Episode 60 – To have spent decades working both in front of the camera and behind it is what we talk about in this episode. Viewers in the Oklahoma Cit market have seen Dee’s name in credits here for many years now. Today, she is in her second decade of being a freelance producer of a wide variety of TV news and entertainment shows from many different networks. We also talk about what it means to be in that business as a woman.

Episode 59 – Two aspects of Little Flower Church set the congregation and ministry apart from the rest of Catholic Churches in the Oklahoma City metro: First, they are and have been the key Catholic Parish in OKC that is focussed on the city’s Hispanic culture since their founding in 1922 at SW 10th Street and Walker. Second, the church was founded by a branch of the Carmelite order – Discalced (literally “shoeless”) Carmelites. The house of friars and nuns at Little Flower is still a vibrant part of the order. We talk about the history of Little Flower church and current unique outreach in their part of the city.

Episode 58 – Susan Moring sees the potential in working hard to build support for Oklahoma’s code developer boot camp called OK Coders. She doesn’t write code herself, but uses her organizational skills to put together a very popular and affordable boot camp in Oklahoma. The benefits to startups in Oklahoma are many. Rather than having to lure code developers in from another city, why not grow your own?

Read the companion story on the January OK Coders boot camps in Oklahoma City Free Press.

Episode 57 – Aspasia Carlson is in her seventh year as principal of John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City Public Schools.

Carlson explains some of her background and how that prepared her for leadership at John Marshall. She also talks about some of the deeper understandings of teachers and students that only long-term leadership can achieve.

See the corresponding story in Oklahoma City Free Press about the roll out of new Internet hot spot devices on Thursday, Dec. 1. The move is only one of many aspects of being a school that serves students from families who struggle to make ends meet.

Bonus Episode 56 – From the same interview session as episode 55, Robert talks about the importance of Mariachi music in OKC for Hispanic children. He has been instrumental in getting Mariachi music taught in Oklahoma City Public Schools. In just the next year after three popular programs were started, two had to be eliminated due to state budget cuts to the district. Robert tells us about a new organization and its money-raising efforts to fill the gap.

Episode 55 – For the past several years Oklahoma City has had a Mexican Independence Day celebration held in various locations. Robert Ruiz, President of Scissortail Community Development Corporation, has been one of the key organizers.

We talk about the development of the celebration and its meaning to local residents of Mexican descent who make up the largest portion of Hispanic culture in OKC.

Mexican Independence Day is celebrated by the solemn ringing of a ceremonial bell on Sept. 16, the day in 1810 when Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Catholic priest, read his Grito de Dolores, or “Cry of Dolores,” a revolutionary declaration that launched the Mexican War of Independence by natives of Mexico against their Spanish masters of 300 years. You can read more about it HERE.

Episode 54 – Collin Walke was one of several urban Democratic Party candidates in this year’s election cycle to buck the statewide trend of the Republican Party gaining an even bigger super majority in the Oklahoma Legislature. Running and losing the race to represent House District 87 in 2014, he persisted and won this time. We talk about what it took to win that district and what he thinks about the upcoming legislative session.

Episode 53 – Luke Crouch and Carlos Moreno are involved on their own unpaid time developing new tech tools to help all of the people of Tulsa connect to Tulsa city services and government. They are leaders in Code for Tulsa, an affiliate of Code for America, which promotes civic work by web and mobile code developers joining with civic activists.

Episode 52 – These two interviews were conducted during day 2 of the Thunder Plains code developer conference that is in its fourth year. Jesse and Amanda Harlin have provided core leadership of the conference and its sponsoring organization Techlahoma Foundation from the beginning. I talk with Jesse and Amanda about how Thunder Plains has developed over four years and then talk with Aaron Endsley, a developer new to the work who became seriously interested when he attended his first Thunder Plains conference.

Episode 51 – We interviewed attorney Craig Johnston before the debate began and then interviewed Amanda McClain-Snipes afterward. Both had some interesting and thoughtful insights on the candidates and the process. Thanks to Cathy and Sean Cummings for hosting the event at their restaurant, Vito’s.

Episode 50 – Sandino was our guest in episode one and now is back to check in at episode 50! We discuss what has changed – or maybe not changed – in a year when it comes to Maps for Neighborhoods and neighborhood issues in OKC. He is deeply involved in two organizations that help people to improve their lives and shape their communities in positive ways as the Director of Urban Services at Public Strategies consulting firm and the executive director of It’s My Community Initiative that works to strengthen families. The organization develops workforce programs across the state.