Rooted in Springfield
The Springfield Daily Citizen works for the community and is operated by local people.
Members of the Board of Directors receive no compensation, and share a commitment to bringing the community together around locally focused, locally produced journalism.
Board members play no role in day-to-day news coverage decisions.
Thomas J. Carlson, Publisher and Chairman of the Board
Tom Carlson is an attorney and real estate developer who specializes in affordable housing. He was the longest-serving mayor of Springfield, serving 14 years over seven non-consecutive terms between 1988 and 2009. A former member of the Missouri State University Board of Governors, Tom has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and Chinese from The George Washington University and was a reporter in southwest Missouri before pursuing his law degree.
- Email: tcarlson@sgfcitizen.org
- Phone: 417-447-4621
Other Board members:
Jim Anderson is former longtime president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce (1988-2014), and most recently vice president of marketing and public affairs for CoxHealth (2014-2020).
Fritz Jacobi is a retired former publisher of several newspapers, including the Springfield News-Leader (1992-1996). Jacobi currently serves as a chair for Vistage, a business peer group for chief executive officers.
Andrew Lear is a retired partner with Forvis Certified Public Accountants and Advisors (formerly BKD), having spent 35 years with the firm. He was elected to a four-year term on the Springfield City Council (2019-2023), having previously been appointed to the position in 2018. He did not seek reelection in 2023.
Suzanne Shaw is vice president for marketing and communications at Missouri State University, where she has served since 2014. Shaw is a former assistant vice president of strategic marketing and market research at Purdue University and worked for several private enterprises in Chicago and Washington, D.C. She has her MBA from Dartmouth College.