Ashley Walden joins CFO as VP of Community Impact

NEWS RELEASE
Date: Feb. 13, 2025
Subject: Ashley Walden joins CFO as VP of community impact
Contact: Aaron Scott, CFO, ascott@cfozarks.org or 417-864-6199

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks has hired Ashley Walden as its vice president of community impact. She will start Tuesday, Feb. 18, to guide the CFO’s wide range of grantmaking and scholarship programs.



Walden brings years of nonprofit leadership to the CFO, most recently as the senior development officer for the Mercy Health Foundation. She previously served as executive director for Springfield Ballet and director of operations for United Way of the Ozarks.

“Ashley has a deep understanding of our community’s needs and a track record of creating lasting impact for the organizations she has served,” said Winter Kinne, president and CEO of the CFO. "We look forward to working with Ashley as she leads our effort to turn the generosity of so many into the transformational work of philanthropy.”

Walden graduated from Drury University in 2005 with a bachelor’s in business administration. She is a member of Rotary Club of Southeast Springfield and chairs its Rotary Youth Leadership Awards committee. Walden also has volunteered with Springfield Ballet Guild, Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland and Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club. She is a member of Leadership Springfield’s Signature Class 33.
“It is an honor to join the fantastic team at the CFO in my dream job,” Walden said. “I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to use my strengths and talents to make a meaningful impact in communities across our region.”

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving donors, nonprofit partners and 55 regional affiliate foundations with assets totaling $494 million as of June 30, 2024. The CFO’s mission is to improve the quality of life for everyone in central and southern Missouri through resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.

Community Foundation of the Ozarks
P.O. Box 8960 · Springfield, MO, 65801
Phone: 417-864-6199 · Fax: 417-864-8344
cfozarks.org