Grayson Barnes is a partner at Barnes Law PLLC. He moved to Tulsa before he was old enough to ride a bike and has spent all of his life here less school and travel. He strives for Tulsa to compete on a national scale by facilitating the legacy of a thriving oil and gas industry all while recognizing the need for the city to diversify its industrial portfolio and its offerings to fellow Tulsans.

Growth comes from overcoming the things that stand in the way of your goal.

I graduated from Tulsa Central High School, the last class to graduate from the PSO Building in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. I served three (3) years in the United States Army. I graduated from the Oklahoma State University of Technology in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.

In 2018, I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. After a regime of natural health treatment and cure of my cancer, I found a Freedom that had once been lost; I lost that life of working and that life of seeking to acquire material stuff. I became Free of my self-imposed shackles. I found the Freedom to shine my light, as bright as possible. I found that to live a life of Service is to live a life of Freedom. To be Free is to live your best life. I choose to live my best life. I choose to be a light in this life.

Pat Hobbs is a Tulsa community volunteer and entertainer.  A graduate of the Cox School of Business at SMU, he spent over 40 years as controller and financial manager for several local firms related to the oil and gas industry.  His volunteer commitments have included treasurer of OkEq and ahhaTulsa. He is currently the Accounting Manager at The Tulsa Garden Center. In his spare time, he performs a musical cabaret act in The Rainbow Room at OkEq and various retirement centers around Oklahoma.

Rachella Bressler was selected as an HR Generalist for the Tulsa Housing Authority in 2000, where she now holds the position of Senior Manager – Human Resources.  She is responsible for all areas of human resources including talent acquisition, employment relations, compensation and benefits, performance management and staff development.

Bressler received her Bachelor of Arts – Human Resource Development from Northeastern State University.  She began her career in the healthcare system 25 years ago.

Rachella currently serves on two non-profit boards, including Resonance Center for Women and This Machine.  She has served on many advisory boards over the years at various tech schools.  She is a member of Tulsa Area Human Resource Association and is also a member of Leadership Tulsa’s Class 61.  She serves as a volunteer at Goodwill Industries Tulsa Works Career Academy program for those who need assistance preparing for entry or reentry into Tulsa’s work environment.

Growing up in rural Southern Indiana, Tonja and her brother caught the cycling bug riding dirt trails they crafted in their neighborhood. Moving to attend The University of Tulsa in 1986 she fell for the city’s outdoor vibe, especially at River Parks. She met her husband Tim, a passionate cyclist, in 1999 at Tulsa’s Oktoberfest. Active lifestyles for them both include cycling and volunteering to support local non-profit organizations and their associated festivals and events, primarily Tulsa Wheelmen, German-American Society Tulsa (GAST), Route 66 Marathon, and Tulsa Tough. Tonja is Community Relations Director for River Parks Authority and Festival Director for Tulsa Oktoberfest. Tonja is a member of Leadership Tulsa Class 40 and currently serves on the boards for German-American Society Tulsa (GAST), Tulsa Oktoberfest, Inc. and Tulsa, Tough, Inc.

Michelle Merchant is the Sustainability Programs Planner at Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG). In this role, she also serves as Director for Tulsa Area Clean Cities Coalition, a US Department of Energy program hosted at INCOG, with the goal of enhancing the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by working locally to advance affordable, domestic transportation fuels, energy efficient mobility systems, and other fuel-saving technologies and practices. Michelle graduated from the University of Tulsa with dual majors in Environmental Policy and Economics, where she was selected as the 2021 Outstanding Senior in Environmental Policy. She has also studied Sustainable Development at the School for Field Studies in Costa Rica, where she developed a special interest in environmental and energy justice issues. 

David is a native Tulsan who returned after school and serving on active duty as an engineer in the US Army.  As a member of Leadership Tulsa Class 48, he remains active with nonprofits that promote community, healthy neighborhoods, and environmental stewardship.  David spends his work time building with a great commercial construction team and his free time exploring and living life with his wife and two kids.

Kandy Whitley-White is the new Health Equity Director for the Tulsa Health Department Be Well CDC. Her role is to advance health equity across Tulsa County. She is charged to catalyze culture change across sectors to address structural barriers that deepen health inequities, such as racism, poverty, ineffective policies, and systematic barriers that harm certain groups and benefit others. In her last position as the Cross-Sector Facilitator for the TSET Healthy Living Program with the Tulsa Health Department, she developed, planned, and implemented the strategic goals established by partnerships, key stakeholders (local, county-wide, and statewide), and grants-affiliated coalitions to create evidence-based and innovative programs that addressed tobacco use, physical activity, nutrition; research, and emerging opportunities. These skills will play an integral part in the development of the Health Equity Office.

Kandy is a Tulsa native whom she lived in Portland, Oregon for over 15 years, it’s where she started her family and began her career in non-profit work. She and her family moved to Tulsa 12 years ago.

Kandy is passionate about working in and serving marginalized communities and helping find solutions to address systematic disparities caused by social inequalities. She strives to increase civic engagement, encourage economic development, and seek to make communities self-sustainable. Working with people to impact their lives in ways that could break the cycle and mindset of intergenerational poverty. Kandy has served on many boards and committees to be that voice at the table that represents the ignored and be a catalyst for change.

Kandy is a graduate of Thomas Edison High School and holds a BA in Organizational Communication from the University of Tulsa.