​Jessica is a Tulsa native and resident. She completed her undergraduate studies after playing four (4) years of softball for Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Jessica  completed law school at University of Tulsa College of Law. Jessica’s first six years of practice were spent in a private firm as a litigation defense attorney. After having her now 5-year-old child, she made the transition from private practice to Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. Currently, she is a disaster staff attorney    and handles any related matters such as contractor fraud or insurance disputes.





 

​


















​
​
​




​
​
​
​
​​

Sara Martin is an Admin program officer for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections’ Religious and Volunteer Services Unit. In both her secular and religious roles, Sara often provides continuity, support and hospitality to encourage a welcoming, accessible and user-friendly environment. In her role with ODOC, Sara’s primary responsibilities is centered around volunteer management, recruitment and retention as well as providing administrative support to the Agency Chaplain and staff. 
 
Sara holds a Master of Divinity from Saint Paul School of Theology and a BA in Religious Studies from Oklahoma City University with a certificate in Nonprofit Leadership of the Arts. She is currently working on a second master’s in public administration from the University of Central Oklahoma. 

Sara is also a provisional deacon completing her residency towards becoming an ordained clergy person. Her areas of specialized ministry include disability advocacy, leadership development, spiritual formation and digital ministry.  She chairs the Disability Concerns Taskforce of the Oklahoma Annual Conference and is a board member for the Disability Ministries Committee of the United Methodist Church, whose work extends nationally and internationally. 

Passionate about disability awareness and improving accessibility in secular and religious spaces, Sara utilizes her lived experience as a disabled person and ambulatory wheelchair user personally as well as professionally. 

Rev. Mary Gaudreau Hughes is an ordained United Methodist deacon, Oklahoma licensed professional counselor, and nationally known disaster response specialist with 25 years’ experience in disaster emotional and spiritual care. She is a key leader in developing curricula, resources, and national standards for disaster spiritual care and has provided training, consultation, and technical guidance across the United States. She currently serves as executive director for Crisis Care Ministries in Oklahoma. 
 
Rev. Hughes was chair of the writing group for the National VOAD Disaster Spiritual Care Guidelines and chair of the National VOAD Emotional and Spiritual Care Committee during the development and ratification of the Disaster Spiritual Care Points of Consensus. She served for ten years as a national disaster consultant with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), providing training, consultation, technical guidance, and establishing credentialed disaster emotional and spiritual care teams more than two dozen states. She also created and managed a five-year pilot program based upon the National VOAD Disaster Spiritual Guidelines through the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, developing a team of more than 175 credentialed disaster spiritual care providers.

Deputy Tara Hardin with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office is the TRIAD Coordinator for Oklahoma County.  She began her career with the Sheriff’s office in 2011 and spent the better part of 10 years working inside the Oklahoma County jail where she started the Suicide Prevention Unit, the Peer Support Group, and was instrumental in overhauling the Mental Health department where she served as the supervisor and the Mental Health Court Liaison.  
Since becoming the TRIAD Coordinator in 2021, she has focused the program on the increasing scams and frauds targeting seniors offering tips and resources on how to avoid becoming a victim.  She presents a new lesson at 20 locations across the county each month which includes an online class and webinar through a partnership with MetroTech that can be viewed by going to www.metrotech.edu/crimeprevention. She also offers guest speaking/teaching by request, hosts an annual Fraud Prevention Conference each summer, and participates in numerous events and trainings for seniors around Oklahoma County. You can see her weekly “Senior Moments” videos with helpful crime prevention tips each Friday on the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Facebook page (OCSO911).
Deputy Hardin holds an Advanced Peace Officers certification, is a certified CLEET instructor for law enforcement in Oklahoma, a trained CIT officer, CISM trained peer supporter, certified Naloxone trainer and distributor for the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office, and holds numerous other certifications and awards.  She is proud to be a Deputy with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office and she is proud to serve the citizens of this country.

Isaac Morris is a Disaster Staff Attorney at Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. Isaac has been with Legal Aid’s Disaster Team since April 2021. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Legal Studies from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, and his law degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law. Isaac enjoys reading and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Erika, and their two children, make their home in Shawnee, Oklahoma. 

Shelby Lynch is the Director of Education at The CARE Center of Oklahoma City. At The CARE Center, she plans and manages the growth of The CARE Center’s education programs, Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect for adults and ROAR for children ages 4-8, updating each with current research and the latest developments. She also manages the licensure of the ROAR program both locally and nationally. She also works closely with community leaders, school districts, and other child-serving organizations to encourage and deploy the use of The CARE Center’s child abuse prevention programs.
ROAR, The CARE Center’s child abuse prevention program, has received several local and national accolades under Shelby’s management, such as the Outstanding Child Abuse Prevention Program award from the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award, and recently received the honor of becoming a recommended prevention program from The National Children’s Alliance. Since The CARE Center in 2018, Shelby and her education team have seen a 129% increase in school districts participating in ROAR, with a yearly goal of training 20,000 students in body safety and empowerment.















 

Gary Shepherd is the Overdose Prevention Program Manager at the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. In his previous roles as a field representative for ODMHSAS and Clinical Coordinator of the Jim Taliaferro Recovery Center, Gary has helped implement and operate naloxone distribution hubs across Oklahoma. Gary graduated with his undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma and his master's degree in Behavioral Sciences from Cameron University. Using both his formal education and his lived experience, Gary is passionate about educating the public regarding overdose prevention efforts, breaking the stigma connected to mental health and substance abuse treatment, and improving the lives of all Oklahomans.