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Executive Leadership

Jennifer Hankins

Managing Director

John McDonald

Head of Strategy & Initiatives

MaryBeth Dewitt

Head of Operations

Our Full Tulsa Innovation Labs Team

Abisoye Ajayi

For Community Organizations

Alejandra Paloma

Senior Associate, Grants Strategy & Partnerships

Allison Foster

Director of Strategic Engagement

Allison Rhodes

Associate, Events & Programming

Andra Pantelimon

Innovation Analyst

Caragan Tillman

Senior Associate, Administration & Operations

Chase Beasley

For Government Entities

Clay Kindred

Marketing Director

Drew Kincius

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

Hayden Hinchey

Senior Associate, Marketing & Communications

Joanna Jeffries

Community & Operations Manager

Kenny Osborn

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

Kristy Heatherington

Director, Finance & Operations

Lawrence Ganti

For Workforce + Talent

Makenzie Cochran

Senior Associate, Government Affairs

Malachi Blankenship

For Capital + Entrepreneurship

Ryan Xiong

Innovation Analyst

Shanese Slaton

For Place + Infrastructure

Simba Gandari

For Higher Education Institutions

Tiffany Henley

Senior Associate, Grants Administration

Tori Burris

Manager, Innovation Initiatives
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Kenny Osborn

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

As a manager of innovation initiatives, Kenny helps drive strategy and success across the day-to-day execution of our initiatives and programs. He brings a wealth of experience in building systems, growing teams, and turning bold ideas into action. With a background spanning startups and global nonprofits, Kenny has led business development, operations, and go-to-market strategies to drive impact. He holds a Business Administration degree from Oklahoma State University and is a certified strategic planner through the Patterson Center.

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Tiffany Henley

Senior Associate, Grants Administration

As a senior associate of grants administration, Tiffany ensures our team executes our grant-funded programs and initiatives in compliance with requirements, with a knack for accurate and timely data that helps us evaluate impact. A graduate from the University of Oklahoma, Tiffany is a grants professional who brings more than a decade of experience stewarding relationships, managing special projects and evaluating impact. She has spent the last seven years working with nonprofit organizations to ensure opportunities to live, work, and thrive are accessible to all.

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Joanna Jeffries

Community & Operations Manager

As a manager of events & programming, Joanna handles the planning, coordination, logistics, and successful execution of our team’s events.

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Clay Kindred

Marketing Director

As the manager of marketing and communications, Clay tells the story of how TIL and our partners are making an impact on the greater Tulsa region.. Clay is a marketing leader with over 20 years of experience in strategic marketing, brand management, and marketing automation and analytics with a focus on the energy and higher education industries. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri with an M.B.A from Oklahoma State University.

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Andra Pantelimon

Innovation Analyst

As an innovation analyst for TIL’s Rose Rock Bridge initiative, Andra drives impact in energy and technology ventures. Prior to her role at TIL, she was a Data Product Analyst at Newton Energy Group and Technical Program Manager at Amazon. Andra holds a degree in human-centered engineering and design from Dartmouth College.

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Ryan Xiong

Innovation Analyst

As an innovation analyst for TIL’s Rose Rock Bridge initiative, Ryan engages with RRB corporate partners to understand their innovation priorities, source and evaluate early-stage energy startups, and facilitate pilot deployments. Ryan holds a BS in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.

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Simba Gandari

For Higher Education Institutions

As director of higher education relationships, Simba works with our local education providers to explore innovative ways to train the talent of tomorrow. Simba brings more than a decade of experience in education, nonprofits and corporate social responsibility to the team. His most recent role with Harvard's Project on Workforce included a research project on the use of technology and labor market information in Community Colleges. A proud alum of Piedmont Technical College, Simba is a mover and shaker with a wealth of experience ready to serve the Tulsa community.

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Malachi Blankenship

For Capital + Entrepreneurship

As director of capital and entrepreneurship, Malachi oversees our programs and initiatives that support a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region. Malachi is a seasoned founder, investor and managing partner at ACT House and ACT Ventures, where he’s helped raise over $5M to support founders. With a focus on SaaS, digital health and more, he’s worked across Oklahoma’s startup ecosystem—from investing at i2E to co-founding a hospitality tech startup. He holds a degree and MBA from The University of Tulsa and is an active angel investor, community volunteer and mentor.

