Action City

As artistic director of Oklahoma Contemporary, Jeremiah Matthew Davis serves in a key leadership role as the institution moves to its new, central location in downtown Oklahoma City. A native of Oklahoma, Davis leads the strategic plan for the growth of artistic programming and Studio School, piloting innovative programming that will remain the core of the institution’s work in its new home. Since joining Oklahoma Contemporary in 2016, Jeremiah has overseen forward-looking curatorial programming, including Ed Ruscha: OKLA, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Oklahoma is Black and Jeffrey Gibson: Speak to Me, and performance, including the Art + Tech and Women in Performance series, while continuing and strengthening staple youth and adult education programs.

Prior to joining Oklahoma Contemporary, Jeremiah focused on an immersive theatrical production, working with some of the most accomplished artists in the country, including Tony Award-winning designer Christine Jones, Sleep No More producer Randy Weiner, international composer Andile Khumalo, and emerging installation artist Cosmo Whyte. He has collaborated with leading theatrical institutions, ranging from the Woodshed Collective, New York Theatre Workshop, and St Ann’s Warehouse, as a dramaturg, writer, consultant, producer, and technical director. His work in this sphere has been consistently grounded in education, including teaching roles at New York University, Barnard College, and Columbia University and his continuing tenure as a faculty member at the Todoroff Conservatory.

 

Jeremiah holds a graduate degree in dramaturgy from Columbia University, where he was Dean's Fellow. He studied theater and social science at Bennington College.

As artistic director of Oklahoma Contemporary, Jeremiah Matthew Davis serves in a key leadership role as the institution moves to its new, central location in downtown Oklahoma City. A native of Oklahoma, Davis leads the strategic plan for the growth of artistic programming and Studio School, piloting innovative programming that will remain the core of the institution’s work in its new home. Since joining Oklahoma Contemporary in 2016, Jeremiah has overseen forward-looking curatorial programming, including Ed Ruscha: OKLA, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Oklahoma is Black and Jeffrey Gibson: Speak to Me, and performance, including the Art + Tech and Women in Performance series, while continuing and strengthening staple youth and adult education programs.

Prior to joining Oklahoma Contemporary, Jeremiah focused on an immersive theatrical production, working with some of the most accomplished artists in the country, including Tony Award-winning designer Christine Jones, Sleep No More producer Randy Weiner, international composer Andile Khumalo, and emerging installation artist Cosmo Whyte. He has collaborated with leading theatrical institutions, ranging from the Woodshed Collective, New York Theatre Workshop, and St Ann’s Warehouse, as a dramaturg, writer, consultant, producer, and technical director. His work in this sphere has been consistently grounded in education, including teaching roles at New York University, Barnard College, and Columbia University and his continuing tenure as a faculty member at the Todoroff Conservatory.

 

Jeremiah holds a graduate degree in dramaturgy from Columbia University, where he was Dean's Fellow. He studied theater and social science at Bennington College.

 

 

Mindy Nix and Susanne Huffman are mother-daughter French and Spanish educators whose love of language and travel inspired them to launch Oui & Sí.

 

They have worked as college professors, primary school teachers, and tutors for all levels sharing their love of language, culture, and travel along the way. Mindy and Susanne create courses, products, and events that teach French and Spanish language and culture in a fun, approachable way. They are thrilled to share their passions with others! Bienvenue à Action City!

Annie Tucker is an OKC/Edmond native. She started baking cookies in her parents' kitchen in 4th grade and a love affair with cookies was born. In college at OU, she started her blog, Take a Bite as a creative outlet. For the past 10 years, she has shared her loves, passions, and obsessions with all things food, fashion, interior, and travel. Soon after graduating college, she went to work for The Social Order and has been there ever since. Annie is now the Director of Marketing at The Social Order and can't imagine being anywhere else. If you looking for healthy make-at-home lunch ideas or the best chocolate chip recipe around, you can follow along with her on Instagram. Annie has been working non-stop on Eat Spark, The Social Order's newest concept, with is set to open in Scissortail Park in September. We're pretty excited about everything she's done for OKC. Welcome to Action City, Annie!

