The Oklahoma Media Center’s mission is to support and strengthen Oklahoma’s local journalism ecosystem and spur innovation through statewide collaboration that benefits diverse audiences. A nonpartisan 501(c)(3), OMC includes more than 25 news outlets statewide, ranging from broadcast to nonprofit to Indigenous and Black-owned media outlets to longstanding newspapers.
OMC Board of Directors
Board President Tyler Tokarczyk is a senior program officer for Inasmuch Foundation. His work primarily focuses on journalism, criminal justice reform, and entrepreneurship and innovation. In addition to OMC, Tyler serves on the board of directors for Teach For America-Oklahoma City, ReMerge of Oklahoma County and The Kiln. Outside of the office, Tyler and his wife, Ariel, enjoy traveling and aspire to visit every Major League Baseball stadium and U.S. national park. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, he majored in journalism at Washington and Lee University and earned his MBA at the University of Oklahoma.
Board Treasurer Angel Ellis is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and has lived, worked and played within reservation boundaries most of her life. Ellis learned to read with a newspaper at the breakfast table with her grandfather, and the fascination never faded. Early in her career, she became the editor for a Kimberling City Publish Co. newspaper. By 2008, Ellis had performed every job, from throwing paper routes with her children in car seats to selling advertisements and covering local news. Ellis became director of Mvskoke Media in 2020. On Sept. 18, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation became the first tribe to usher in a citizen-ratified, constitutionally protected and fully funded press. Ellis advocates for ethical coverage of Indigenous topics and communities while working to uphold ethical reporting standards. She was recently elected to the Native American Journalist Association’s Board of Directors.
OMC board member Bianca Gordon joined Bridges of Norman in September 2017. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the University of Tulsa in 2000, and a Master of Arts degree in mass communication management (strategic communication) from the University of Oklahoma in 2014. Gordon serves on the board of directors for the historic Norman Depot where she is chair of the marketing and development committee and is an appointed member of the Norman Public Library board. She is also an adjunct public relations research and writing professor at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication. Gordon founded Spire Public Relations in 2016. Gordon has a daughter, Chesna, and is an insatiable learner who loves spending time with family, doing real estate on the side, and playing trivia. A sixth-generation Oklahoman, Gordon is a descendent of the Choctaw Freedmen.
OMC board member Cecilia Hernandez-Cromwell works as news director/anchor for Telemundo Oklahoma. Tyler Media, which Is an affiliate of Univision and Telemundo, has Oklahoma’s only statewide broadcast Spanish newscast. Hernandez-Cromwell graduated from Gonzaga University in 2014 with a double major in broadcast and electronic media as well as Spanish with a minor in advertising. She previously worked as a reporter intern at KION TV/ Telemundo 23 in Salinas, California.
OMC board chair Jeff Mayo is publisher and president of Cookson Hills Publishers Inc., with publications covering Sallisaw, Okmulgee, Eufaula, Checotah, Vian and Henryetta in eastern Oklahoma. Jeff is vice chair on the National Newspaper Association Board of Directors. Jeff worked as a reporter for the Boulder, Colorado, Daily Camera. Jeff has grown the Sequoyah County Times to newspapers in three Oklahoma counties. Jeff was elected to the Oklahoma Press Association Board of Directors in 2007 and served as president in 2013. He was presented with NNA’s Daniel M. Phillips Leadership Award in 2010.
OMC board member Ashley Harris Philippsen partners with organizations and institutions as deputy director of ImpactTulsa, where she develops programs that create sustainable outcomes for students. Through her career, with roles including executive director at Met Cares, managing director of Teacher Leadership Development at Teach For America and founding dean of students at YES Prep Public Schools, Ashley developed skills in team management, effective program design and implementation, strategic thinking and planning. As the deputy chief of community development and policy at the City of Tulsa, she was responsible for designing and facilitating community engagement and organizing processes for urban planning and development.
OMC board member William W. (Tres) Savage III has served as NonDoc‘s editor-in-chief since the publication’s launch in September 2015. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and covered two sessions of the Oklahoma Legislature for eCapitol.net before working in health care for six years. He is a nationally certified Mental Health First Aid instructor.
OMC Staff
Rob Collins is executive director of the Oklahoma Media Center. Collins worked most recently as executive editor of the Enid (Okla.) News & Eagle and editor of The Norman (Okla.) Transcript. Also serving as a regional editor for CNHI, he coordinated statewide content for all Oklahoma publications. A fifth-generation Oklahoma resident, Collins also managed CNHI Oklahoma’s Capitol coverage.
Collins received his bachelor’s degree in 1993 at the University of Oklahoma, where he taught media writing from 1998 to 2012 and served on its Publications Board as the Oklahoma Press Association representative.
In 1996, he began his daily newspaper career at The Norman Transcript before serving as managing editor at The Edmond Sun and as editor-in-chief of the weekly Oklahoma Gazette from 2004 through 2011. In Norman, his investigative journalism led to the location and dedication of the unmarked grave of Woody Guthrie’s mother. At the Gazette, his award-winning coverage spearheaded an effort to install artist Charles Banks Wilson’s portrait of Woody Guthrie at the state Capitol.
In 2012, Collins returned to his hometown of Enid where he lives with his wife, Kim, (met this fellow OU journalism grad working at the student-run OU Daily). They have two children. He currently serves as president of the Freedom of Information Oklahoma Board of Directors.
In 2013, FOI-Oklahoma recognized the News & Eagle for its successful lawsuit supporting the public’s First Amendment right of access to sealed court records.
In 2014, the News & Eagle won the Community Journalism Public Service Initiative award from the Associated Press Media Editors after receiving a grant to complete the project.
In 2015, the News & Eagle’s “Under Pressure” series was named co-winner of the Public Service award in the national Best of CNHI contest’s biggest division.
In 2016, the News & Eagle’s “Who’s at Fault?” earthquake series won first in Public Service Reporting and a Writing Sweepstakes award at the Associated Press/Oklahoma News Executives contest.
In 2020, Collins added full-time editing duties in Norman and additionally served as executive editor of Etown magazine in Enid.
The new program coordinator of the Oklahoma Media Center, Zachary McGrew joins the organization after working for over a decade in various nonprofits around the state. Most recently, he served as the media manager for the University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) for over six years, and his news releases were frequently picked up by regional and statewide media outlets. Prior to that, he worked as the executive director of the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra and the development director at KCCU-FM, Cameron University’s NPR-affiliate, networking with business and community leaders across southwest Oklahoma.
Born and raised in Lawton, Oklahoma, McGrew earned a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from USAO in 2009 before embarking on his career in the nonprofit sector. He completed a master’s in business administration at Oklahoma City University in 2022. He currently lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and high school sweetheart, Sarah, and their two cats, Joni and Jaco.
Contact the Oklahoma Media Center
Executive Director Rob Collins
Send mail inquiries to:
Oklahoma Media Center
P.O. Box 786
Enid, OK 73702
Note: OMC does not pay indirect costs associated with grants.