She’s More Than a Dog: How Unconditional Love Replaced Three Pills a Day. A more personal work, the short book is about love and the healing power of dogs. Allison explains how her dog Ocho unexpectedly helped with a variety of struggles such as anxiety, insecurity, infertility, pandemic isolation, and more. As she puts it – “From lost in the world to lost in her fur.”
Allison published her debut novel Sunrise Calls It a Night on April 10, 2026. Set in 2000s LA and NYC, the wild and humorous Valencia Brooke flows from lost to liberated through romances, wrong turns, and her rising indie rock band. A love letter to young artists, she embodies the adventure behind the awakening. Intended to be both a fun read … and to encourage other young adults to find, create, and express themselves fearlessly.
In 2026, Allison launched a Substack to share articles on things that matter to her - such as 40+ sanity, hard-won wisdom, wellness, dogs, music and books, and whatever else she gets into.
