RETURN TO CONFERENCE PAGE

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Victor is a passionate business leader focused in Indian Country. He passionately pursues excellence, adventure and authenticity in life. He holds a Master’s of Business Administrating and Finance from Oklahoma Christian University and a Master’s of Healthcare Administration and Accounting from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. With his financial acumen, he has taken a leadership role in supporting the advancement and promotion of the economic impact that Tribal Nations have throughout Oklahoma. He is the President and Founder of the Oklahoma Tribal Finance Consortium. He is also a Principal for REDW, LLC and runs the Oklahoma regional office. REDW, LLC is the nation’s largest accounting firm serving Indian Country. He has successfully completed and rolled out the Oklahoma Native Economic Impact Study (www.oknativeimpact.com).

Prior to his current roles, Victor has served in many tribal government and enterprise leadership positions, as well as senior leadership positions in private sector healthcare organizations. Victor is a major advocate for financial literacy and education. Along with being an adjunct professor for Southern Nazarene University, he was also instrumental in creating the OSU Tribal Finance and Accounting program. He serves as a regular speaker at many economic roundtable summits and public education opportunities. His emphasis has been to educate Oklahomans and Oklahoma businesses on the value, partnerships and support Tribal Nations consistently and traditionally provide to Oklahoma communities throughout the state. He also routinely hosts the Celebrating Tribal Communities event which brings together Oklahoma state legislature, state community leaders, state business leaders and tribal leaders to recognize and applaud the collaborative efforts of Tribal Nations with Oklahoma communities and Oklahoma businesses.

Additional to his Tribal Government efforts, Victor also serves the greater Oklahoma City community on multiple Chambers of Commerce, including OKC Chamber, Greater OKC Asian Chamber, American Indian Chamber - OKC, Hispanic Chamber - OKC, Moore Chamber, Edmond Chamber and NWOKC Chamber. His philanthropy efforts include education efforts at various universities, financial literacy efforts, serving on multiple community boards (e.g. United Way of Central OK, Oklahoma Israeli Exchange, various Chambers of Commerce, etc.), and supporting numerous nonprofit organizations. Victor is a servant leader who is enthusiastic about serving his community and the state of Oklahoma. He has an abundance mindset and endeavors to support collaborative efforts between organizations throughout the state in hopes that all of Oklahoma rises together.

“There is immense power and sustainable economic progress when communities unite together in mutual respect to achieve a common goal”, says Victor, which he strives to exemplify in his leadership roles.

A thought-leader, two-time TEDx speaker, author, and CEO of Strata Leadership, Dr. Nathan Mellor is an experienced executive coach who has provided over 3,000 coaching sessions for executive leaders. He serves as a sounding board, thought partner, and a source of encouragement for leaders seeking to maximize their effectiveness.
 
Since its founding in 2009, Strata Leadership has pursued its mission of “Elevating Life at Work.” Each year, the professionals at Strata Leadership provide character and competence-based talent development services for hundreds of clients (non-profits, for-profits, educational institutions, and governmental agencies) throughout the United States and abroad.
 
In pursuit of educational, humanitarian, and religious interests, Nathan has studied or taught in Australia, Belize, China, England, Guyana, Israel, Jordan, Mexico, Russia, and Rwanda. He is passionate about developing future leaders and is the co-founder of the Presidential Leadership Institute, hosted on the campus of York College, in collaboration with the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. He is an adjunct professor for graduate programs at York College and Oklahoma Baptist University. He is the chairperson for the Strata Center for Workplace Coaching and the co-founder of the Institute for Emerging Leaders. He is the past Chairperson of the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium.
 
Dr. Mellor earned the Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership degree from Pepperdine University, where he was a Colleagues Grant recipient. He earned the Master of Dispute Resolution degree from the prestigious Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University School of Law, where he was named a Straus Fellow. He earned the Master of Science in Education degree from Harding University while serving as the Graduate Assistant to the University President. He earned the Bachelor of Arts from Harding University, where he was elected Student Association President. Dr. Mellor has pursued postdoctoral studies through the College of Executive Coaching.
 
Dr. Mellor was recognized as the Executive Pilot Award recipient in 2018, the highest individual honor bestowed by the Oklahoma Ethics Business Consortium. In 2021, he was named by the Oklahoma Journal Record as one of Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs. He is a fellow with the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School Affiliate, and a member of the International Coaching Federation.
 
