Springfield resident takes helm of Ozark Land Trust

The Ozark Land Trust, a conservation organization that protects over 32,000 acres of land in the region, has named a Springfield resident as its new executive director.

Diana Sheridan started last month in the leadership role at OLT, according to a news release. She succeeds Larry Levin, the six-year director of OLT who announced plans earlier this year to transition to consulting and writing work.

"We had many impressive candidates apply for the position. We are thrilled to have a professional of Diana’s experience and character to succeed Larry in the role," OLT board President Debbie Gittinger said in the release, noting a search committee of the board reviewed dozens of resumes and interviewed multiple people for the role. "We have planned for this transition for over a year. We have been able to incorporate a number of continuity measures to ensure that OLT’s conservation work and operations continue in a seamless manner."

Sheridan joins OLT from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service, where she most recently served as supervisory natural resource specialist at a Little Rock, Arkansas, water management center. Her career also includes working as executive director of the James River Basin Partnership in Springfield.

Reached by email, Sheridan said she's based out of Springfield for OLT, which she said operates in the Ozark bioregion of Missouri and Arkansas. Staff members for OLT, which is based in Columbia, are located in the Queen City, Columbia and St. Louis, she said.

OLT carries out its preservation mission of protecting natural and geological features, as well as urban greenspace, agricultural lands, historic places and sensitive ecological sites, through methods such as conservation easements, nature preserves and partnerships with conservation organizations, according to its website. Nationally accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, the OLT is one of around 2,000 land trusts throughout the United States.

"I am so happy to be joining the highly professional OLT team in their protection and restoration of land and water resources across the Ozark region," Sheridan said in the release. "I know that OLT already counts NRCS as one of its important partners, and I was fortunate to work with many agency and nonprofit partners during my tenure with NRCS. I’m also looking forward to working with the landowners of the Ozarks again and returning to my professional roots in the nonprofit world."