United Voice Oklahoma Podcast

On our second to last EVER episode of the podcast, we are joined by Dr. Quintin Hughes Sr. He wears many hats in our city, and Wayland & Taylor talk to him about his experience in OKC predominately related to his work founding and directing Northeast OKC Renaissance Inc. , and organization that has played a massive role in stewarding the renaissance of NE OKC. He and his teammates are working to develop the community on the terms of longtime residents and stakeholders, to make sure equity and the needs of the community are at the forefront.

This week we are joined by Mr. James Shaw Sr. for a conversation about Oklahoma's historic all black towns. Mr. Shaw wrote a book entitled "Boley : Oklahoma's Famous Black Town", and he joins us to talk about growing up in Boley, as well as the history of the town and the other all black towns in Oklahoma

Denyvetta Davis is the President of the Northeast OKC Neighborhood Coalition and has been the longtime leader of NE OKC’s JFK neighborhood. Ms. Davis joined us to talk about her decades of experience building up neighborhoods on the Eastside of OKC, and specifically some specific issues related to environmental justice in the areas where she lives and serves. 

Join us for the final of four "Loom Sessions" of the podcast, where Taylor is joined by Scotia Moore and four other guests to discuss topics specifically related to Scotia's project, The Loom. For these Loom episodes, we invite you to join us for a deep dive on issues related to race and relational dynamics between funders and practitioners in the nonprofit community.

Our fourth guest in this series is Ashley Dickson Oso. Ashley is currently the Programs and Communications Director for the Neighborhood Alliance of Central Oklahoma. She’s also an entrepreneur, community leader ,volunteer , advocate and a mother. She and her husband have a son and daughter. This young professional is a true connector who serves our city, and she KNOWS HER STUFF about our community. Today we talk with Ashley about the value of Community Voice.

If you want to hear more from Ashley, listen back to our interview with her in 2019 about Race, Neighborhoods, Resources, & Community Development in OKC

Join us for the third of four "Loom Sessions" of the podcast, where Taylor is joined by Scotia Moore and four other guests to discuss topics specifically related to Scotia's project, The Loom. For these Loom episodes, we invite you to join us for a deep dive on issues related to race and relational dynamics between funders and practitioners in the nonprofit community.

Our third guest in this series is Kim Bandy. Kim Bandy is the Co-Founder of the Spero Project with her husband Brad, and they have done incredible work for nearly 13 years with our new neighbors in OKC who have come to Oklahoma on refugee or asylum journeys. She also works with Flourish OKC in pioneering new ways to fund and support those who are helping make our city a place of flourishing for all. This conversation challenges us all to re-think how the idea and need for rest is talked about and practiced in the nonprofit and giving professions.  

For more on Kim's perspective on Rest, watch her video with Greg Jones on Volume II of the Loom at loom-woven.com.

Join us for the second of four "Loom Sessions" of the podcast, where Taylor is joined by Scotia Moore and four other guests to discuss topics specifically related to Scotia's project, The Loom. For these Loom episodes, we invite you to join us for a deep dive on issues related to race and relational dynamics between funders and practitioners in the nonprofit community.

Our second guest in this series is Gerald Scott, a nonprofit and ministry practitioner who wears many hats and has served our community for decades. Gerald is the Title IX Coordinator at Metro Technology Centers, the Executive Director of the STAAR Foundation, a minister, mentor, husband and father. He joins us today on the podcast to talk about the differences between volunteers, professionals and practitioners, and how important it is that nonprofit leaders are truly cared for by their resource partners in the communities they serve.

For more on Gerald's story,  read his article in the Loom Digital journal entitled " Faithful Vitality". You can read on Volume II of the Loom at loom-woven.com.

Join us for 4 episodes of the podcast where Taylor is joined by Scotia Moore and four other guests to discuss topics specifically related to Scotia's project, "The Loom". For these Loom episodes, we invite you to join us for a deep dive on issues related to race and relational dynamics between funders and practitioners in the nonprofit community.

