Allen Foster

About Mayor Foster

Allen Foster is serving his third term as Mayor of Cumberland County. With more than two decades of public service, he has built a reputation for delivering results through persistence, collaboration, and a people first approach.

Foster began his public service on the Cumberland County Board of Education in 2002. He served one term and was elected chairman for three consecutive years, helping lead the largest school construction project in county history. He later served two terms on the Cumberland County Commission before being elected County Mayor in 2018.

As Mayor, he has focused on strengthening essential services, improving infrastructure, reducing county debt, and building partnerships that benefit residents. During his tenure, Cumberland County has secured more than $117 million in grants and matching funds. Major initiatives have included expanding broadband service to more than 18,000 previously unserved or underserved locations and leading a regional effort to provide a more reliable and affordable long-term water supply.

Foster is a member of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, known as TACIR, which brings state and local leaders together to study some of the most important policy and intergovernmental issues facing Tennessee. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Association of County Mayors and the Tennessee County Services Association Board of Directors. He is vice chairman of both the Upper Cumberland Development District and the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency.

In 2025, Foster was appointed to the Tennessee Technological University Board of Trustees. He is also a Fellow of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachian Leadership Institute.

Before becoming Mayor, Foster worked in information technology in state government, health care, manufacturing, higher education, and small business ownership. This experience has given him a broad perspective on problem solving in both the public and private sectors.

Foster earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in management information systems and a Master of Professional Studies in strategic leadership from Tennessee Tech. He is also a Certified Public Administrator through the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service.

Foster and his wife, Jennifer, live in Cumberland County. They share a blended family that includes four children and their grandchildren.