Matt Pinnell
Lieutenant Governor
Matt Pinnell is Oklahoma’s 17th Lieutenant Governor who has recently been appointed by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to serve as Secretary of Tourism and Branding. In his role, he is developing a unified brand for the state in order to make it a Top 10 tourism destination. This year, Pinnell will announce a new state image campaign to promote Oklahoma’s unique and diverse landscapes, western heritage, Native American culture, small town charm and major metropolitan areas. “We are being innovative how we market Oklahoma, and how we run our state parks and tourist attractions,” Pinnell said. “A special area of focus for me is outdoor attractions including Oklahoma’s Fishing Trail, Route 66 and agritourism.”
Pinnell also serves as a member of the state executive committee for the Commerce Department and is leading the effort to maximize Oklahoma’s Opportunity Zones and focus on small business growth. He is passionate about supporting entrepreneurs and retaining talent in the state by working with philanthropists to create start-up funds like OCAST.
Although Pinnell works in state government at the Oklahoma State capitol, he continues to live in Tulsa where he was born and raised. Prior to being elected as the lieutenant governor, Pinnell served as the director of state parties for the Republican National Committee from 2013-2017 and chaired the Oklahoma Republic Party from 2010 to 2013. He grew up in Tulsa and earned a degree in advertising from Oral Roberts University.
More information at OK.Gov/ltgovpinnell and TravelOK.com.
Brian Frere
Realtor
Brian Frere is ranked as a Top Real Estate Agent in the Region by his firm Keller Williams Realty International and has enjoyed that honor each year since 2008. Frere is an expert on the Tulsa market and serves his clients with the utmost honesty and integrity which is why he regularly ranks within the Top 1% of Tulsa realtors for sales volume and units sold.
He credits his success in real estate to his passion to serve others and to his commitment to understanding the local market values and trends. He began his career in real estate in 2004 after working as a CPA and controller for 15 years. He was born and raised in Tulsa graduating from Memorial High School and Oklahoma State University.
He is passionate about giving back to the community through his position as the chairperson for KW Red Day, a day designated by Keller Williams Realty International that focuses on giving back to the local communities they serve. He also serves on several boards and committees including: The Demand Project, Jenks Public Schools Superintendent’s Circle, Regent Bank’s President’s Advisory Committee, Greater Tulsa Area of Realtors Public Relations Committee and Jenks Southeast Elementary Dynamic Dads.
More information at BrianSellsTulsa.com and TheDemandProject.org.
Daniel Gomez
Attorney
Daniel Gomez is an attorney and partner at Conner & Winters who currently serves as a commissioner on the Greater Tulsa Area Hispanic Affairs Commission. He was appointed to the role of commissioner by Mayor G.T. Bynum and is responsible for communicating with legislative leaders on issues affecting the Hispanic community. Gomez also serves the community as a board member for Tulsa Historical Society, Fab Lab Tulsa, Council Oak Elementary and the Hispanic National Bar Association; and as the Sergeant of Arms for the Rotary Club of Tulsa where he is on track to raise more than $30,000 for the club foundation.
As an attorney, Gomez is a litigator with experience in several practice areas including Native American law and policy, gaming, insurance, bankruptcy and products liability. He is ranked in Chambers USA and Super Lawyers Magazine and in 2013, was named Tulsa’s Outstanding Young Lawyer by the Tulsa County Bar Association.
Originally from Corpus Christi, Texas, Gomez moved to Tulsa in 1995 as a teenager and attended Charles Page High School in Sand Springs. He holds degrees from Oklahoma State University and Southern Methodist University School of Law.
More information at CWLaw.com, Tinyurl.com/HispanicTulsa, TulsaRotary.com
Julius Hughes
Information Technology Professional
Julius Hughes is the IT director for Matrix Service Company, a 5,000-employee company providing procurement, construction, maintenance and turnaround services to the North American energy and industrial markets. “I enjoy my job because I can partner with individuals across the entire organization to help them be successful,” said Hughes who oversees the development and execution of the IT strategy for enterprise applications and infrastructure.
In the community, Hughes serves on the board for Tulsa Boys’ Home and regularly volunteers with Night Light Tulsa supporting Tulsa’s homeless and underemployed every Thursday evening under the bridge at the intersection of Maybelle and Brady. “I love to volunteer because I’m passionate about young people and the Tulsa community,” Hughes said. “There is no greater satisfaction than making a difference in someone’s life.”
Hughes attended Broken Arrow high school and then earned a Bachelor of Business Administration at Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Texas A&M University in Commerce, Texas.
More information at MatrixServiceCompany.com, TulsaBoysHome.org and CityLightsok.org.
Brandon Miller
Fundraiser
Brandon Miller is the vice president of financial development for Vizavance, a nonprofit formerly known as Prevent Blindness Oklahoma. His mission is to develop support for the organization which offers free vision screenings to Oklahoma school children throughout the state. The organization works with day care centers, Head Start, and public and private schools in 77 counties in order to detect and fix vision problems that could affect the educational outcomes of children.
Miller also serves the community by serving in several other organizations including Tulsa Cares, the Day Center for the Homeless, the junior board of the Summit Club and Regent Private Healthcare Bank. He is also a judge for the Miss Oklahoma Teen organization.
Prior to joining Visavance, Miller worked in healthcare marketing and sales. He moved to the Tulsa area in 1993 and attended Glenpool High School and received his master’s in healthcare administration from Oklahoma State University.
More information at Vizavance.org, TulsaDayCenter.org and MissOklahomaUSA.com.
