Intersections - Oklahoma

Episode 16

Live action gaming of the sort that involves groups working together to solve a puzzle has been gaining in popularity over the last several years. And Andrew Gipson’s own development of that type of game is based upon a group escaping from a locked room using props and a series of clues in a limited length of time.  It has become increasingly more popular in Oklahoma, so much so that now there are several locations throughout the state.

When I ask Andrew about the most important decision that he has made, the answer leads to an interesting set of revelations about how that decision has informed his success in this business so far.

Episode 15

Camal Pennington is knocking a lot of doors lately. It’s because he is running in a primary race within the Democratic Party for the Oklahoma House District 97 seat on the east side of Oklahoma City. And he is running against another native of the east side who also has deep roots, and is well-known in the community.

In this episode, he closes out a long day of first working for the American Federation of Teachers as a field rep, and then knocking doors in the evening until it was dark. We talk about a key decision that could have thrown him into deep ruin, but instead became the foundation for most of his accomplishments today.

Episode 14

After going through several crises, and now raising two children, Sheri has experience and wisdom that she wants to share with others. And so, she is a life coach.

In this episode we explore what she considers to be the most important decision she ever made. It seems to have led her through many turns to her career now as a multi-faceted life coach, helping people with a multitude of their own intersections.

Episode 13

The first time I met Brian I had the impression that he could make just about anything happen. So it was no surprise when I later found out that he was the one heading up what seemed in my imagination to be one of the hardest organizing tasks around.

But in this episode we find that there is far more to Brian than someone who organizes festivals and events. We will hear a little about what his company does, and a lot more about his life as a fully engaged dad to two young boys.

We will also hear some of his philosophy of that drives the whys and hows of his life and work.

Episode 12

Starting her banking career in 1998 is where Jill Castilla started on the intense journey to eventually becoming the CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond.

Engaging in a laborious turnaround process for Citizens Bank of Edmond a few years ago and succeeding involved a host of daily decisions. No doubt many were critical and had much to do with the eventual recovery of the bank. What could have been a bank failure, is a success today.

The recovery of the bank does not mean that Castilla is slowing down now at all. Commonly seen on various social media, she is fully engaged in community development and conceiving of new banking tools to do that.

But there was an earlier decision that she identifies in this episode that she identifies as the most important decision that she ever made.

Episode 11

In the last episode, part 1 of this interview, we explored the creative art of Richard McKown and what kinds of concepts and processes went into that.

This episode is the other part of that conversation where I asked Richard to talk about his concepts of using art as a part of the public designs of his housing projects.

While some people are aware of Richard’s art, many appreciate his housing concepts even if they don’t know his name.

He and his family have developed suburban housing in Oklahoma City, Edmond, Piedmont, Mustang, Choctaw, Moore and just about every other suburban area in the OKC metro area.

He talks about how art and green development in their suburban developments has given them a competitive edge against their business competition, but more importantly, how it creates a valuable living space for those who buy in.

Lately, Richard has moved his efforts to downtown, with the Level and Mosaic apartments in the Walnut and 2nd street area, as well as the OKSEA shipping container building just across the street.

Also, he makes an announcement about a new tenant coming into the OKSEA building.

His latest project to turn the historic Rock Island Plow Company building in Bricktown into The Plow office building is his first development of an office building and an historic building.

Richard’s love of art and providing great spaces for his clients are evident throughout this conversation.

Episode 10

Richard McKown is known for his involvement in prominent housing, and now office development, projects around the Oklahoma City Metro area.

But less known are his talents as an artist.

That deep, but not well-known talent of Richard’s is the focus of my piece in the current (December) issue of 405 Magazine.

The public had an opportunity to explore Richard’s talents as a painter recently at the opening of a showing at [Artspace] at Untitled gallery.

He gains so much attention as a developer, the most common comment from friends who attended the opening was that they had no idea that he was also an artist.

In one session Richard and I talked about his art, and then his development of new buildings in Oklahoma City. That session has been divided up into two podcasts.

In this Part 1 episode, I ask Richard about the art that is on display at his show, and especially his unique take on the traditional Christian narrative about Jesus’ last meal with his disciples, commonly called “The Last Supper.”

You can read more about this show and the key piece in my story in the December issue of 405 Magazine, or online.

We also get into some of his deeper concepts of art and his process of creating art.

Part II, the next episode, is where we transitioned into a discussion about his concepts of using art as a part of his housing developments and what that means for the value of those projects.

Episode 9

I first met Tierney Tinnin when I started covering the OKCPS Board of Education beat for Red Dirt Report.

Even though I knew her TV news work from living in the OKC market most of my life, I had never actually met her in person or had an opportunity to watch her work as a public relations professional in the role of Director of Media Relations for the district.

Soon she impressed me with how honest and helpful she was. As a reporter for a publication with a point of view sometimes at odds with OKC power players, I had encountered stonewall PR outfits before, and because of that was skeptical of anyone who worked in the field.

For over a year now I have found her to be as straightforward and transparent as you will find her to be in this episode.

Listen in as she tells us about some of her background and how she now continues to influence the largest school district in the state to remain open to scrutiny and available to the public and the press alike.

Episode 8

I first met Paula Sophia when she was a police officer riding a bike patrol in the Bricktown entertainment district in downtown Oklahoma City.

She and her partner frequented the same coffee shop that I did where she was engaging and friendly to anyone she met. The close contact of a bike patrol suited her style of policing very well.

Since then, she has retired from the Oklahoma City Police Department.

Paula is now working on a Masters in Social Work Degree at the University of Oklahoma while working as a teaching assistant there and working for Rose State and Oklahoma City Community Colleges as an adjunct English Composition teacher.

In this episode we talk about her experiences as a police officer, which were quite unique.

There are many women in the Oklahoma City Police Department now, but what is unique about Paula’s story is that she spent the first half of her career identified as the male officer, Paul Schonauer, and then the last half with her new identity as Paula Sophia.

She developed some important deeper insights of community policing and sees some big differences in what kind of policing works for male officers compared to female officers, which we discuss here in depth.

With the recent inflammatory Republican presidential candidate remarks flying, Veronica finds herself battling Islamophobia and hate speech on a daily basis. She is an attorney, and the Civil Rights Director for CAIR-OK, or, the Council on American Islamic Relations, Oklahoma Chapter. We talk about her own background and how that shaped her into a highly-skilled and deeply committed champion of all people in Oklahoma, not just a few.