LORE names first full-time executive director

provided by Leaders for Ozarks Region Evolvement

Allison Cash has been hired as executive director of Leaders for Ozarks Region Evolvement.

Leaders for Ozarks Region Evolvement, a nonprofit designed to promote regional collaboration, has appointed its first full-time executive director.

Allison Cash has been selected to succeed interim leader Dean Thompson, according to a news release. Her appointment is effective immediately.

“I am energized by the mission of LORE and am excited about the potential to enhance how we market the region in an effort to grow together,” Cash said in the release. “As a lifelong resident of the area, I know the Ozarks is a special place. I think we can work collaboratively to share this story to drive long-term economic health."

Cash most recently served until December as chief commercial officer for global beverage and ingredients company Finlays Solutions, which has its U.S. headquarters in Lincoln, Rhode Island. A lifelong southwest Missouri resident, Cash is a current member of the Nixa Education Foundation Board and has been active with civic and nonprofit organizations in the region.

Cash was selected from 40 applicants and two finalists, said Erin Danastasio, board chair for LORE, via email. Her salary as executive director is undisclosed.

At LORE, Cash will initially focus on the creation of a regional identity.

"Hiring our first full-time executive director is a major milestone for LORE, signaling our transition from launch to long-term impact," said Danastasio, who also is executive director of the Hatch Foundation, in the release. "Allison’s combination of global leadership experience and deep local roots makes her uniquely suited to lead this next chapter – particularly as we focus on strengthening and clarifying a shared regional identity."

The idea for LORE was born from a Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Community Leadership Visit to northwest Arkansas in 2022, according to past reporting. LORE is patterned after a similar organization, the Northwest Arkansas Council, which has shaped its region’s development for more than three decades from its home base in Springdale, Arkansas. 

The Hatch Foundation and Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. commissioned an initial study to help form the organization, according to past reporting.

In March 2025, LORE announced it had secured nearly $500,000 from 18 investors and appointed 15 board members.