His book, “Sleeping Giants: Authentic Stories and Insights For Building A Life That Matters” is available via Monocle Press, Amazon, and Audible. He also hosts the podcast, “The Strata Leadership Show.”
 
Nathan lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, with his wife and two daughters.

Lyndi Zavy, M.A., PHR is an organizational development consultant and founder of Rivers & Roads. A creative visionary and strategic thinker, Lyndi is committed to the study of organizations and uses her intellectual curiosity and business acumen to envision new ways to work and contribute to broader society.
 
She has extensive experience in developing and managing all aspects of an organization’s quality and business improvement efforts such as developing and administering programs, training and coaching employees, and facilitating organization-wide change.
 
Lyndi is a respected and sought-after speaker on the topics of strategic and operational planning, the impacts of work/life balance, and program evaluation.
 
She holds a BA in psychology from the University of Oklahoma and Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University.
 
Lyndi is passionate about giving back to the community through participation in several non-profit boards and committees. She and her husband have two precocious kids, a beloved rescue dog, and a leopard gecko.
 
When working with Lyndi, you can expect song lyrics, movie quotes, and some dad jokes to be woven into each presentation and conversation.

PANEL SPEAKERS

With over 30 years of professional experience, Jennifer has served in multiple capacities in the mental health and substance abuse field. She has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Central State University and a Master of Education in Community Counseling from the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and an approved supervisor for both licensures. She has served as the President and CEO of Pivot, A Turning Point for Youth since May of 2019. As a part of Pivot since 1999, she has had the opportunity to address the needs of youth who experience layers of trauma, involvement in child welfare and juvenile justice, and youth experiencing homelessness, alongside a talented and dedicated staff who put the needs of clients first.   

Jennifer is married to Jeff Goodrich, with two young adult daughters, Grace and Amelia. Jennifer is led by her faith and desire to be of service to others.  “For me leadership is not a job title, it is an action and example. You don’t achieve it. You live it.” 

After a successful career in economic development and private equity, Erika and her husband Chris launched StitchCrew to democratize access to capital, resources and social networks for traditionally overlooked entrepreneurs. Since it's launch in 2017, StitchCrew has supported more than 200 women and minority owned startups and partnered with global brands like the NBA Team the Oklahoma City Thunder, BASF and Google, along with government agencies and philanthropy organizations. 
 
To counter the disproportionate effect the Covid-19 pandemic had on women in the workplace, Erika launched VEST, a peer network for women professionals providing executive and professional development coaching, year-round. To double-down on this effort, Erika also founded VEST Her Ventures, a firm investing in women-led companies working on solutions to fix the Care Economy Crisis and enabling the future of inclusive workspaces.

Whitley O’Connor is a 2014 graduate of Vanderbilt University, with a B.A./B.S. in Human and Organizational Development and Sociology. While attending Vanderbilt, Whitley co-founded the Curbside Chronicle, an international award-winning magazine that employs individuals experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City. Since launching Curbside in 2013, Whitley has helped launch three additional social enterprises -  Curbside Flowers, Curbside Apparel and Sasquatch Shaved Ice. Over the past decade, Curbside Enterprises has helped over 400 people end their homelessness, created more than $6.5million in earnings, and reshaped the way the community talks about issues surrounding homelessness. Today, Curbside Enterprises supports more than 175 people each month, creating more than 70,000 hours of employment and $1 million of wages annually.  
 
Whitley serves as the Chief Social Enterprise Officer for the Homeless Alliance. Outside of work, Whitley uses his experience working in all three sectors – public, private, and nonprofit – as a professional consultant specializing in social enterprise and supportive employment models and social impact analysis for organizations, foundations and government agencies. For his work, Whitley has received numerous awards including being named to the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Social Impact, Outstanding Community Building Effort from the Urban Land Institute and the Innovation Award from the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. 

SESSION SPEAKERS

Beth joined Oklahoma City University (OCU) as its Chair of the Mass Communications Department in the fall of 2019. Since then, she has added the titles of Associate Professor and Director of the Nonprofit Leadership department. Prior to serving OCU, she was the Director of Marketing at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. Beth as also served as the Acting Chair and Assistant to the Dean at Cameron University’s School of Business, as well as the Director of Career Services and Instructor of Marketing at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) where she was instrumental in the creation of the Veteran Higher Education Resources Office.  
 
