In 1990, she was elected among board members to serve as president; making her the first African American female and the longest woman to achieve such stride with two one-year terms.

[5] In 2010, she led the BART Board and San Francisco Bay Area region through the process of approving the $484 million Oakland Airport Connector project,[6] and securing federal funds under President Barack Obama's administration.

Ward Allen told The New York Times that women should be allowed to return to the workplace after having children and be afforded maternity leave under California law.

"[12]California state legislators Diane Watson and Waters worked closely with commissioner Ward Allen on issues pertaining to women's rights in society.

Ward Allen served on the commission with future-California state senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, and Irene Inouye who would become chair of the Ford Foundation Board of Trustees.

[15] During her six-year tenure with the port, Ward Allen was responsible for transportation, businesses, financial and political strategies for the development of the maritimes facilities, the Oakland International Airport, and commercial real estate holdings.

[20] On January 3, 1989, Ward Allen honored the life and legacy of Alameda County Supervisor John George by authoring a resolution of condolence.

[31] After having campaigned aggressively on the trail a second time, she lost to union leader Moses Mayne by 129 votes in a hotly contested special election.

[32] Ward Allen was first elected by voters to serve on the BART Board of Directors on November 3, 1998, which is a special-purpose district body that governs the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the California counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco.

During Ward Allen's tenure she changed policies, procedures, operations, and reformed the BART Police with assistance from the California State Legislature and members of the general public under her watch.

Although, Ward Allen originally supported the hiring of an African American female, Beverly Scott of the Sacramento Regional Transit District to become general manager, she had to compromise.

[36] Ward Allen constantly reinforced transit oriented development policy-making, which resulted in affordable housing and livable communities for residents in the Fruitvale, Coliseum, and Lake Merritt districts.

[38] Ward Allen's greatest public policy achievements were passing legislation to build the controversial Oakland Airport Connector project,[39][40][41] and advocating for civilian oversight of the BART Police Department.

Therefore, she often collaborated with the local unions to facilitate the creation of job opportunities to put people back to work and provide economic relief to citizens, especially in the wake of the Great Recession.

[52] She was the first BART director to demand that signage and documentation needed to be multi-lingual; to serve her communities, but to ensure diverse populations understand how to evacuate train stations in the circumstance of an emergency.

[56] Ward Allen thanked the governor, the community, the entire BART organization and Assemblyman Swanson for their hard work on getting AB 1586 bill implemented in the aftermath of the shooting of Oscar Grant.

Earlier, in the same year, she was one of the keynote speakers at the inaugural vigil; honoring the life of Oscar Grant and supporting his family at the Fruitvale station.

In her speech, she apologized again on the behalf of BART for his tragic death, and gave Grant's uncle Cephus Johnson a bouquet of flowers for the family.

[59] The two independent firms, included the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement and Myers Nave who were responsible for investigating the matters of BART Police Shooting of Oscar Grant and were charged with making recommendations to the board.

[64] On May 25, 2005, then-Vice President Ward Allen of the BART board of directors joined Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, city councilman Larry Reid, CCJPA vice chair Forrest Williams, and Caltrans Division of Rail Chief Bill Bronte at the grand opening of the Oakland Coliseum Intercity Rail Station.

On July 22, 2010, Ward Allen and the BART Board approved 3.4 acres of property that remained undeveloped for Phase II of the transit village.

In addition, she worked hard on the Coliseum transit village for more than a decade and approved its construction of single-family for-sale homes — with some set aside for low- and moderate-income residents — as well as shops and restaurants.

[66] Ward Allen worked closely with Oakland city councilman Larry Reid to approve the third stage of the transit village project, which would explore building approximately 100 workforce housing units on what is now a 1.3-acre parking lot at Snell Street and 71st Avenue in their shared district.

The Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO) presented Ward Allen with the Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual awards ceremony in 2011 for her dedication to public service in the transportation industry, and recognizing her achievement of breaking ground on the Oakland Airport Connector, a landmark construction project legislated by Ward Allen.

In 2005, she received recognition for her expertise as a groundbreaking executive of public transportation with the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc San Francisco Bay Area chapter's Pioneer Award at the 7th Annual Madam C.J.