Founders
Pat and Ray Potts
Pat and the late Ray Potts co-founded the Community Resource Development Foundation and its successor, the Potts Family Foundation (PFF). They also co-founded the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits where Pat served as president and CEO for over 20 years.
Pat’s focus has always been on leveraging resources “to address root causes and build the human potential of the people of our state one child and one organization at a time.” In her work in the nonprofit sector, she previously served as President on the Oklahoma City School Board, Oklahoma City Beautiful the Oklahoma City Zoo Trust and the Society of Fund Raising Executives.
Pat was honored for her accomplishments and contributions by being named Journal Record’s “Woman of the Year” in 2012, and in 2019 she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame and awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from Leadership Oklahoma.
Pat and Ray were a team and thus often honored as one. In 2011 they were honored with the World Neighbors Namaste Award; inducted into the OCU Business School Hall of Honor and received the Aspire Award from Sunbeam Family Services, both in 2017. In 2023 they were inducted into the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation Wall of Fame and awarded the Community Impact Award from A Chance to Change.
Ray joined Pat in supporting their community as well as his profession. He supported investing in early childhood education because, “it produces the best return for the individual and for society.”
Ray served as chairman of the Natural Gas Committee of the Independent Association of Petroleum Geologists of America, as president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, was a member of the State Board of Education for eight years and later served as the first President of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation.
After achieving the rank of Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, he obtained a Masters in Geology and later a law degree. He co-founded and operated PSEC, Inc., an independent energy company, for over 30 years until its sale to ONEOK. At that point the company became Potts Exploration, LLC.
Board of Directors
Community Members
Megan Benn
Megan is a governmental affairs consultant specializing in public education, healthcare, and state tax/revenue legislation and policies. With over 25 years of public policy experience, she has worked at the White House, OCAST, the Oklahoma State Senate Staff, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and the Oklahoma Policy Institute. She currently has her own consulting business and on the Foundation Board for USAO in Chickasha. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas Christian University. She and her husband, Jason, have two children and reside in Norman.
Stacy Dykstra, PhD
Kevin Evans
Kevin Evans is has been the Executive Director of Western Plains Youth & Family Services since 1993. He helped reorganize the board of directors, raising money and revitalized relationships with funding partners to restart programs for children and families in Northwest Oklahoma. Kevin has received the 2018 Visions Award for the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. He also received the “Distinguished Humanitarian Award” for lifetime achievements from Alva High School in 2019.
Wes Haddox
Dr. Martina Jelley
Dr. Martina Jelley is a Professor of Internal Medicine and the Julian Rothbaum Chair for Community Health Research at the OU College of Medicine Tulsa. She also serves as Assistant Dean of Community Research. Her interests include intimate partner violence, adverse childhood experiences and their effects on adult health outcomes. She is working with a multi-disciplinary team, using simulation, to help trainees in health programs improve skills in counseling adults with childhood trauma. She is a board member of the Academy of Violence and Abuse and co-founder of the Trauma-Informed Healthcare Education and Research Collaborative.
Amanda Johnson
She began her career with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma in 2005 as a closeout clerk at Grant Casino. She held various Gaming positions including purchasing agent, human resource specialist, and executive assistant to the executive director of gaming before transferring to the Government side of the tribe where she served as the senior executive assistant to the senior executive officer of member services in 2014. She currently serves as the director of child care and oversees 6 Child Development Centers within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation.
Amanda is passionate about her role in enhancing her tribe’s values of faith, family and culture. She is most proud of the work she and Child Care staff accomplish by teaching children life skills that will serve them throughout life. Amanda considers implementing prayer and the flag salute in the Child Development Centers as her greatest achievement as a director.
Outside of work, Amanda enjoys gardening, spending time with her family, and serving in her community.
Mariana Llanos
Mariana Llanos is an award-winning writer, poet, artist, and translator. She’s a Pura Belpre Honoree (American Library Association), two-time Oklahoma Book Award winner (2024 and 2022) in the children’s category, among other accolades. Born in Lima, Peru, her titles include Vampirita and the Angry Mob, Benita and the Night Creatures, Run Little Chaski!, the audio story Qoritika and the Three Alpacas, among several others. Mariana is passionate about literacy and the arts. In 2017, she received the Oklahoma Human Rights Award and was selected as the Best Latino Artist by the Hispanic Arts Council of Oklahoma. She’s a co-founder of LatinxPitch, a virtual event that boosts the representation of Latino creatives in the children’s publishing industry and co-chair of the Latino Committee for the Firehouse Arts Center in Norman, Oklahoma. In addition to writing, Mariana is an experienced speaker who visits schools regularly. She resides in Oklahoma City with her children.
Stacy McNeiland
Stacy McNeiland has served as CEO of The CARE Center since 2013. The CARE Center is a nationally accredited child advocacy center in Oklahoma County and a non-profit organization focused on preventing child abuse and providing opportunities for healing and hope for children. The CARE Center is a front-line organization, receiving cases of severe abuse & neglect. The ROAR prevention program, an award-winning program for elementary students, was founded by Stacy in 2017.
Stacy is an active board member with Children’s Advocacy Centers of Oklahoma and active with the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofit’s and Sigma Kappa sorority. She is a graduate of Leadership Edmond, Leadership Oklahoma City and Oklahoma Citizen’s Academy and a member of Rotary Oklahoma City, Club 29. Stacy has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work. She is a graduate of UCO and OCU, holding an MBA and MLA.
Carrie Sanders
Carrie Sanders represents Northwest Oklahoma with over a decade of nonprofit leadership experience. As Executive Director of the Cherokee Strip Community Foundation and former leader of Loaves & Fishes of NW OK and YWCA Enid, she has dedicated her career to strengthening communities through strategic partnerships and resource development.
