Action City

Emmi and Katherine look back at their first season of Action City. They reflect on the 65 episodes (Can you believe it?) they have hosted over the past 15 months including their most listened to and most impactful ones. Tune in to hear their thoughts on the ride of a lifetime getting to know our city and some of its most loyal supporters including Emma Ryan, Emma Butler, Nyakio Grieco, Dr. Murali Krishna, Kaleo Maclay, and Megan Redford - just to name a few. We look forward to Season Two this spring. Welcome to Action City! 

Kristen Fares wasn’t born in Oklahoma but boy was she bred. Kristin grew up in a close-knit family attending several different schools before graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in Spanish. She met her husband at summer camp and now they have three wonderful children. Kristin didn’t become a runner until after her third child was born. She attended a boot camp with friends and the rest is history. She and her husband, Eric, found a love of running together and have participated in races all over the country. Kristen jumped at the opportunity to host the first and only marathon podcast, Run to Remember Memorial Marathon Podcast. You would never know she isn’t a professional podcaster. She hosts the show with grace and ease. You’ll love listening to the stories of everyone involved in the marathon from survivors to first responders coaches, volunteers, city officials, and even the mayor. We can’t wait for you to listen to this beautiful oral history of the bombing, its impact on our city, and how we have risen from the ashes all told from the perspective of the Memorial Marathon. Welcome, Kristin to Action City! 

Whitney McClendon is the co-owner of Organic Squeeze. After growing up in Coweta, OK she attended high school at Holland Hall in Tulsa and college at Baylor University majoring in Chemistry and Biology, After graduation, she decided she wanted to be on the preventative side of medicine as opposed to the treatment side and so she turned down medical school to peruse her masters in epidemiology and biostatistics from UT Southwestern in Dallas. Whitney worked in epidemiology research focusing on nutrition at MD Anderson and then as a director at the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center. She met her husband, Jack, on a flight from Houston to OKC and the rest is history! She’s been in OKC for almost 10 years and has spent that time working on her passion for nutrition, health, and preventive medicine through food. She owned and operated Provision Kitchen and has now set her sights on growing Organic Squeeze. Welcome to Action City, Whitney! 

Dr. Bob Schoaps grew up in Seminole, Oklahoma before attending OU where he obtained a bachelor's degree and a medical doctorate. He went on to Penn State Medical Center where he completed a residency in Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine and a fellowship in Neurocritical Care. He then completed a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center before returning to Oklahoma. He is currently on faculty at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center with the Specialty Critical Care & Mechanical Circulatory Support Service. His career passions include cardiogenic shock, ECMO & other forms of mechanical circulatory support, and advanced ventilator management. Dr. Schoaps is married to his high school sweetheart and has three children. 

Cléo Rajon is the Executive Director of the Independent Shopkeepers Association, a 501(c)(6) non-profit organization for local shops in the state of Oklahoma. Prior to ISA, Cléo worked closely with local shops for seven years, including through the management of the Holiday Pop-Up Shops in Midtown. She also worked as the Internal Communications Coordinator for the City of Oklahoma City’s Public Information Office for five years. Cléo was born and raised in France and moved to Oklahoma City in 2011. Welcome, Cleo to action city! 

Dr. Douglas Horstmanshof is Co-Director of INTEGRIS Advanced Cardiac Care and the program director of the Heart Failure Institute (HFI) at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City.

Clay Taylor is the principal lobbyist of Taylor Capital Group, an Oklahoma City-based political consulting and lobbying firm, and the principal attorney for Clayton C. Taylor Jr PLLC. Taylor is a native of Oklahoma City but has lived in Houston, TX, Denver, CO, Washington, D.C., Muskogee, OK, and on the island of Aruba. 

Jo Lynne Jones was named the John Kirkpatrick Executive Director of Oklahoma City Ballet in February 2018. As Executive Director, she has the primary responsibility of fundraising, financial accountability, administrative management and board engagement. Prior to joining the staff at Oklahoma City Ballet, she spent almost 17 years as Director of Development and Communications at Infant Crisis Services.