Jane Jenkins is President and CEO of Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership. Jane was born in Virginia and moved to Charleston, SC in high school. It’s is there she discovered her love of historic downtowns. Jane moved to Tulsa to attend Oral Roberts University and fell in love with Oklahoma. With a degree in communications and education, Jane taught school for several years before “taking a break” to move to Wagner, OK to run their historic downtown. 30+ years later she is still taking a break and honing her skills and love for revitalizing and managing downtowns in Pawhuska, Boulder, and for the past 12 years, Oklahoma City. Jane is an internationally recognized speaker and expert on urban issues. She is a former Chairman for the International Downtown Association Board of Directors and is also active in the International Economic Development Council, Urban Land Institute, and the American Institute of Architects. In 2014, Jane earned accreditation from the Congress for New Urbanism and she was recently named a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Place Management in Manchester, England. Welcome, Jane to Action City! 

Kaleo Kanahele Maclay was born with a genetic defect called an osteotomy, or a club foot, and at 8 months old underwent surgery to place pins through the toe and heel bones. Kaleo with left with limited calf muscle and ankle mobility. She loves sports as a child and was encouraged by her mother to try them all. At 10 she discovered volleyballs and at 12yrs she began training with the Paralympic Sitting Volleyball team. Since then she has become a 2-time Paralympic Medalist gaining a Silver Medal in London 2012 Paralympic Games and a Gold Medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Kaleo has been married to Matthew Maclay since August 2016 and has a son named Duke born in 2017. She currently lives and trains in Oklahoma City where she and her husband own a coffee, bakery, and flower shop called Flower & Flour. Kanahele-Maclay also owns Cookies by Kaleo which is a custom decorated cookie company. Kaleo and the Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Team are currently training with their sites set on another Gold at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Welcome, Kaleo to Action City!!

Nathan Sheldon was born and raised in the Brazilian jungle where his family was working as linguists. He moved to the Brazilian city of Brasilia when he was 11 and there had electricity and running water for the first time. When Nathan was a senior in high school, his family moved to Colorado Springs. After college, he moved to Norman, OK. Nathan began his career, as an accountant at Deloitte.

 

In October 2014, Nathan Sheldon was named the tenth Head of School for Casady School after serving as Interim Head of School for four months. Since Mr. Sheldon joined Casady in 2003, he has served as Associate Head of School and Chief Financial Officer. 

 

Mr. Sheldon is married to Staci, a native of Norman. Together they have two children, Sarah and Steven. Welcome, Mr. Sheldon to Action City! 

Welcome to the Action City Restaurant Extravaganza! In this episode, Katherine and Emmi dive into their picks for favorite local restaurants of Oklahoma City in over 40 categories. They talk favorite bakery to favorite patio and favorite burger to the favorite local dish. From restaurants old and new, they comb the city and find the best of the best. For all the foodies, please enjoy their take on restaurants in OKC! 

Avery Cannon grew up in Edmond and attended Edmond North. He spent a lot of his free time watching movies, making movies with his friends, and listening to music. His love of film and music has been informing his creativity since the beginning. 

 

He bounced around after high school and along the way discovered his creative spirit through food and restaurants. After learning to roll sushi in Norman, he moved to Denver and joined the chef team at Investco Field. About 10 years ago, Avery moved back to Oklahoma City and started Pachinko Parlor with his cousin, Eric Smith. 

 

From there, Cannon’s take on groundbreaking food concepts and appreciation for finely selected ingredients has translated into a series of innovative restaurants in Oklahoma City, such as Empire Slice House and Wheeze the Juice. This past July, Cannon embarked on a new project that was a year in the making:  Café Contemporary. The restaurant is located inside Oklahoma Contemporary and is a place where people can enjoy art in its many forms, including gastronomy. 

 

Please welcome Avery to Action City! 

Kristin Allen is the owner of Cyclebar Classen Curve. Growing up in Weatherford, Kristin made her way to Oklahoma Christian where she met her husband Kelley. After marrying, they both ended up working for her family’s business Alfredo’s Mexican Cafe and learned a lot about entrepreneurship and hard work. Seeing a hole in the market for boutique fitness and cycling, Kristin brought the Cyclebar franchise to OKC. Kristin has built an amazing community within OKC at Cyclebar. Through the pandemic, she was able to innovate and find creative ways to keep the Cyclebar community engaged. Now after learning about the industry, Kristin will be bringing the Rumble Boxing franchise to OKC next year. She and Kelley have a son and are expecting their second in December. Welcome, Kristin to Action City!