Our first guest in this series is Vernon Deas, an entrepreneur and creative leader with a passion to influence and empower others to accomplish their best life. He is also the co-founder of Urban Bridge, a non-profit that empowers urban entrepreneurs and is home to The Bridge Impact Youth Center here in OKC, an inner-city youth center in OKC led by Marcus Jackson. Vernon shares some of his experiences in developing relationships that go beyond typical dynamics of giving and receiving, with a focus on mutuality. 

This week we are joined by Kori Hall, the City Engagement Director with Frontline Church in Downtown OKC. This wide-ranging conversation drills down on the fact that impactful engagement in the city has to start with relationships with those whose experiences and circumstances are different from yours. Kori brings hope, encouragement and wisdom into her work, has a lot to share on this episode on how to walk in humility as a way to develop mutually beneficial relationships with people from ALL walks of life in our city. You will leave this episode encouraged and ready to go meet someone new in your community!

How did you get to where you are today? What would happen to you if something traumatic or incredibly disruptive occurred in your life? We talk about these questions and much more in this episode with Justin Brown, Oklahoma Secretary of Human Services, and former Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (He was director of DHS when we recorded this episode).  Secretary Brown graciously welcomed us to his podcast studio to have this important discussion around poverty, opportunity, race, our social safety nets, and how it all is kind of like a game of Chutes and Ladders. Dive into the analogy with us right now, it might just reframe how you look at poverty, opportunities, and how our community can continue to unite around making this a place where all can flourish. 

Today we celebrate our host Lt. Wayland Cubit's retirement from a 26 year-long career in Law Enforcement, most of that time with the Oklahoma City Police Department. Taylor interviews Wayland about the highlights from his career, and they share some of the inspiring stories that community members shared at his retirement celebration. Join us for this special episode of the podcast in celebrating our host and an incredible community servant!

This week we welcome Corry Smith to the podcast. Corry is a friend of both Wayland & T-Does, and a man who wears many hats. He grew up in NW OKC, won a state basketball championship at Putnam City High School, is the founder of Energy Basketball OKC, has worked a number of jobs in the energy sector. He is a dedicated father, recently worked as a Director of Diversity and Inclusion, and currently he is the Wellness Director at Oklahoma Athletic Center. He joins us on the podcast today to tell some stories about his experiences as a black man in Oklahoma in the many OKC circle he runs in. You want to listen in to this upbeat and challenging conversation. 

We are so excited this week to welcome our friend, and United Voice Oklahoma Initiative team member Scotia Moore to the podcast. Scotia has 25 years of experience designing and leading programming for children and women as well as a background in arts and advocacy. As a social entrepreneur and consultant, Scotia seeks to help people and organizations to connect with purpose, self, and others for the common good.

She and her husband, Stephan Moore, are the parents of 10 young world changers. Today she is joining us on the podcast to discuss some of her recent work weaving a community of care and belonging so that funders and practitioners in the nonprofit sector can be generous together.

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To engage with "The Loom" , visit  www.loom-woven.com

This week we are joined by DesJean Jones, for a conversation about unlocking business opportunities for the underserved in our community, the "backpack" of race that many minorities carry, and the powerful idea that "You Are Enough". DesJean is OIC of Oklahoma County's Executive Director.  OIC stands for Opportunities Industrialization Center, and the organization has been around for more than 50 years, specializing in Helping Others Help Themselves. They do this through academic classes, skills training and day to day living courses. OIC recently launched their business academy and business think tank. We are excited for you to listen in!

Our guest this week is a good friend of the podcast, the wonderful, wise and energetic Derrick Sier. With a pool of experience that spans community, corporate, non-profit, religious and collegiate fields, Derrick has spent the last 15 years collecting and developing unique ways to fuse his programming experience, love for recreation and passion for people. Building teams has allowed him to display this contemporary approach to group dynamics and professional group development. He is the OKC Director of Paradigm Shift, and joins us on the podcast today to talk about the power of connection and relationships to overcome many of the things that seek to drive us apart. 

We're back, and so excited to welcome our newest co-host Taylor Doe, to the podcast. Taylor is a committed mentor, who is deeply rooted in our community. Many of us simply know him as T-Doe. He is a tech founder and creative entrepreneur and it's been a long time coming to get him here on this podcast! Most recently T-Doe has been on a journey to help people reflect on and share the "And Then" moments that have shaped their lives. He will be co-hosting with Wayland for a number of episodes moving forward, and we are so excited to welcome him to the podcast! 

