Dr. Kathy McCallie is the Associate Professor of Ministerial Leadership and Ethics at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, OK.

Before joining the faculty at Phillips Theological Seminary, Dr. McCallie served 26 years in pastoral ministry ordained in the United Church of Christ. She was the founding pastor of a new church start, Church of the Open Arms, UCC beginning in 1997 in Oklahoma City. In addition to her experience serving in various congregational settings and denominational leadership positions, Dr. McCallie taught government and ethics at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University, and Oklahoma City Community College.

She brings to the study of ethics and ministerial leadership a passion for social activism. Studies in political science and philosophy enhance her public service. She is the currently completing a book project reflecting on ethical issues in church governance and administration. Research areas of interest include ethics of international trade, globalization, and public policy.  In recent years Dr. McCallie has developed a growing interest in faith-based community organizing, particularly the Industrial Areas Foundation work. She is a member of the American Academy of Religion, Society for Biblical Literature, and Spiritual Directors International.

Colleen Thurston is a filmmaker, educator and film curator from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has created film and video work for the Smithsonian Channel, Vox, and museums, public television, and federal and tribal organizations. Grounding her filmmaking practice in place-based narratives and Indigenous world views, her work has screened at international film festivals and broadcast nationwide.

Colleen has been supported by Firelight Media, the Sundance Institute, Patagonia, the Ford Foundation, the Redford Center, and Creative Capital.

Colleen’s first feature documentary DROWNED LAND (2025) examines the cycle of displacement as it is related to resource extraction in her tribe, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Drowned Land is slated for PBS broadcast in 2026.

Colleen is the project producer for the Indigenous video series, Native Lens, and is a senior programmer for Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and an Associate Programmer for MountainFilm. Colleen has curated film programs for institutions such as the Momentary (Bentonville, AR), the Smithsonian’s Native Cinema Showcase (Santa Fe, NM), the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.), UCLA Film and Television Archives and Vidiots (Los Angeles, CA) and numerous film festivals. She is the founder of the upcoming Indigenous Moving Image Archive and Home Movie Project and a current Tulsa Artist Fellow.Description text goes here

Kathryn is a Tulsa-native and alum of the University of Tulsa, where she studied Environmental Policy and minored in Biology and Art. Her academic work focused on hazardous waste cleanup, water resource policy, and industrial impacts on environmental health; subjects that continue to inform both her professional and artistic practice.

Working primarily in oil paint, Kathryn’s art explores Oklahoma’s environmental history and landscapes. Her recent series examines Tar Creek, the state’s most prominent Superfund site, depicting the altered terrain of Picher, Oklahoma after decades of Lead mining: from towering chat piles to discolored waters and remnants of daily life marked by contamination. Her work depicts moments of beauty within environmental devastation.

Kathryn currently serves as an Environmental Planner at Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG), where she facilitates water-related planning efforts, including stormwater, floodplain, and water quality planning projects across the Tulsa Metropolitan Area. In her free time, she volunteers with the Blue Thumb water quality monitoring program and enjoys spending time at home with her husband and two cats.

Anita’s passion is to feed people and teach people how to achieve self-reliance by growing their own food at minimal cost.  She especially enjoys using and showing how to upcycle "trash" to start seeds and gardens, as well as kitchen-based garden pest control and soil tests. 

Anita is a lifelong gardener, and an organic gardener since the late 1960s. She is passionate about teaching how to grow nutrient dense foods with natural soil building, natural pest control (by interplanting vegetables, herbs, and flowers) and how to attract pollinators, who are so essential to the production of the crops. In addition, she has experimented through the years with different growing methods such as planting in straw bales, companion planting, and raised garden beds, as well as container gardening.

Anita Mills has been Garden Ministry Coordinator for Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma since mid-2021.  In that position, she mentors and supervises volunteers of all ages to grow fresh produce using regenerative agricultural methods in 2200 sq ft of raised beds for the on-site kitchen and food pantry. 

She is certified in Permaculture (2015), and completed coursework in Market Farming (2021) to expand her knowledge of growing food on a large scale.

Anita is currently working on a Master of Arts in Ministry and Culture at Phillips Theological Seminary