Ernie Allen
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ernie Allen is a co-founder of the National Center for Missing & Exploited
Children and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the
private non-profit organization since 1989. Under his leadership, more than
121,500 children have been recovered and the organization has increased its
recovery rate from 62% in 1990 to 96% today.
Mr. Allen has brought technology and innovation to the Center, including
age progression and forensic imaging of long-term missing children, a 24-hour missing children hotline, and
training for more than 235,180 law enforcement officers. He established the CyberTipline, the 9-1-1 for the
Internet, which has resulted in thousands of successful prosecutions. He created the Financial Coalition
Against Child Pornography to involve the nation’s leading banking and financial companies in eradicating
commercial child pornography, and he launched a new Unit to help the U.S. Marshals track down more than
100,000 fugitive sex offenders.
In 2005, when asked by the Justice Department to help reunite families separated by Hurricane Katrina,
within 24 hours a special hotline was set up, manned by retired law enforcement officers, and Team Adam
representatives were dispatched into shelters in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. The
organization worked around the clock until all 5,192 missing children were reunited with their families.
During his tenure, the organization has become one of the most respected nonprofit organizations in the
nation and was named one of “America’s 100 Best Charities” by Worth Magazine. A remarkable 94 cents of
every dollar raised goes to programs and services.
Mr. Allen is also the founder of sister organization, the International Centre for Missing & Exploited
Children and serves as its CEO. There he has built a global network involving 14 nations, and created
formal partnerships with Interpol, the Organization of American States, and the Hague Conference on
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