Here with us today  on the United Voice Oklahoma Podcast is Darrell Davis, the recently elected mayor of Edmond, Oklahoma. Darrell is retired from a 35-year civilian career at Tinker Air Force Base, and sat on the Edmond City Council for 9 years. When he was elected Mayor of Edmond in April of 2021, he became the first black mayor ever elected in Edmond, and we are so excited to have him on the podcast today to share about his life experiences with us as he leads one of OKC’s most notable neighboring cities. 

We are joined today by someone that is a quiet force behind a lot of what is happening in NE OKC related to entrepreneurship and business development, Greg Jones. If you’ve been around OKC a while, you’ve probably come into contact with Greg himself, or someone in business that he has impacted. Greg is ALL about the community, and on this episode we get to hear more of his back story, how he has raised incredible young entrepreneurs, and his new adventure that is bringing him into contact with loads of small business owners in NE OKC. His insights on the power that entrepreneurship can have in practical ways in our city is worth hearing!

This week we are very excited to bring you a conversation with some of our friends from Restore OKC. Josh Dodson and Jonathan Veal are our guests, and you don't want to miss this! They catch us up to speed on what's been going on at Restore OKC since we last featured the organization on the podcast in 2019, and then spend some time talking about issues of housing security and equity in NE OKC, and the ways Restore OKC is fighting for their neighbors on their journey towards holistic restoration of community. 

This week we bring you a conversation with Pastor Derrick Scobey of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Northeast Oklahoma City. Pastor Scobey is very involved in our community, serving others and building bridges. On this episode, Wayland and Makenzie dive with him into his backstory and the life that brought him to where he is in our city today. You don't want to miss this story of God's redemptive work in Pastor Scobey's life! 

On this episode we are joined by OKC’s very own Sharina Perry, the founder and inventor behind Utopia Plastix, a plant-based alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic. Join us for this conversation about green innovation, entrepreneurship, perseverance and how the dynamics of race have impacted the journey of a trailblazing inventor right here in our community. You really don’t want to miss this dynamic conversation!

Joining us this week are Kim Bandy and Sang Rem, both with a nonprofit called The Spero Project here in Oklahoma City. Kim and her husband Brad started Spero about 12 years ago and have been PIONEERS and leaders in our community when it comes to welcoming and engaging with refugees resettled in OKC. Sang herself arrived in OKC on a refugee journey from Burma and  now works with Kim at Spero. This conversation dives into the specific ways that Spero aims to welcome new neighbors into our community, and the ways that we all can be enriched by developing real relationships and engaging with the stories of those who have completely different backgrounds than us. 

We are excited to welcome Makenzie Magnus as our next co-host to the rotating chair of those joining Wayland on the podcast. Makenzie is the Director of Missions at Council Road Baptist Church here in OKC, and gets to work with both their local and global community partners.   This quick episode will help you get to know Makenzie a little bit better before our next round of episodes where she interviews our guests with Wayland.

This week we are excited to have the legendary Lee Roland BACK on the United Voice podcast. He was the guest on our second ever episode, and he's back today to talk with Wayland & Jon about his continuing voyage to impact children in our city. Lee is now the Executive Director of Hope United, a new organization in our city aiming to empower, resource and collaborate with local schools for the benefit of all our children. Listen in and be inspired by Lee's vision, driven by hope, to lean in and put our children first. 

This episode features a conversation with Oklahoma State Representative Cyndi Munson. Cyndi represents Oklahoma City’s House District 85, and was recently selected to be the next House minority leader. When she was elected in 2015, Cyndi became the first Asian-American woman elected to the Oklahoma legislature. Wayland and Jon had a great conversation with Cyndi about the ways that race has played a factor in her experience for her whole life, and how she brings those experiences into constantly pressing for better dialogue and relationships between parties in the Oklahoma legislature. 

It’s been 3 months since our last episode, but we are finally back with more episodes! Before we debut our new lineup of guests, Cece & Wayland take this episode to catch up on their lives and the state of our world. In the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, the types of conversations we have on this podcast are happening around the world. Join us as we catch up and move forward together!