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Stitt announces appointments to State Board of Education
Governor Kevin Stitt
announced today four
appointments to the Okla-
homa State Board of Edu-
cation.
“Each of our new board
members is a qualified
leader who is passion-
ate about education in our
state,” said Stitt.
“They will bring strong
representation from across
Oklahoma in order to
help invest in and guide
the direction of our public
school system. I look for-
ward to working with the
entire board as we move
toward Top Ten status in
education.”
The appointments are as
follows:
Jennifer Monies cur-
rently serves as the Senior
Director of Public Affairs for
Saxum.
Prior to this, she worked
as a political reporter at The
Oklahoman in Oklahoma
City and Congressional
Quarterly in Washington,
D.C. She served in a press
and policy advisory role for
Speaker of the House Chris
Benge and then Senate
President Pro Tempore
Brian Bingman.
She built the State Cham-
ber of Oklahoma’s Commu-
nication Department from
scratch and managed inter-
nal and external communi-
cations and marketing for
the pro-business organiza-
tion.
Before joining Saxum,
she most recently ran an
education nonprofit for over
four years, advocating for
improvement in Oklahoma’s
PK-12 education system.
Jennifer lives in the urban
core of Oklahoma City with
her husband and two chil-
dren.
She has served on the
Community Advisory Board
of her neighborhood ele-
mentary school and cur-
rently serves on the board
of her son’s school.
She holds a Bachelor of
Journalism degree from the
University of Texas and a
Master of Public Adminis-
tration from the University of
Central Oklahoma.
Brian Bobek currently
helps manage the largest
global account for BP Lubri-
cants, where he has worked
for over 18 years. Devoted
to his work, Bobek has fer-
vently traveled the United
States for a vast majority of
his career, landing accounts
in multiple regions. Bobek
spearheads local outreach
at Capitol Hill High School.
He provides snacks for
the teams before games,
mentors teenagers through
hardships and hosts their
annual All Sports Banquet.
In addition he created a
free ACT prep night, open
to any student in the area
struggling with test anxiety
and preparedness.
He also devotes his
resources to the commu-
nity by partnering with Tulsa
Hope Academy, which
provides a new opportu-
nity to students who have
been in the criminal justice
system, homeless, addicted
to drugs, abused or need
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
someone to assist in getting
them back on the right track.
Bobek and his wife, Toni,
reside in Oklahoma City,
and together they have four
children and one grandchild.
Born and raised in Okla-
homa, Bobek is a product of
Tulsa Public Schools, having
attended Tulsa Edison High
School. He received his
bachelor’s degree from The
University of Oklahoma.
Estela Hernandez has
been in the Construction
and Real Estate business
for 15 years as a small busi-
ness owner and a licensed
Realtor with Keller Williams.
Hernandez is also known
for her role in Oklahoma pol-
itics, serving as Vice Presi-
dent of Engagement for the
Oklahoma Council of Public
Affairs, Vice Chairman of
the Oklahoma Republican
Party, and Commissioner on
the Oklahoma Commission
on the Status of Women.
She has served as
School Board Member and
is a former Spokeswoman
for Mundo-Fox Oklahoma
City. Due to her professional
and civic accomplishments,
she has received multiple
awards, and serves on vari-
ous boards.
She holds a B.A. in Busi-
ness Administration with a
concentration in Interna-
tional Business.
Hernandez has been
married for 17 years and
is the mother of three chil-
dren, who attend school at
Putnam City School District,
OKC Public School District,
and Epic Charter Schools.
Kurt Bollenbach cur-
rently serves as an oil and
gas operator for Teocalli
Exploration, LLC, where
he manages approximately
500 wells in northwest Okla-
homa.
Prior to working in the oil
and gas industry, Bollen-
bach served as an attorney
at a variety of legal offices,
including Harrison & Meck-
lenburg, and the United
States Army Judge Advo-
cate General’s Corps.
Upon completion of Offi-
cer Basic Course in 2006,
Kurt was stationed in Hei-
delberg, Germany where he
acted as general counsel
for Commanders, provided
legal assistance to Service
members, and acted as a
military claims officer.
Kurt received his Bach-
elor of Science in Business
Administration from Okla-
homa State University in
2002 and completed law
school at the University of
Oklahoma in 2005.
Bollenbach resides in
Kingfisher with his wife and
two children, who attend
Kingfisher Public Schools.
William E. “Bill” Flana-
gan is currently the Mayor
of Claremore, Oklahoma.
Mr. Flanagan, a retired cer-
tified public accountant and
personal financial specialist
has owned and operated a
public accounting firm, spe-
cializing in individual, small
business and corporation
tax, as well as personal
financial consulting for 35
years.
He served many years on
the Claremore Park Board
and previously served on
Claremore’s City Council.
In addition, Mr. Flanagan
served as President for the
Board of Directors, Hope
Harbor Children’s Home for
over 20 years.
In 2004, he was named
Claremore’s Citizen of the
Year; and the Claremore
Chamber of Commerce
honored him with the 2014
Career Achievement Award.
He has served as a board
member for the Rogers
State University Foundation
in addition to serving on var-
ious other local and state
boards in leadership roles.
Mr. Flanagan earned
a bachelor’s degree from
Southeastern Oklahoma
State University, and was
licensed as a Certified
Public Accountant in 1975.
He and his wife Mary Lou
have three children and four
grandchildren.
On April 1, Gov. Stitt
announced the appointment
of Carlisha Williams Brad-
ley who currently serves as
the Executive Director for
Impact Tulsa.
Bradley is also the
Founder and CEO of Women
Empowering Nations.
A leader in the Tulsa and
$
49.95
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Oklahoma education com-
munity, Bradley previously
worked as the Executive
Director for Tulsa Legacy
Charter Schools and the
Schools Systems Leader
Fellow & Senior Consultant
at Tulsa Public Schools.
She also served as the
Regional Vice-President at
Lighthouse Academics and
worked as an 8th Grade
Math Teacher and KIPP
Through College Director at
KIPP Reach College Prepa-
ratory.
Bradley holds a Bache-
lor of Arts in African & Afri-
can-American Studies and
a Bachelor of Business
Administration in Entrepre-
neurship & Venture Man-
agement from the University
of Oklahoma and a Master
of Public Administration
from Syracuse University.
The State Board of Edu-
cation is the governing board
of the public school system
of the state of Oklahoma.
Members are charged
with pursuing and imple-
menting reforms that will
boost student performance
and ultimately help to create
the kind of educated, highly
skilled workforce that will
bring more and better jobs
to the state.