‍

Gary Lee, Executive Editor:  Gary Lee is a Tulsa native. Gary joins the Tulsa Local News Initiative from The Oklahoma Eagle where he was the Managing Editor. Before the Eagle, Gary was a journalist at the Washington Post and Time Magazine. He speaks five languages including Russian, German, French, and Spanish. He was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for foreign coverage, won the Lowell Thomas Award for travel journalism for his coverage of 9/11, and was recently recognized with the 2024 Journalist of Distinction Award by the National Association of Black Journalists.

‍

‍

‍Judd Slivka, Managing Editor: Judd Slivka has been a journalist, private investigator, process server, communications director, professor and digital director. Most recently, he was the director of digital content at 12News, the NBC affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona. He has worked at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Arizona Republic and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. His freelance work has appeared in ESPN: The Magazine, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News and World Report. He worked as the communications director and director of information services at the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. He was a professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and was the first director of aerial journalism at the Reynolds Journalism Institute. His documentary The Work is Hard and Not Done: Being Black in the Valley won the 2021 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Documentary Journalism.

‍

Jessica Remer, Deputy Editor: Jessica Remer is an award-winning journalist with 15 years of experience covering local news in Tulsa, Memphis and New Orleans. She began her career as a part-time weekend assignment editor and worked her way up to assistant news director. Jessica is excited to walk back into a Tulsa newsroom, this time as deputy editor, and cover stories that matter to the community. In her free time, Jessica rides bicycles with the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough Divas and spoils her rescue dogs, Cowboy and Dennis.

‍

Lexi Goodnough, Community Journalism Director: Lexi brings years of experience as an educator, organizer, and advocate for equity in local systems. Her background includes trauma-informed teaching in Tulsa Public Schools, direct support roles with aging and unhoused populations, and co-founding the Tulsa Community Fridge mutual aid project. As a Tulsa Changemakers coach, she supported elementary students in identifying issues in their communities and organizing toward meaningful, student-led solutions—further grounding her in grassroots leadership development and community voice. At TLNI, Lexi will use this cross-sector experience to design programs that make journalism more accessible, representative, and responsive to local needs. Her work centers a belief in collective power and equitable access to information.

‍

Tim Landes, Food, Arts and Culture Editor: Tim Landes is an award-winning journalist and photographer, who has two decades of experience in local media. He covered all aspects of Tulsa over the last six years as an editor for TulsaPeople Magazine. He has also contributed nationally to National Geographic and 60 Minutes. He is a proud Cherokee Nation citizen raised in Claremore and worked for his tribe for a decade in media relations. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Editorial Board for the Cherokee Phoenix and also serves on the board for the Tulsa Press Club. In his free time he can be found at local concerts, a movie theater or a bookstore.

‍

Sam Stockley, Documenters Assignment Editor:Sam Stockley is a Tulsa-based writer, grant strategist and editor of the Documenters program where she trains local residents to cover government meetings with clarity and care. A Muscogee (Creek) storyteller at heart, she’s built her career helping nonprofits and creative teams turn great ideas into clear, compelling narratives that secure funding. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her driving Riverside in search of coffee, a used bookstore or a cat to pet.

‍

‍

Molly McElwain, Art Director: Molly is a visual storyteller with years of experience in photography, design, small business/publication management development. Molly served as Art Director for the late “Oklahoma Women’s Journal” and is the current Art Director for “Canary Collective Magazine.” Molly pours bold energy, magnetic creativity and fearless humor into every frame. When she's not creating art flows or art flows, you’ll find her running trails, hiking wild spaces, nurturing her pollinator gardens and houseplants and building a life full of laughter with her husband and daughter.

‍

‍

Haley Samsel, Story Editor: Haley Samsel serves as Story Editor, working with journalists to refine their writing and reporting on the issues that are important to Tulsans. Before arriving in northeastern Oklahoma, she spent five years in Fort Worth as an environmental reporter and, later, an editor for the city's only nonprofit news outlet. During her time in leadership at the Fort Worth Report, the outlet won more than a dozen statewide journalism awards. Haley is a proud North Texas native (go Mavs!) and graduated from American University in Washington D.C.

‍

Kimberly Marsh, Oklahoma Eagle General Assignment Reporter: Kimberly Marsh returns to a newsroom full-time as general assignment reporter for The Oklahoma Eagle, following a 23-year career at the City of Tulsa leading communications and media relations for four mayoral administrations and five years operating her own business, Marsh Media Services. Her previous journalism career was highlighted by reporting with the Journal Record business newspaper in Oklahoma City and the former Tulsa Tribune where she covered the banking industry as a business reporter. The mother of two grown children who live and work in Tulsa, Kimberly enjoys kayaking, spending time with family and friends and attending local events that feature the creative work of people within the community she serves.

‍

Interested in joining the team? 

Check out current openings here.