Elizabeth Frame Ellison
Elizabeth Frame Ellison is an entrepreneur, civic builder, and nationally recognized leader in food systems, small business development, and creative nonprofit leadership. As former President and CEO and current Chair of the Board of the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation (LTFF), she has led transformative, community-driven economic development initiatives across Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma.
Ellison is the founder of Mother Road Market, Oklahoma’s first food hall and a three-time USA Today 10BEST Readers’ Choice winner for Best Food Hall. The market has also been named a top food hall by The Takeout and was featured on the Today show in 2025. Since opening in 2018, Mother Road Market has become a national model for inclusive economic development—supporting hundreds of entrepreneurs, generating thousands of jobs, and attracting millions of visitors annually. Its success has catalyzed significant private investment, accelerated small business growth, and helped transform Tulsa’s Market District into a thriving destination and engine for local economic activity.
In 2016, she launched Kitchen 66, a nonprofit food business incubator designed to lower barriers for aspiring entrepreneurs. Through bilingual programming and hands-on training, Kitchen 66 has helped launch over 350 businesses representing entrepreneurs from 35 countries. Many participants are women, immigrants, and first-time founders, and two graduates have gone on to be nominated for the James Beard Awards—a testament to the program’s ability to cultivate nationally recognized talent.
A creative strategist at the intersection of philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and place-making, Ellison has led innovative public-private partnerships with the City of Tulsa to advance infrastructure investment and catalyze the Tulsa Market District. Her work demonstrates how nonprofit leadership can blend vision and execution to build ecosystems where small businesses thrive.
Ellison is a sought-after speaker, writer, and advisor on food halls, nonprofit innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystems, and her work has been featured in national media. She is also a founding partner of 36 Degrees North, a coworking hub for entrepreneurs, and a founding board member of Vest. She began her career in public service before earning her law degree from the University of Oklahoma, where she served as class president and commencement speaker.