After transitioning into nonprofit leadership, Carrie embraced training opportunities to deepen her expertise in governance and financial stewardship. She is passionate about supporting fellow nonprofit leaders in their growth, believing strong leadership is key to lasting impact.
Carrie understands the critical role early childhood initiatives play in shaping Oklahoma’s future. She is a strong advocate for the work of partner nonprofits in Northwest Oklahoma, supporting efforts to expand education, healthcare, and family resources so that all children can thrive. Inspired by philanthropists like Paul Newman, she believes collaboration is essential to building a brighter future.
Marnie Taylor
Marnie has been President/CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits since 2011. She has more than 40 years of leadership in volunteerism, board service, fundraising, and community engagement. She is a board member of the Potts Family Foundation, Sunbeam Family Services, and Friends of the Governor’s Mansion. She also serves as the Chair for the National Council on Nonprofits. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma XXIV, Leadership OKC XV, SALTT Class X, and Founding Director of Youth Leadership Exchange. A graduate of Notre Dame, she enjoys spending time with her husband Clayton, their sons Clay and Clark, and their 3 grandchildren.
Valerie Thompson
Since 1999, Valerie has served as President/CEO of the Urban League of Greater OKC, whose mission is to assist African Americans, other minorities, and the poor to achieve social and economic equality. She has served on a number of local and national boards, including the Governor’s Workforce and Education Council, the City of OKC’s MAPs Public School Trust, Seniors Health and Wellness Committee, the OKC Public Schools Foundation, r the National and the Association of Executives for the National Urban League. She earned an MBA and her doctorate in Political Science from OU. She is also an adjunct professor at OCU’s School of Social Work.
Tim Tippit
Tim currently runs a hedge fund that trades equities, fixed-income investments, commodities, options, and other assets. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Public Administration and from Washington University in St. Louis with an M.B.A in finance.
He previously served as President of DaVinci Equity Group that was a Top 50 Optical company for the time Tim served as President. Prior to DaVinci, Tim worked for three Fortune 500 companies where he served as an executive in international mergers and acquisitions, finance, public affairs and governmental relations.
Currently, Tim serves as a Communion Minister and a member of the Finance Board at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. An Oklahoma native, Tim and his wife, Patty, have two grown children and three grandchildren with whom they share a majority of their spare time.
Bailey Perkins Wright
Bailey represents both the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma as the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director. She also serves on Feeding America’s national policy advisory committee where she contributes to network-wide strategies to influence federal policy. She previously worked in a congressional office leading healthcare, education, nutrition, science, space, and technology policy initiatives in Washington, D.C. She graduated with honors from Oklahoma City University, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and history as a Clara Luper Full Tuition Scholar and Petree College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior Woman of the Year. She earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Reverend Doctor George E. Young, Sr.
Reverend Doctor Young was called back into pastoral ministry in 2021 when he accepted the pastoral at the Greater Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. He is a leader in his community and has built a compelling legacy by serving on boards with a range of missions such as Leadership Oklahoma, Leadership OKC, Red Cross, United Way and many others. He also has received numerous awards and recognitions and is a lifetime member of the NAACP, the Oklahoma Academy, Urban League of Greater OKC, Kappa Alpha Psi Province, Kappa Alpha Psi National and Leadership Oklahoma. Reverand Young has been recognized with many awards for his vigilant and persistent leadership in the furtherance of his community at work and in his personal life. He authored the book Christology: A Look At Practical Christianity. Reverand Young served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for District 99 from 2015 to 2019 and then in the Oklahoma Senate representing District 48 from 2019 until his resignation in November 2024. He and his late wife, Dr. Thelma Chambers Young, have two children and three wonderful grandsons.
Family Members
Steve Potts
Steve Potts is a partner with his father and his brother Mark at Potts Exploration, L.L.C. He has a degree in business from Oklahoma State University and holds a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University. He currently serves on the Potts Family Foundation’s Finance Committee. In addition, he also serves as Treasurer of the Oklahoma Youth Hunting & Shooting Program and Board Chair of Smart Start Central Oklahoma. Steve is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma Class XXIV.
Katheryn Potts
Katheryn Potts is Vice President of REES Associates, Inc. and senior member of REES Healthcare Group. Kathy has been involved in the nonprofit arena since 1985. She sits on the Sustainable Implementation Committee for Evidence-Based Home Based Visitation Programs by OUHSC Child Abuse Prevention, The board of Healthy Schools Oklahoma and is a former board chair of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. She is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma Class XXV. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Fine Arts & History from Oklahoma State University. She has been recognized three times as one of the 50 Women Making a Difference in Oklahoma by the Journal Record and was inducted into the Circle of Excellence in 2012.
Mark Potts
Mark Potts is a managing partner of Potts Exploration, L.L.C., an oil & gas company, working with his father Ray and brother Steve. Mark has also served on the boards of Chance to Change and The Francis Tuttle Foundation. Mark has a passion for those who struggle with addiction and recovery and those who try to help them.
Larry Potts
Larry Potts is a State Farm agent in Norman, Oklahoma. Larry is a proud alumnus of Oklahoma State University with a degree in Business Administration and Economics. He currently serves on the board of Bridges in Norman and is a recent board member of the Norman Public Schools Foundation. Larry is married to Susan who runs a successful retail store in Norman named Occasions. They have 3 grown children, Jessica who lives in Dallas, Wade, a PFF board member and recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma, and Paige who is a recent alumna of Oklahoma State University.
Susan Potts
Paula Potts
Paula Potts is a part time worker for TRC Designs as a bookkeeper. Her love for travel assists her in furthering her passion for photography. Paula’s preference for photographing are centered on landscapes and wildlife. She showcases her artistic side hands-on in her quilt making and enjoys the simple things in life.