OAI names Vigdal New Director of Fiscal Operations

Ozark Action, Inc. (OAI) has named long-time employee Lisa Vigdal the organization’s new Director of Fiscal Operations.

 

As the DFO, Vigdal will be overseeing the daily fiscal operations of the non-profit, as well as help with grant applications, strategic planning, and more. She replaces long-time DFO Lisa Roark, who retired from the position in December 2025.

 

Vigdal comes into the position after starting with the organization as a temporary worker 22 years ago.

 

“I simply went from helping our community in one capacity to another,” Vigdal said. “It’s just a different side of the same coin: from frontline worker to being behind the scenes, helping keep the funds flowing in and out.”

 

Prior to being DFO, Vigdal was the manager for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). She also worked as a Community Services Representative, helping people in the region with their energy assistance bills in the summer and winter.

 

Despite the large amount of learning ahead of her, Vigdal is hitting the ground running.

 

“I love this quote: ‘We are not placed on this earth to see through each other, but to see each other through.’ I’m not sure where it came from but It has always struck me and I try to live by it. I’m so thankful for this opportunity OAI has granted me and I’m thankful that they believe in me.”

 

“OAI has a long history of effective, efficient and compliant use of public funds,” said OAI Executive Director Terry Sanders, “Under Lisa’s oversight I am confident that we will continue to be good stewards of the funds we are entrusted with.”

 

Ozark Action, Inc. is a non-profit Community Action Agency serving the counties of Douglas, Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Texas, and Wright in South-Central Missouri. It was founded in 1965. The mission of OAI is to coordinate and provide services for people with needs so that they can improve their quality of life. Several programs that help low-income residents are housed under the OAI umbrella, including the Community Services department, which helps with homeless outreach, utility assistance, Medicaid sign-ups, and the local Salvation Army; area Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which provide educational opportunities to area children; the area Workforce office, which offers services such as job placement, training, workshops, and other career-related services; the area Weatherization program, which provides home improvements at no cost to the owner or tenant; and the area Housing Choice

 

Voucher program (HCV), formerly known as the Section 8 program though the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), along with the Shelter Plus Care (SPC) housing program through the Missouri Department of Mental Health, the VASH voucher program for homeless veterans through the Veterans Administration and HUD, and Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers through HUD for foster youth exiting the system.

 

For more information on Ozark Action and their services visit www.oaiwp.org or call 417-256-6147.