Jonathan Edward Allen was born in Everett, Washington in 1962 and was raised in the heart of the nation's most prominent apple district in the scenic Cascade Mountains of north-central Washington State. The middle child of three, Jonathan struggled through his teenage years with the chronic disease and eventual death of his mother, which necessitated his placement in a foster home throughout his high school years. After graduating Summa Cum Laude as Valedictorian from Chelan High School in 1981, Jonathan won the national “Most Valuable Student” 4-year scholarship through the Elks Foundation, a lifetime gift that enabled him as a poor, financially independent teenager to pursue university studies. Upon completing his self-designed undergraduate degree Magna Cum Laude in Intercultural Communication and Management from Seattle Pacific University in 1985, Jonathan began his career in international business as an Export Trader of agricultural specialty crops. In 1991, he graduated Cum Laude with a Master's Degree in International Management from the world-renowned "Thunderbird" Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona.
Jonathan has a professional career in international business with expertise in the areas of general management, strategic business planning, economic development, business finance, marketing, and agribusiness. Using his entrepreneurial talents, he established his own business consulting firm, FirstFruits International, Ltd. in 2000 in Montrose, Colorado. In 2003, he founded Rocky Mountain International Academy, an internationally-based college-preparatory academy, and was its first President and Headmaster. In 2005 he assumed the position of Vice-President and General Manager of Galiso, Inc., an international leader of hydrostatic testing systems for compressed gas cylinder manufacturers and re-testers worldwide.
Jonathan's recent entrance into the presidential race was precipitated by his conviction that career political experience is a liability, and not an asset, in the evaluation of necessary credentials and experience needed by the next president. Like many Americans, Jonathan believes that America needs a practical businessman, not a career politician, to lead the nation out of its urgent economic crisis, and that the federal government needs to be managed like a for-profit business with a non-profit mission and a focus upon the American taxpayers as its prime customers. Furthermore, Jonathan agrees with Americans everywhere that the current bipartisan political system is not only dysfunctional and counterproductive, but also the major hindrance to any hope for national unity and vision. His candidacy provides Americans with a refreshing and credible presidential option that inspires genuine hope that true political and cultural change can only be implemented by a new breed of visionary leaders from outside the current political system.
Jonathan is a non-partisan Independent candidate for president of the United States. Dubbed by many around the nation as "The People's President," Jonathan brings a refreshing, non-partisan blend of pragmatic wisdom and visionary leadership that has been gleaned from a lifetime of experience in the heartland of Real America and from his professional career as an international businessman. Jonathan draws upon his diverse life experiences as a business executive, father, educator, coach, community leader, entrepreneur, musician, and poet to provide a compelling argument that true political change can only come through massive cultural transformation. His presidential campaign theme, HeartQuake ’08, highlights his conviction that America’s political issues are actually only symptoms of more fundamental heart issues like greed, arrogance, and apathy, and that desperately needed cultural transformation can only be triggered by a reawakening of the heart of America.
Jonathan enjoys nature and outdoor life with his three sons and lives in an agricultural district on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains.