Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American singer and musical theatre, film and television actress. Some of her best-known roles have included Glinda in Broadway's Wicked and Annabeth Schott in television's The West Wing. She is currently appearing in the role of Olive Snook on the ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies for which she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy. She is also the face of Jude Frances jewelry.
Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice. In FHM's March 2006 issue, she compared her voice to that of Betty Boop. Chenoweth is a soprano known for her powerful singing technique.
Chenoweth was born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth (she added an "n" in her first name later because she thought that "Kristin" was a more operatic name than "Kristi") in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and was adopted at birth. Chenoweth's ancestry includes one-quarter Cherokee lineage. After studying drama at Broken Arrow High School under Billie Sue Thompson, Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta (Beta Omicron) Sorority. She earned a degree in musical theater and a master's degree in opera performance, studying under Florence Birdwell who taught Miss America 1981 Susan Powell and three-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara. While at OCU, Chenoweth won the title of "Miss OCU" and went on to win second runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1991. She also performed at Opryland USA.
Chenoweth won a "most talented up-and-coming singer" award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which came with a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. Two weeks before school started, she went to New York City to help a friend move. While there, she auditioned for the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of the musical Animal Crackers and got the role of Arabella Rittenhouse. She turned down the scholarship and moved to New York to do the show and pursue a career in musical theater.
Marquita Lister studied at the "New England Conservatory of Music" in Boston and won prizes at several singing competitions. The Houston Opera Studio, where Ms. Lister spent two years and appeared in roles such as that of Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, Micaela in Carmen, and that of the High Priestess in the spectacular Wortham Theater Center's Inaugural production of Aida with Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo.
Other important roles include Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito with Frederica Von Stade and Aida in Mexico City. With her performances of Nedda (I Pagliacci) and Musetta (La Boheme) for the prestigious Arena di Verona, Ms. Lister firmly established herself as an international star. She received the "Artist of the Year Award" from the Pittsburgh Opera. Other highlights in Ms. Lister's career have included Aida at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg, as well as, performances with world renown artists Placido Domingo (Houston Grand Opera), Justino Diaz. After a prolonged illness, Ms. Lister returned to the stage in 2007 for performances as Aida at the Semperoper in Dresden.
The 2008 season has taken Ms. Lister to the Memphis Opera for Lady Macbeth, a concert version of Porgy and Bess at the Music Center at Strathmore with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as, "Bess" with the Fresno Opera and the Cape Town Opera Company. Ms. Lister performed a Bernstein Concert with conductor Steven Mercurio in Taormina, Sicily. September takes Ms. Lister to the New Jersey State Opera and Boston Lyric Opera Company where she will perform on Gala Concerts. Ms. Lister will be featured in recital at Oklahoma City University for the Regonal National Association of Teachers of Singing Conference.
Marquita Lister has appeared in numerous television productions, for instance with the Boston Pops, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, PBS, and in the broadcast, "Live from Lincoln Center." She has recorded George Gershwin's Blue Monday for Telarc Records, and excerpts from Porgy and Bess with the Cincinnati Pops conducted by Erich Kunzel, aswell as the Albany Records recording of Where the Sunsets Bleed by Edward Knight and the Decca Records critically acclaimed Porgy and Bess recording.
Additional awards that Ms. Lister has been honored with include the "2000 Legend to Legend" and the "2002 Outstanding Service to the Arts" awards presented to her by International Links Incorporated.
Freddy Sanchez, an all-American shortstop at OCU in 2000, received the Shining Star Award, a special honor reserved for alumni who bring positive publicity to Oklahoma City University for their achievements during the preceding year.
As a senior for OCU in 2000, Sanchez, from Hollywood, Calif., hit .434 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs. He went on to be an 11th-round draft choice of the Boston Red Sox.
Sanchez had a league-high .344 average with six homers and 85 RBIs in 2006 while playing second base, shortstop and third base for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He became the first OCU alum to be a major-league all-star. When he debuted with the Red Sox in 2002, Sanchez became the first alum coached by current coach Denney Crabaugh to make the majors.
OCU baseball assistant coach Keith Lytle put Sanchez through several drills designed to teach him to drive the ball to the opposite field.
“He got me going the other way, and that’s the reason why I’m here now, is the endless work he put in with me,” Sanchez said of Lytle. “It was unbelievable. We’d be in the cages every day making me go to right field, going the other way, going the other way.
“Most of what I learned about baseball came from OCU. What to do in certain counts. The mental aspect of the game I learned at OCU. That’s where I have all my pride in.”
Lytle and his family attended a Pirates-Braves game in the season, and Sanchez acknowledged Lytle from the dugout.
“He looked into the stands, and I figured out he was looking for me,” Lytle said. “He saw where I was at from among 38,000 people. I waved at him and tipped my hat, and he pointed back at me. What that meant to me I’ll never be able to express.
“My father always told me that you get out of things what you put into them. Freddy has earned everything he has achieved. He’s relentless in practice. He’s relentless in games.”
As a student at Oklahoma City University, she entered the University’s pageant through her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, and then went on to win the Miss Oklahoma Pageant. Then, at the age of 19, and with no previous pageant experience, Jane was crowned Miss America, 1967. She sang and conducted the orchestra for her talent.
After being crowned Miss America 1967, Jane traveled all around the world and was even able to travel to Vietnam to entertain America’s troops abroad.
Jane became a well-recognized and respected primetime news anchor for both the Channel 5's in Oklahoma City (KOCO) and Dallas/Fort Worth (KXAS). She won several awards during her 16-year career including the first female to be awarded “Outstanding News Personality” in the Dallas television market.
Jayroe later went on to co-host a popular television show, Discover Oklahoma promoting tourism within the state of Oklahoma. She also served as Secretary of Tourism in the Cabinet of Governor Frank Keating.
In 1992, Jayroe become the first spokesperson for the Oklahoma Health Center and Vice President of the Presbyterian Health Foundation.
She was the first woman elected Chairman of the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals and is on executive committees for the University of Oklahoma Breast Health Institute, Oklahoma City University Board of Trustees and the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation. As a member of the United Methodist Church Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City, Jayroe is on the Women's Ministries Team and a board member for the Education and Employment Ministries. She has taken an active role in issues affecting young people, serving as honorary chair for the Conference on Teen Pregnancy, Youth Arts Month and the Oklahoma Parents and Teachers Association.
She is a former trustee of the Sarkey's Foundation, and was appointed by Gov. George Nigh to the commission on the Status of Women, by Gov. Henry Bellmon to chair "Oklahoma Reunion '89" and to the Legislative Compensation Board by Gov. David Walters.
As a Jordanian woman journalist writing for The Jordan Times, Husseini’s focus is on social issues with a special emphasis on violence against women, as well as the brutal crimes that are committed against Jordanian women in the name of family honor.
Her coverage of and dedication to ending honor killings has helped raise national awareness on a topic that is traditionally considered taboo. Until The Jordan Times began reporting on crimes of honor, the local press shied away from addressing the issue. The government responded by introducing legal changes that suggest tougher punishments for perpetrators of such crimes.
Husseini has earned six international awards for reporting on such crimes. The King of Jordan awarded her a medal for her efforts on October 24. She was interviewed by various US, British and international media such as CNN, ABC, BBC and the Chicago Tribune, as well as Jordanian and Arab media outlets. She has been invited to lecture at international conferences regarding the issue.
In addition to her extensive experience as a journalist, Husseini has conducted several consultancies and advocacy for women’s rights in the Middle East and Jordan with local NGOs and international organizations. She has served as special advisor to Freedom House on women’s issues and press freedom in Jordan.
She also worked as a regional coordinator for the United Nation’s Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) campaign to eliminate violence against women in five Arab countries. She worked as a regional consultant for UNIFEM regional office in Amman and Equality Now in the U.S. conducting research on human rights violations against women and children in seven countries in the Middle East.
Born in Clinton, Oklahoma, Winchester received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oklahoma and his Juris Doctor degree from Oklahoma City University. After graduating from law school, Winchester practiced law in the Oklahoma towns of Weatherford and Hinton before being named associate district judge for Caddo County in 1983. Later that year, at age 30, Winchester became one of the youngest district judges in the state when he was appointed as district judge for the Sixth Judicial District of Oklahoma. During his tenure as a district judge, he heard more than 200 jury trials, ranging from fraud to first-degree murder death-penalty cases.
Winchester was named Outstanding State Trial Court Judge by the Oklahoma Trial Lawyers Association in 1986 and served as an executive board member of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference from 1992 to 1996. He also served as president of the Oklahoma Judicial Conference in 1995. From August 1997 to January 2000, Winchester served as a United States Administrative Law Judge. Winchester believes the children of this state are one of our most valuable assets and he established an in-state program entitled Children Coping With Divorce to assist children of divorced families.
Governor Frank Keating appointed Winchester to the Oklahoma Supreme Court on January 4, 2000. In 2007, the eight other justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court elected him to serve a two-year term as Chief Justice of Oklahoma.
Winchester resides in Chickasha, Oklahoma, with his wife, State Representative Susan Winchester and their son, Davis.
Kelli O’Hara has unequivocally established herself as one of Broadway’s great ingénues.
With her critically acclaimed performance of Eliza Doolittle in the NY Philharmonic production of My Fair Lady, a Carnegie Hall debut, and the completion of her first album to be distributed by Sh-K-Boom Records, this past year has been a busy one.
A native of Oklahoma, Kelli received a degree in Opera at Oklahoma City University, and after winning the State Metropolitan Opera Competition moved to New York and enrolled in the Lee Strasberg Institute. She made her Broadway debut in Jekyll & Hyde and followed it with Sondheim’s Follies, Sweet Smell of Success opposite John Lithgow; and Dracula.
In 2003, Kelli committed to a production of The Light in the Piazza at Seattle’s Intiman Theatre. The show landed on Broadway in 2005 and earned Kelli her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations. She moved from one huge critical and commercial success to another when she joined Harry Connick on Broadway in the 2006 Tony award winning production of The Pajama Game for which Kelli received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations.
Kelli has worked regionally and Off Broadway in Sunday in the Park with George at Reprise, My Life With Albertine at Playwright’s Horizons, and Beauty at The LoJolla Playhouse.
In addition to her critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall solo debut with the NY Pops conducted by Rob Fisher, Kelli’s concerts include Carnegie Hall with Barbara Cook, The Kennedy Center with Marvin Hamlisch and the NSO, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, Cooper Union, Joe’s Pub and with the Philly Pops conducted by Peter Nero.
Among her film and television credits are The Dying Gaul starring Patricia Clarkson and Campbell Scott; Blue Blood (NBC pilot), All Rise (NBC Pilot), Alexander Hamilton (Maria Reynolds) starring Brian F. O’Byrne (PBS), NUMB3RS (CBS); All My Children, the upcoming animated series Car Talk, as well as numerous live performances on national television shows. Kelli most recently starred opposite Simon Baker in a Cava Freixenet industrial directed by Martin Scorsese.
Kelli’s recordings include: The Light in the Piazza (Nonesuch records; Grammy nom.), The Pajama Game (Sony; Grammy nom.), The Sweet Smell of Success (Sony), My Life with Albertine (PS Classics), Dream True (PSClassics), Jule Styne Goes Hollywood (PS Classics) and her upcoming solo album. Kelli will soon be returning to Lincoln Center to star as Nellie Forbush in the revival of South Pacific. Kelli resides in New York with her husband Greg. (Source: www.kelliohara.com)
A native of Oklahoma City, Nancy’s 29-year career has encompassed both the for-profit and non-profit sectors of business.
As senior vice president of franchise human relations development for SONIC Industries, the Oklahoma City-based national headquarters of SONIC, America’s Drive-In, Robertson oversees the human resource development for the chain’s franchise community. Previously, she served as senior vice president-people and communications for SONIC Corp. In that role, she oversaw SONIC’s human resources/corporate administration functions for the Oklahoma City corporate office and all field-based employees, in addition to guiding SONIC’s corporate communications efforts.
Robertson serves on the Board of Visitors for the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts at the University of Oklahoma, on the Executive Committee of Allied Arts Foundation, and the Crown Heights Edgemere Heights Neighborhood Association. Most recently she served on the Board of the Cimarron Alliance Foundation; on the leadership team for the Human Capital & Diversity Project, an economic development initiative of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce; on the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma Arts Institute; on the steering committee for the Holocaust Remembrance Project, and on the steering committee for Project KIDS, the program that led to MAPS for KIDS, a citywide tax initiative to reinvest in public education.
Robertson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Oklahoma State University with a minor in art history, and a Masters in Business Administration from Oklahoma City University.
