Leadership Oklahoma: Social Services and Economic Development

Last week, Leadership Oklahoma provided the opportunity for us to learn about social issues and economic development issues in the state of Oklahoma broadly, in Tulsa, and in Altus.

Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum shared his platform and priorities with us. First, he feels it's important for Tulsa to be a safe city for everyone. Citizens and the police need to work together (i.e., community policing). Second, Tulsa has to be a city for everyone. During the election, Mayor Bynum consistently shared that African Americans have a life span approximately 11 years less than their White counterparts in Tulsa. He used this disparity to raise awareness within the community. Third, Tulsa needs to invest in construction, bringing people together, such as the Gathering Place. Fourth, Tulsa is different than other cities in that Tulsa's mayor also performs the duties of a city manager. Mayor Bynum and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt have consciously worked together instead of maintaining prior fights between the two largest cities in Oklahoma. Furthermore, Tulsa as begun to encourage new businesses to find homes in the surrounding areas of Tulsa instead of competing with these other cities in the region. Finally, Mayor Bynum wonders, How do we address the disparity between urban and rural communities? I look forward to returning to Tulsa and experiencing more of its vibrant culture.

Next, we heard from Courney Cullison from the the Oklahoma Policy Institute. In addition to learning terms, such as food stamps are now SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and free school meals are a part of WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children). We talked about the cliff effect--a term that describes the point where a person's salary increase is enough to disqualify them from benefits, and it falls short of being able to actually afford to pay for the benefits they've lost.

Note: If you claim the EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit), we were told your tax return is automatically flagged for an audit. Just an FYI there in that means your refund is typically held up until the audit is completed.

Kudos to Norman, OK, for being certified as ending veteran homelessness. This means that Norman is able to provide housing for veterans within a month of being homeless.

Kudos to Finland who has nearly zero homelessness across the board.

In terms of a continuum of care, I wonder, Who's teaching life skills?

We also learned that many educational tests are administered to our children at the end of the month, precisely when supplemental benefits have been exhausted. This translates to hungry children scoring 5 to 10 points less than their sufficiently fed and rested classmates. I wonder if there's a way to adjust test administration to the middle of the month when more children are more likely to have eaten. Has anyone else thought of this or seen a successful way for addressing this disparity?

Tip: If you're eligible for supplemental benefits, we were encouraged to advocate that you apply because you've already paid for it through various taxes. Although it's easy for recipients to be stigmatized, maybe we take a moment to keep our judgments to ourselves because we lack the full picture for any individual's holistic circumstances.

Donation Idea: We were told that socks are great gift ideas for shelters.

Domestic Violence: We were told that it takes a victim approximately 7 to 8 times to leave an abusive relationship before the victim leaves for good. Fortunately, the Oklahoma Violence Center reports that Oklahoma has dropped from #3 to #20 for women killed by their male partner. Moreover, we learned that victims are more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser strangled them at any point in the relationship. Note there is a difference between strangulation and choking.

Among other items, we learned from the Tulsa Regional Chamber that the population within the Dallas/Fort Worth area is larger than the entire state of Oklahoma.

When Secretary of Commerce Sean Kouplen spoke to us, he clarified what Governor Kevin Stitt means when he talks about running the government like a business. Essentially, the governor and the secretary have added accountability in order to change the trajectory of Oklahoma forever. There are 15 cabinet members (division heads) and 162 agencies (department heads). Of note, he shared that although there are approximately 147,500 unfilled jobs, approximately 30% of Oklahoma's able-bodied citizens do not work.

Warning: Some of the existing businesses were represented. In their words, existing businesses account for approximately 80% of Oklahoma's growth. They also warned us that they have existing relationships in other states--the implication being that they have options to move out of Oklahoma. These words were preceded by a discussion about the state's decision to attract direct competitors to existing companies without the state increasing its engagement with existing companies.

During our second day in Tulsa, Leadership Oklahoma focused our day on economic development issues.

My classmate, Lisa Thomas Powell, shared her branding journey with Enid. I found the way she organized her presentation helpful:

• In what ways have we been first?
• In what ways have we been best?
• In what ways have we had the most?
• In what ways have we been the only?

We also heard from female leaders who represented the cream of the crop in their respective entrepreneurial areas. Erika Lucas is an early stage investor and Co-Founder of StitchCrew, a firm focused on growing the innovation economy in the middle of the country by democratizing access and connecting traditionally overlooked entrepreneurs with capital, resources, and social networks. I have to go on record that I think Erika did the best job in moderating a panel that I've ever experienced to date. Stephanie Conduff launched her successful start-up, Leche Lounge, in 2015 while a new mom at OU Law. Teresa Knox is the Founder and former CEO of Community Care College, Clary Sage College, and Oklahoma Technical College, which she started in 1995. Rose Washington serves as the CEO of the Tulsa Economic Development Corporation.

The second panel also included heavy hitters with a wealth of experience in economic development. Elliot Nelson opened James E. McNellie’s Public House in downtown Tulsa in March of 2004. Since then, McNellie’s Group has gone on to open nineteen restaurants and entertainment venues in Oklahoma. My classmate, Candace Braddock, serves as the Vice President of Sheryl Homes, Inc., her 35-year-old family-owned home building business in Altus, OK. Ken Levit is the Executive Director of the George Kaiser Family Foundation.

I walked away wondering about what I can do to activate my community. For example, am I an entrepreneur, or am I an employee?