Mayor Bynum Selects Krystal Reyes to Lead Tulsa’s Resilience Efforts

5/6/2019

5.6.19 - Mayor G.T. Bynum announced Krystal Reyes will serve as the Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) for the City of Tulsa effective, May 6. 

Reyes will lead the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity (MORE), which is responsible for implementing the Resilient Tulsa Strategy, tracking human rights complaints and staffing Title V Commissions while using the Equality Indicators Report to guide Tulsa’s progress in addressing racial disparity.

“Krystal brings tremendous talent and expertise to ensure our resilience and equity work are at the forefront of everything we do at the City of Tulsa,” Mayor G.T. Bynum said. “As we work to make Tulsa a city where every child has an equal shot at a great life, I am thankful Krystal has agreed to join our team and lead these important efforts.”

Prior to her role as CRO, Reyes served as the Director of Community Engagement for the Division of Family and Child Health at the New York City Health Department and led the planning, development and implementation of a multi-strategy initiative to address health and social justice issues for Latino and immigrant families in New York City. Reyes was also involved in key institutional transformation efforts on racial equity and social justice and focused on supporting participatory community engagement practices and approaches to address health disparities experienced by communities. 

“I am excited to join Mayor Bynum's team to build on the groundbreaking work launched in partnership with stakeholders from across the city to advance racial equity,” Krystal Reyes, Tulsa CRO said. “Tulsa's ambitious resilience plan is a call to action and a chapter in the book that is being written by long-time native Tulsans and newcomers alike, about the Tulsa we want to live in:  a world-class city where the opportunity to live a healthy, safe, and enriching life is not predetermined by one’s zip code, race, gender, or other identity. Tulsa is a place of so much history and so much opportunity, and I look forward to living, learning, and serving in this special city.”

The City of Tulsa is currently in the process of implementing the Resilient Tulsa Strategy, which consists of four overarching visions, 11 goals and 41 actions. The Strategy focuses on creating an inclusive future that honors all Tulsans, equipping all Tulsans to overcome barriers and thrive, advancing economic opportunity for all Tulsans and transforming city and regional systems to improve outcomes for all Tulsans.

“I plan to work in partnership with diverse stakeholders to implement the resilience plan and support the work already taking place across so many communities that is moving us towards a vision of racial equity where all Tulsans have the opportunity to live their dreams and see those dreams continue in the generations to come,” Reyes added.

Prior to her work at the New York City Health Department, Reyes, served as Executive Director of the Hunts Point Alliance for Children, a community-based organization located in the South Bronx. There, Krystal was in charge of managing and evaluating programs and services, fundraising, and convening Alliance members. Before that, she served as Senior Advisor for Children and Family Services in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. Reyes led various inter-agency task forces and workgroups to improve policies and practices related to children and families in New York City.

Reyes holds a Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from New York University and has training from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in participatory action research.

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