Brad Carter, Oklahoma City’s Ward 1 Councilman, joins Jed Chappell to ask what the city must protect as it grows. They discuss transparent public service, listening across political divides, jobs and AI, recovery, homelessness, and the Oklahoma Standard Carter hopes will still define OKC for the next generation.

Kristina Mills did not apply for Survivor because she loved camping.

In fact, she had never been camping before.

She applied because she felt stuck. After walking through postpartum depression, losing her mother to a fentanyl overdose, and realizing her kids could see the sadness she was carrying, Kristina knew something had to change.

So she recorded a simple 60-second audition video and sent it in.

That decision eventually took her to Fiji as a contestant on Survivor 49. But the deeper story is not just about a television show. It is about grief, courage, motherhood, mental health, and choosing to move forward when staying stuck would have been easier.

In this episode, Kristina shares about her mother’s life, the pain of losing her to addiction, the healing power of telling the truth, and the hope she discovered on the other side of fear.

Kristina Mills

Voices of OKC: voicesofokc.com

Most people see after-school programs as activities, games, and homework help.

Christian Matthews sees something deeper.

As Program Coordinator at City Center, Christian spends his days helping students navigate challenges that often have nothing to do with academics. Behind many behavioral issues are stories of loneliness, bullying, family struggles, anxiety, and a longing to be understood.

In this conversation, Christian shares how God unexpectedly led him to City Center, what he's learned about loving people unconditionally, and why relationships remain the foundation of lasting transformation.

He also opens up about his personal faith journey, his work as an artist and musician, and the difficult decision to step away from growing opportunities in music in order to pursue deeper obedience and spiritual growth.

If you're a parent, mentor, teacher, coach, or community leader, this episode offers valuable insight into what young people need most from the adults around them.

• How Christian discovered his calling to work with youth

Instagram: @hecallsmechristian

🌐 City Center

City Center champions youth and families in under-resourced communities by creating empowered pathways to relief and restoration.

Kristina Mills thought she was simply watching an episode of Survivor.

Instead, it became the catalyst for a life-changing decision.

After battling postpartum depression, losing her mother to addiction, and feeling trapped in a season of grief, Kristina made a bold choice to pursue something that scared her. That decision eventually led her to compete on Survivor 49 in Fiji.

In this episode, Kristina shares the deeply personal story behind that journey, the impact her mother's life and death had on her family, and what she learned about resilience, healing, and hope.

She also discusses her work helping students prepare for meaningful careers through the University of Oklahoma's graduate business programs and how AI is reshaping the future workforce.

This conversation is a reminder that grief may ride along with us, but it doesn't have to drive our lives.

Brooke Freeman never planned to become a farmer.

After years working as a NICU nurse, she found herself wrestling with a simple question: How do we truly help people become healthier?

That question eventually led to the creation of Natural Freedom Farm, a nonprofit farm dedicated to growing fresh, nutrient-dense produce for families who might not otherwise have access to it.

In this conversation, Brooke shares the story behind the farm, the vision that launched it, and why education is just as important as the food itself.

She also explains regenerative farming, food insecurity, and how healthy food can become a pathway to better health outcomes for children and families.

Natural Freedom Farm has become an important partner to City Center, helping provide fresh produce that goes directly into meals served to youth and families throughout Oklahoma City.

Brooke Freeman

Website:

City Center

There’s a line Daniel Haynes says in this conversation that quietly captures the entire heart of the episode:

“When something is led by love, no one gets left behind.”

Daniel is the founder of Skyward Financial Solutions, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and co-founder of Live Full alongside his wife, Raven. But more than titles, Daniel is someone deeply committed to stewardship, integrity, family, and serving people well.

In this episode, Daniel shares the story of growing up in rural Oklahoma, collapsing during a basketball game because of an enlarged heart, losing a close friend, and eventually discovering accounting as a calling at just 16 years old.

Jed and Daniel also discuss the rapid growth of Oklahoma City, why exposure changes lives, how families need community around them, and why leadership rooted in love creates stronger cities.

This conversation feels deeply Oklahoma City.

Thoughtful. Honest. Hopeful.

It’s a reminder that the future of a city is shaped not only by development projects and arenas, but by people quietly choosing integrity, generosity, and stewardship every single day.

Resources & Links:

Some students are carrying pain they do not yet have words for.

They may not know if they are angry, sad, scared, overwhelmed, or simply tired. They just know something feels off. And too often, the adults around them rush to correct behavior before they understand what is underneath it.

