OKC FRIDAY: Most Powerful Women: Tricia Everest tops poll again
By: Vicki Clark Gourley
Date: November 15, 2024
For the seventh straight year, Oklahoma Secretary of Public Safety Tricia Everest has been deemed the Most Powerful Women in OKC FRIDAY’s annual independent poll.
Tricia Louise Everest is a native of Oklahoma City and fourth-generation Oklahoman. Everest focuses her efforts and time on leading initiatives designed to help people find hope and purpose by creating pathways for stronger lives.
She plays an integral role as the founding chairman of Palomar, Oklahoma City’s Family Justice Center which removes barriers for abuse victims to access the services they need. She is the founding chairman of ReMerge, which diverts mothers from prison and empowers women to build healthy foundations for themselves and their children.
“Tricia has helped to transform the service community in Oklahoma City through her leadership, through her vision and ability to get other leaders to the table to create change, and through her personal dedication to those in our community who need help, who need new beginnings,” Jane Jayroe Gamble said.
At No. 2 again this year is Sue Ann Arnall, founder and president of the Arnall Family Foundation. Following her departure from the oil and gas industry, Arnall set her focus on a new aim—to level the playing field for marginalized individuals by lowering barriers to social and economic mobility. Informed by her early experiences and with the recognition that not all Oklahomans enjoy the same opportunities, she created the Arnall Family Foundation in 2015.
Since its founding, Arnall has invested more than $200 million primarily to improve Oklahoma’s foster care system and reduce its unprecedented incarceration rate. To meet the gaps and needs in the current system, she guided the Foundation to create the Diversion Hub, which has assisted thousands in permanently escaping the criminal legal system to lead productive lives.
As the president and CEO of the United Way of Central Oklahoma, No. 3 Rachel Holt is familiar with many of its agencies as she formerly was the executive director of the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs. She witnessed firsthand the importance of community resources and the vital role played by United Way Partner Agencies in central Oklahoma.
Oklahoma suffered a great loss last week when No. 4 Love’s Travel Stops founder Judy Love passed away. She was known for her philanthropic works and her civic leadership. She had worked in many positions, both in the civic world and numerous charitable foundations. Her leadership was widely sought and will be missed.
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