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Tori Burris

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

As a manager of innovation initiatives, Tori helps drive strategy and success across the day-to-day execution of our initiatives and programs. Prior to joining TIL, Tori was on the original leadership team at Atlas School (previously Holberton Tulsa), a software engineering school in downtown Tulsa. She spent more than three years overseeing and representing the school's Career Services department to students, alumni, employers, and workforce partners while shaping the school’s approach to wholistic professional development. Tori previously worked on Route 66 Innovation at Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. She is a graduate from the University of Tulsa with her M.B.A. and B.S.B.A in Business.

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Shanese Slaton

For Place + Infrastructure

As director of place and infrastructure, Shanese oversees our work with partners in the realm of physical assets, traditional infrastructure and innovation-focused facilities that drive growth in our region. Prior to joining TIL, Shanese was the State Manager of Community Relations at Oklahoma Natural Gas, building relationships within communities and supporting local nonprofits. She has managed projects for 36 Degrees North, Mother Road Market, and MidAmerica Industrial Park, focusing on community engagement and space activation. Shanese is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and serves on the boards of River Parks Authority, NAIOP, and First Tee of Tulsa.

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MaryBeth Dewitt

Head of Operations

MaryBeth is the Head of Operations at Tulsa Innovation Labs. A change agent with more than 25 years of experience as a strategy and operations executive, MaryBeth has been integral to business initiatives that have resulted in significant revenue increases and operational efficiencies in both for-profit and non-profit environments. She has led multimillion dollar portfolios, utilizing her business expertise to launch new business startups in global environments. Before joining Tulsa Innovation Labs, MaryBeth worked as director of special projects for inTulsa, a non-profit dedicated to creating access to careers for Tulsans. MaryBeth holds a master’s degree of business administration from The University of Tulsa.

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John McDonald

Head of Strategy & Initiatives

John is the Head of Strategy & Initiatives at Tulsa Innovation Labs, responsible for overseeing all strategic engagements, partnerships and programs that the organization works on. He has more than 30 years of experience as an organization builder and entrepreneur. Before joining Tulsa Innovation Labs, he helped create and served as the managing entrepreneur of NEXT Studios, one of America’s first Benefit (B) Corporation innovation studios. He was founder and CEO of ClearObject, the fastest-growing technology company in Indiana for five years in a row, which successfully exited to private equity in 2019. Prior to that, John served as CEO of Chicago-based startup CloudOne, and at IBM he led technical sales for their software development tools product line. He is a native of Indianapolis and holds degrees in software development and computer information technology from Purdue University.

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Jennifer Hankins

Managing Director

Jenn is the managing director of Tulsa Innovation Labs. She joined the founding TIL team in January 2020 and brings more than 10 years of direct economic development experience to the organization. Working to convene stakeholders across multiple industries, she is responsible for setting TIL’s strategic direction, organizational mission, and most importantly, is responsible for leading a dynamic and high-performing team and the broad portfolio of work currently underway. Prior to joining Tulsa Innovation Labs, Jennifer was the vice president of Entrepreneurship and Small Business at the Tulsa Regional Chamber, where she helped grow the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem and managed the Chamber’s business incubator for high-growth startups. Jennifer also served as manager of business retention and expansion on the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development team. Prior to her time in Oklahoma, Jennifer worked in the Kansas City region for the Wyandotte Economic Development Council as investor relations coordinator and for Catholic Charities of Kansas City-St. Joseph as development manager. She is a native of Kansas City, Missouri and holds a Bachelor of Political Science degree from Oklahoma State University.

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Hayden Hinchey

Senior Associate, Marketing & Communications

As a senior associate of marketing and communications, Hayden helps share our region's story of transformation into a tech hub where innovation thrives. She graduated from the University of Mississippi before embarking on a career in strategic communications and public affairs here in Tulsa, where she’s worked with a variety of clients, including government/state agencies and nonprofits.

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Lawrence Ganti

For Workforce + Talent

As director of workforce and talent and leader of the workforce intermediary, Lawrence oversees our efforts to build a regional talent pipeline driven by direct employer feedback and data. Lawrence is a senior operator with 30 years of experience leading organizations across the globe through transformations, transitions, and scale-ups. He has been a divisional CEO for Merck, where he led a team of 6,000 employees to deliver more than $2.5b in revenues. He has held leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, and Manufacturing with additional direct oversight for Finance, Human Resources, and Information Technology. Lawrence has also been the CEO of multiple start-ups across Advanced Manufacturing, Cyber-AI Software, and Agri-Tech. As the President of SiO2 Material Science, he led the scale up of 5 automated manufacturing sites under the Trump Administration’s Operation Warp Speed Initiative, deploying $250 million of US Department of Defense funding for Covid-19 response. Throughout his career, Lawrence has raised over $1.2 billion from Venture Capital, Private Equity, and Government Grants. He has lived and run organizations in North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia. Lawrence is the Entrepreneurial Leader in Residence at the World’s Leading educator for entrepreneurship – Babson College and is a Lead Mentor at Techstars and a Mentor at Endeavor. Lawrence calls Tulsa his home, where he aims to be a connector and facilitator in developing Tulsa into a future hub for Autonomous Systems, Cyber Security, Energy Tech, and Advanced Manufacturing.

