The board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks selected a successor to six-year CEO Katie Davis.
Ashley French will take the reins effective Aug. 29. Davis
stepped down this month to spend more time with family.
“I feel strongly, and have for years, that it is our duty to help the kids in our own communities have a better chance at a great adulthood,” French said in a news release. “When you pair up a child with a kind, caring adult through a professionally supported mentorship program, you will change lives."
French comes to BBBSO from the American Red Cross, where she served as chief development officer for western Missouri the past two years. In that role, she was in charge of retaining over $4.5 million in fundraising revenue for all lines of Red Cross services and providing 40 percent of the nation’s blood needs, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
A current member of Strafford's aldermen board and immediate past president of Junior League of Springfield, French has nearly 20 years of nonprofit experience. Prior to joining the American Red Cross, she worked 17 years for Ozarks Regional YMCA, lastly as district director of operations, according to her
LinkedIn profile.
“After being recognized as (a) Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Agency of the Year in June, we plan to continue on a positive trajectory to enhance the impact of our programs in the communities we serve,” board President Marshall Kinne said in the release. “It’s our honor to have Ashley join our organization, and we’re confident that she is the right person to lead us to further success.”
BBBSO was selected by the Mid-Large Agency Alliance for its Agency of the Year award, according to
BBBS.org.
Last year, the agency raised over $1 million, a 22 percent increase from 2014, and matched 257 bigs and littles, a 17 percent bump from a year earlier
