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About the Panelists:
Alison Anthony, Tulsa Area United Way:
Alison Anthony serves as the President and CEO of the Tulsa Area United Way. She joined TAUW in August 2017, after a long career at Williams, where she was President of the Williams Foundation and the company’s Director of Strategic Outreach.
Alison is a member of the Board of Directors of the Tulsa Community Foundation, the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce, and more. To all her roles, Alison brings a passion for inclusion, justice, innovation, and a belief that we can join our talents together to make our community a place where we can all flourish and thrive.
Alison has received many honors throughout her 35-year professional career, most recently being inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma State University Diversity Hall of Fame, and the 2025 recipient of the Leadership Oklahoma Distinguished Graduate award.
Sean Kouplen, Regent Bank
Sean Kouplen is the Chairman & CEO of Regent Bank, Oklahoma’s Past Secretary of Commerce & Workforce Development, a best-selling author, and an active small business investor. In 2008, Sean led an investor group that purchased 110-year-old Regent Bank in Nowata, OK.
In his governor-appointed role as Secretary of Commerce & Workforce Development, Sean oversaw 36 state agencies that led the economic, community, and workforce development efforts for the state of Oklahoma. Sean holds numerous local and statewide leadership positions, including Chairman of the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, the Oklahoma Bankers Association, the Tulsa Community College Foundation, and the First Americans Museum. Sean’s awards include Journal Record’s Most Admired CEO Award, his fraternity’s top National Alumni Award, and Citizen of the Year in Bixby, OK.
Sara Ross, George Kaiser Family Foundation
Sara Ross is a Program Officer at the George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF), managing GKFF’s Social Services Safety Net grant portfolio and the Summer Impact (internship) Program. Sara also co-manages GKFF’s Accelerator Grants process, which aims to increase access to funding and ensure small and underfunded nonprofits in Tulsa have the financial and technical support to fulfill their missions. Before joining GKFF, Sara worked at the University of Oklahoma as a student assistant for the College of Professional and Continuing Studies.
Sara serves on advisory committees for several organizations in Tulsa, including Community Action Project, Iron Gate, and Tulsa Area United Way.
Joshua Sharum, Office of U.S. Senator James Lankford
Joshua Sharum serves as the Grants and Special Projects Manager for U.S. Senator James Lankford. He is originally from Lawton, OK, and is currently based in Tulsa. Joshua works to engage with stakeholders across Oklahoma to identify and support efforts to secure federal grant dollars. Additional responsibilities include helping resolve grant-related issues between federal agencies and local entities, advising the Senator and staff on grant issues within the state, and leading the Senator’s Service Academy Nominations process. Joshua previously served as the Tulsa County Field Representative and Staff Assistant for U.S. Senator James Lankford.
Michael Turpen, Riggs Abney
Mike Turpen served as Muskogee County District Attorney from 1977 to 1982. In 1982, Mike was elected Attorney General of the state of Oklahoma, a position he held from 1983 to 1987. Since 1987, Mike has been a partner in the law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis in Oklahoma City, OK.
In 2009, Mike was appointed by Governor Brad Henry to serve a nine-year term on the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and was then reappointed by Governor Mary Fallin to serve another nine-year term. He served two years as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum. Mike is a member of the American, Oklahoma, Tulsa County, and Oklahoma County Bar Associations, as well as a Founding Fellow of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and a faculty member of the National College of District Attorneys. In 2010, Mike was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.
About the Moderator:
Lindsay Jordan, Write On Fundraising
Lindsay Jordan is the Founder and CEO of Write On Fundraising. A dynamic leader with a penchant for taking on risks that others would rather not, Lindsay looked back at a decade of fundraising experience in 2018 and said, no, there simply had to be a better way.
Lindsay launched Write On Fundraising not only to raise millions of dollars for nonprofits every year, but also to change how fundraising happens. The company creates pathways from antiquated fundraising “best practices” to new, community-centered methodologies, has played a critical role in shaping the national conversation around changes in philanthropy, and was recently published in The Philanthropy Project and honored as one of America’s top small businesses by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.