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Makenzie Cochran

Senior Associate, Government Affairs

As a senior associate of government affairs, Mak helps form our advocacy strategy and policy priorities. Her passions for coalition building and public policy engagement drive her commitment to fostering inclusive dialogue and effecting positive societal change. Mak recently graduated from Oklahoma State University with a master's degree in Political Science.

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Drew Kincius

Manager, Innovation Initiatives

As a manager of innovation initiatives, Drew helps drive strategy and success across the day-to-day execution of our initiatives and programs. Drew brings a strong entrepreneurial background to the team. He is the founder and CEO of Sprintable, and has served in numerous leadership and consulting roles focused on brand development, project management, entrepreneurship, and supporting the creative economy. Drew continues his work to support and empower small businesses to build strong foundations and scale with confidence through his leadership in programs like 1 Million Cups.

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Chase Beasley

For Government Entities

As director of government affairs, Chase leads efforts to align public policy, economic development, and industry partnerships to position Tulsa as a hub for innovation and emerging technologies. With nearly a decade of experience in aerospace, workforce development, and government relations—including key roles at American Airlines—Chase has been instrumental in shaping policies that support workforce growth and economic expansion. He holds an Executive MBA in Aerospace and Defense and a BBA in Economics, Finance, and Energy Management from the University of Oklahoma.

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Allison Foster

Director of Strategic Engagement

As director of strategic engagement, Allison oversees functions across events, programming, marketing and communications, and operational integrity, ensuring our team shows up successfully across all engagements. She brings over 20 years of experience in event operations, account management, project management, and strategic relationship building. She is a highly organized individual who thrives in a challenging, fast-paced environment with the ability to successfully plan, manage, and execute large organizational projects.

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Caragan Tillman

Senior Associate, Administration & Operations

As senior associate of administration and operations, Caragan ensures our dynamic and high-performing team is empowered and enabled to do their best work within the organization. Her areas of focus include team member experience and culture, operational integrity, organizational communication and change management, performance management, and special projects. Prior to her role at TIL, as administrative services manager in one of Tulsa’s premier life plan communities, she managed the concierge team and served as strategic liaison for the C-suite and senior leadership team. She holds a BS in Leadership Studies from Oral Roberts University and is a Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) with 8 years of experience in the field.

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Allison Rhodes

Associate, Events & Programming

As an associate of events and programming, Allison (Alli) handles the planning, coordination, logistics, and successful execution of our team’s events. Alli brings a strong analytical background to her role, having spent three years as a data analyst and two years as an events and registration coordinator. She graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma.

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Alejandra Paloma

Senior Associate, Grants Strategy & Partnerships

As a senior associate of grants strategy & partnerships, Alejandra drives our approach to funding sources for programs and initiatives in the region. Prior to her role at TIL, she was a programs associate at TEDC Creative Capital, where she worked with small businesses and entrepreneurs start or expand a company through non-traditional lending programs. Alejandra holds a degree in Global Environmental Sustainability from Oral Roberts University and is deeply committed to promoting sustainable economic development in Tulsa.  

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Abisoye Ajayi

For Community Organizations

As director of community relationships, Abisoye leads outreach and collaboration with key community partners ranging from nonprofits and associations to K-12 organizations and special interest groups. Abisoye is a visionary leader who has dedicated her career to driving social innovation and digital inclusion in communities. She brings over a decade of experience in creating opportunities for underserved communities, and her innovative approach to economic and social development has established her as a recognized trailblazer in technology-driven transformation. Abisoye founded Pearls Africa Foundation, pioneering one of the region's first tech boot camps focused on empowering young girls and women. Under her leadership, the foundation has transformed lives through technology education, hands-on projects, and collaborative learning experiences. Her strategic acumen in building partnerships with US consulates, government bodies, financial institutions, and UN agencies significantly amplified the foundation's reach, and highlights her ability to forge strategic partnerships to achieve aligned goals.

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