Blair Allen is the elected Public Defender for Florida’s Tenth Judicial Circuit, proudly serving the citizens of Polk, Highlands, and Hardee counties. She assumed office in January 2025, becoming the first woman to hold this position in the Tenth Circuit’s history.

Blair began her legal career as a prosecutor with the State Attorney’s Office in 2006 before joining the Public Defender’s Office in 2007. Since then, she has worked in nearly every division of the office, representing clients charged with offenses ranging from simple misdemeanors to capital felonies. Her trial experience includes thousands of cases, including first-degree murder where the State sought the death penalty. She also served in the appellate division, handling appeals before the Second District Court of Appeal.

A proud Polk County native, Blair grew up in Lakeland and graduated from Lakeland Senior High School in 1999. She earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Washington & Lee University (2003) and her law degree from Stetson University College of Law (2006).

Blair lives in Lakeland with her husband, Eric Gardner, and their four children. Deeply engaged in her community, she is an active member of numerous organizations, including: Hospice Women of Giving, First United Methodist Church of Lakeland, the Lakeland Rotary Club, the Junior League of Greater Lakeland, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Willson American Inn of Court, the Lakeland Bar Association, the Polk Association for Women Lawyers, the Lakeland Republican Club, and others.