Brooke Hall Allen is an award-winning entrepreneur who has started and built a creative agency, an arts and culture-focused magazine, a social innovation conference series, and a major citywide music and light festival. She’s also a photographer, painter, certified mindfulness meditation teacher, mother of two, and writer.
She’s been named “Innovator of the Year” by The Daily Record,“25 Women to Watch” by the Baltimore Sun, “Top Female CEO” by Smart CEO Magazine, “40 Under 40” by the Baltimore Business Journal, “Young Cultural Innovator” by Salzburg Global Seminar, and a Warnock Foundation’s “Social Innovation Fellow.” Brooke has been honored with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore Award, Betamore’s “Silo Breaker Award,” Smart CEO’s “Brava Top Female CEO” Award and others.
Brooke and her work have appeared in New York Times, Fast Company, National Geographic, The New Yorker, The Guardian, CNN, New York Magazine, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Spin Magazine, and others.
For over thirteen years, she’s led What Works Studio, an award-winning creative agency that inspires audiences, builds movements, and fuels growth for purpose-driven clients. What Works Studio is certified WBE and WOSB and is one of the 0.1% of female-founded creative agencies in the U.S.
Brooke and her partner founded America’s first large-scale light and innovation festival, Light City. The citywide festival attracted over 400,000 attendees in its first year (2016) and has added $111.8 Million to the Maryland economy so far.
In 2010, Brooke co-founded a hyper-local online magazine, What Weekly, which was touted by The Guardian as having its “fingers on the pulse of all things hot and creative,” and won a number of awards.
Brooke is certified by UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center and The Awareness Training Institute as a mindfulness meditation teacher. She is certified by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Training Program.
She holds a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, with a concentration in Philosophy and Literature, from The Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University.
Brooke lives in Encinitas, California with her husband and two kids.
Awards
Innovator of the Year Award
The Daily Record, 2016
25 Women to Watch
The Baltimore Sun, 2016
40 Under 40
Baltimore Business Journal, 2016
Downtown Baltimore Award
Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, 2016
Silo Breaker Award
Betamore, 2016
Best Category Buster: Light City
Baltimore Magazine, 2016
Brava Top Female CEO Award
SmartCEO Magazine, 2016
Creative Group of the Year Award
Technical.ly, 2015
Mayor’s Certificate of Recognition
City of Baltimore, 2015
Social Innovation Award
Baltimore Social Innovation Journal, 2014
Baltimore Transformer Award
Strong City Baltimore, 2013
Best ‘Zine: What Weekly
Baltimore Magazine, 2013
Best New Magazine: What Weekly
Baltimore Magazine, 2011
SPEAKING
Keynote Panelist
“Branding Baltimore from Activism and Festivals to Hashtags”
Communicator Summit, 2019
Speaker
Classification Talk
Rotary Club of Frederick, 2019
Panelist
“Cultural Innovation in a Culture of Exploitation”
Red Bull Amaphiko Festival, 2017
Panelist
“We Built This City – Using Festivals as a Catalyst for Inspiring and Revitalizing Communities”
XLIVE Las Vegas, 2016
Speaker
“Fireside Chat Entrepreneur Series”
Towson University, 2016
Speaker
“Launching Light City: From Vision to Reality”
Baltimore Innovation Week, 2016
Host and Emcee
Creative Innovation Conference
Light City, 2016
Panelist
“Wonder Women: Change Makers + Innovators”
Light City Social Innovation Conference, 2016
Speaker
“Light City Opening Ceremony”
Mayor’s News Conference, 2016
Speaker
“Light City and its International Significance”
World Trade Center Institute, 2016
Speaker
“Light City Baltimore Announces Innovation Conferences”
Mayor’s Press Conference, 2016
Speaker
“Light City”
Visit Baltimore’s Cultural Tourism Advisory Committee, 2015
Speaker
“Light City Community Meeting”
Betamore, 2015
Speaker
“Light City Community Meeting”
Maryland Institute College of Art, 2015
Panelist
“On Entrepreneurship”
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2015
Speaker
“The Working Artist: Making Art Life”
The Windup Space, 2014
Speaker
“Introducing Light City”
Visit Baltimore Board Meeting, 2014
Speaker
“Introducing Light City”
Charles Street Development Corporation Board Meeting, 2014
Panelist
“How to grow your creative business in a competitive market”
Bmore Creatives, 2015
Host and Speaker
“Light City Rally featuring Ignatius Jones”
Four Seasons, 2014
Guest Lecturer
Loyola University Maryland, 2010
Radio, Podcast, TV, and Video
Guest
The Power of Meditation with Brooke Hall
The New Mid Radio Show, 106.9 The Eagle, 2020
Guest
“25 Women to Watch” Video
The Baltimore Sun, 2016
Guest
“Light City Baltimore Looking To Go Bigger And Brighter Next Year” Segment
CBS Baltimore, 2016
Speaker
“Light City Kick Off”
Mayor’s News Conference, 2016
Guest
“The Promise of Light City” Video
SmartCEO Magazine, 2016
Guest
“Light City Baltimore festival kicks off Monday” Segment
Fox45 News, 2016
Guest
Roughly Speaking Podcast by Dan Rodricks
The Baltimore Sun, 2016
Guest
“Meet the married couple behind Light City Baltimore” Video
The Baltimore Sun, 2016
Guest
“Brava: Top Female CEOs” Video
SmartCEO Magazine, 2016
Guest
“Young Cultural Innovators Interview Series” Video
Salzburg Global Seminar, 2015
Guest
“We Are Light City” Video
Light City Press Conference, 2015
Guest
Startup Soirée Podcast
2015
Guest
“Baltimore’s Future with David Warnock”
WYPR Radio, 2015
Guest
“The Power of Google” Segment
Fox45 News, 2011
See Press
FELLOWSHIPS
Young Cultural Innovators Fellow
Salzburg Global Seminar
Social Innovation Fellow
Warnock Foundation
99U Fellow
Adobe Behance
VOLUNTEER
The Rotary Club of Frederick
Member
Downtown Partnership of Baltimore
Board Member
Light City Innovation Committee
Chair
Light City Chairman’s Council
Founding Member
Light City Steering Committee
Founding Member
Baltimore Festival of the Arts
Board Member
Charles Street Development Corporation
Executive Committee Member
The Women’s Exchange
Board Member
Historic Charles Street Association
Board President
Rhymes With Opera
Board Member