In this episode of Voices of OKC, Jed Chappell sits down with Jordan Miller and Stuart Bennett from Generation Why, a mental health advocacy team serving students through school assemblies, creative arts, mentorship, media, internships, and purpose-driven programming.

Generation Why speaks in schools about mental health, anti-bullying, and suicide prevention. But what makes their work powerful is not only the message. It is the way they deliver it.

They use rap, spoken word, dance, live painting, DJing, photography, videography, and storytelling to create an environment where heavy conversations can become a little easier to enter.

Jordan shares why vulnerability is central to the work. Stuart talks about the importance of asking better questions and giving students time to answer. Together, they describe what it means to meet young people where they are, help them name what they are feeling, and show them that there are more options than the obstacles in front of them.

This conversation is about mental health.

Not perfect adults.

Jed, Jordan, and Stuart talk about:

Generation Why:

Donate to Generation Why:

Generation Why Instagram:

Urban Bridge:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County:

John Marshall High School / OKCPS:

Chicken N Pickle OKC:

City Center:

Voices of OKC is a podcast from City Center featuring thoughtful conversations with people helping shape Oklahoma City through leadership, service, creativity, restoration, and hope.

Learn more about City Center:

Some people feel behind before they have even had a fair chance to begin.

Behind in their career. Behind financially. Behind relationally. Behind the version of life they thought they were supposed to have by now.

Carey Conley hears that often from young adults. And in this episode of VOICES of OKC, she talks with Jed Chappell about why vision matters so deeply in that season of life.

Carey is an author, speaker, and vision leader who helps people create a clear written vision for their lives. Her story also carries deep grief. After losing both her husband and son to suicide, Carey chose to build her life around purpose, hope, and helping others find direction through pain.

This conversation moves through grief, mentorship, mental health, young adults, negative self-talk, and the courage it takes to start. Carey shares how a mentor helped her realize she could create a life with intention, and why she now wants young adults to understand that their life can carry purpose even when the path is unclear.

For City Center, this conversation matters because so much of our work with students is about helping young people see beyond the pressure of the moment. They need more than instruction. They need vision. They need mentors. They need safe places where someone can help them see what is already inside them.

Key themes in this episode:

Guest: Carey Conley

Free eBook mentioned in this episode:

Additional resource from Carey Conley:

Watch and follow VOICES of OKC:

Learn more about City Center:

Content note: This episode includes discussion of suicide, grief, and mental health. If you or someone you love is in crisis in the U.S., call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

What does peace look like before it becomes a headline?

Sometimes it looks like a phone call before a fight turns into a shooting.

In this episode of Voices of OKC, Jed Chappell sits down with Jabee Williams — artist, Emmy Award winner, entrepreneur, and community advocate — for a conversation about Oklahoma City, violence, art, proximity, and hope.

Jabee shares about growing up on Oklahoma City’s Eastside, losing people he loved to violence, and the responsibility he feels to show young people that their world can be bigger than the block, the neighborhood, or the cycle they inherited.

He also talks about two major pieces of his work:

Live Free Oklahoma, a community violence intervention effort working to reduce gun violence and build safer communities across Oklahoma.

With Love OKC, an art initiative helping young people tell their stories through murals, creative expression, and public art.

This conversation is about more than programs.

It is about why the people closest to the pain often carry the clearest wisdom.

Jed and Jabee talk about:

Jabee Williams:

Jabee on Instagram:

Live Free Oklahoma:

Live Free Oklahoma on Instagram:

With Love OKC on Instagram:

Juneteenth on the East:

STAAR Foundation:

Urban Bridge:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County:

Millwood Public Schools:

Oklahoma City Public Schools — Emerson South:

City Center:

Voices of OKC is a podcast from City Center featuring thoughtful conversations with people helping shape Oklahoma City through leadership, service, creativity, restoration, and hope.

Learn more about City Center:

Some conversations are really about more than the topic on the surface. This is one of them.

In this episode of Voices of OKC, Adam Coury joins the conversation to talk about AI, but what emerges is really a deeper reflection on discernment, responsibility, and leadership. As technology moves faster into daily life, work, and education, the question is no longer whether it matters. The question is whether people are willing to understand it before it begins shaping them.

Adam speaks honestly about the danger of avoidance. He argues that AI should be treated as a tool, not a voice to follow, and that the people who refuse to engage with it may leave the next generation to carry consequences they did not choose. This conversation matters because it pushes past fear and novelty and asks something more grounded: how do we remain fully human while learning to live wisely in a changing world?