Born in Philadelphia PA, Dan Allende is a creative professional and project manager with years of experience in the visual arts, focusing mostly on architectural-scale site-specific installations, mechanisms, environments and stunts. He uses the creative problem-solving, communication and leadership skills learned through canoe expeditions in remote areas of Northern Canada and honed during graduate and undergraduate studies in Fine Arts. As an artist, he managed projects for the art collective, Futurefarmers, in designing and building an amusement park ride in China, a soil testing laboratory in Philly, a moonshine still in Australia and a shortwave radio station in Dubai.

As a professional, he has been introduced to the world of entertainment through The ATS Team, where he has performed leaderships roles in producing mechanical elements and gameplay parts for challenge-themed reality television sets. Under his leadership at ATS, they revolutionized the industry by developing new construction techniques and incorporating new materials into their process, something now being emulated across the entertainment industry. He has developed unique engineered solutions for many shows such as American Ninja Warrior, Holey Moley, The Floor is Lava, Dodgeball Thunderdome, Big Brother, The Amazing Race and more.

His reputation for being able to accomplish difficult and unique challenges in unconventional contexts has made him a valuable asset to any team looking to invent something new.