Beth earned her Ph.D. in Human Resource Development at The University of Texas at Tyler with an emphasis in organizational development and change management. Her dissertation focused on examining the beliefs, behaviors, and outcomes of managerial coaching. Beth is also a graduate of UCO with her Bachelor of Music and Master of Business Administration degrees. She is an alum of Leadership Edmond Class XXIX and holds a Nonprofit Management Certification from the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits as well as an Instructional Design Certification from the Association for Talent Development (ATD). 

Chris, a native Oklahoman, joined Hunger Free Oklahoma in December of 2017. Chris has substantial experience in policy, advocacy, legislative strategy, and program implementation. Through his extensive work in public safety and juvenile justice, Chris has proven leadership in forging public/private partnerships and coalition building to solve complex problems. He has worked inside and outside of government to affect policy, program, and legislative changes that better serve citizens, save government resources, and produce better outcomes for individuals and communities.

Chris holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from Northwestern University School of Law.

Aurelius Francisco is a community organizer, writer, anti-oppressive educator and forever-student with a passion for transformative social change and coalition building.
 
Aurelius co-founded and serves as the Co-Executive Director for the Foundation for Liberating Minds. He leads FLM’s Deconstructing Masculinity Program, Free Our People Initiative, and hosts its DreamRadically Podcast. As the Co-Executive Director, Aurelius strategically drives the vision of the organization forward through program and member development, partner outreach and shared leadership.
 
Aurelius is a recent graduate of the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences at the University of Chicago, where he was honored with the John J. MacAloon Research fellowship, granting him a fully-funded scholarship to the university.
 
Aurelius graduated in 2020 with two Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Oklahoma in African and African American Studies and Political Science, with minors in Women’s and Gender Studies and International Studies.

Tevin McDaniel is a community builder, organizer, and poet who keys in on the ways community can be the focus of the work of social justice, a future where our communities rely less heavily on their government. Tevin is a co-founder of Foundation For Liberating Minds (FLM) and serves now as the Community Building Coordinator. FLM is a community organization working to disrupt the root causes of systemic oppression through transformative education. He currently leads FLM’s We, The Eastside Initiative, building and creating space for people of the Eastside to come and express what it is they want for change. He is also in charge of the community building and organizing for FLM, making sure that those impacted by systems have the available resources to live in a comfortable way.
 
Tevin has performed his poetry at places like Ice event center and East Side Pizza House. In 2016, Tevin graduated from Heritage Hall Upper School and earned a scholarship to the United States Air Force Academy. He then started to pursue his passion for organizing and activism, where he stood for Food Justice in Texas, and Black Lives in OKC, and facilitated professional development trainings at high schools, and with religious and organizing groups around the OKC area.

Nathan Pickard, CIA, CISA, has been an IT auditor and data analyst for over 15 years and founded the Nonprofit Restoration Collective. Before founding 9b, Nathan helped launch a data analytics program at Williams. He is proficient in Tableau and several coding languages. He has an MBA from Oklahoma Christian University and a bachelor’s in Accounting from Northeastern State University.

Jordan Sanchez has been with Lilyfield since 2011. She loves working with children and families and is very excited to be working for Lilyfield. She works with Christian foster families to provide loving and safe homes for foster children. Jordan learned about Lilyfield in high school feels honored to be a part of the agency and the families with whom they work.
 
Jordan completed her Master's of Social Work Degree at the University of Oklahoma. She received her Bachelor’s in Spanish from Oklahoma Christian University in 2009. She worked in special education with Edmond Public Schools for 2 years. She also completed an internship at Rose Rock Academy, an in-patient treatment facility in Oklahoma City for children with Autism. These experiences served to strengthen Jordan’s desire to work with and for families and children with a broad range of needs.

Darcy Wilborn is the Vice President of Operations at i2E, Inc. She works across i2E to support the staff, systems, and processes that serve entrepreneurs and start-up companies in Oklahoma. Previously at i2E, Darcy managed and taught the E3 Series, a six-week customer discovery bootcamp for early-stage tech companies. Darcy has worked with over 250 Oklahoma startup companies since joining i2E in 2014. Prior to i2E, Darcy was a new product development engineer and logistics launch manager for L’Oréal Cosmetics. Darcy graduated with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and an MBA from The University of Oklahoma Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business. Outside of work, Darcy and her husband enjoy raising their three boys in Oklahoma City and watching their boys play basketball at the downtown YMCA and attending the occasional Thunder game.

RETURN TO CONFERENCE PAGE