Episode 5: Shagah Zakerion is Addicted to Tulsa

You may know her as the Kevin Bacon of Tulsa, the former executive director of TYPros, or as the founder of Zakerion Strategies and Consulting, but title aside, Shagah Zakerion might just be Tulsa’s biggest fan, and the city’s fiercest advocate.

Shagah’s unique resume and passion for the city have made her the perfect booster for Tulsa’s latest up-and-coming development. The Arena District Master Plan is a vision for the 30-block Arena District, located on the western side of Downtown Tulsa, Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad to the north and west, Boulder Avenue to the east, and 11th Street to the south. It contains some of downtown’s largest convening places — the BOK Center, the Cox Business Center, the Paige Belcher building, the Central Library, yet is far less developed than other downtown districts. Over the past eight months, a group of dedicated City Staff, community representatives and a consultant team — including Shagah — have been hard at work developing a strategic plan to reposition and revitalize the Arena District. This re-imagining is supported by Vision Tulsa, an $884 million sales tax renewal package approved by voters in 2016, is making substantial investments in economic development, education, public safety, streets and transportation needs citywide. The final master plan open house was held of September 26, and the official unveiling will be sometime this month. Lucky for us, Shagah is offering a sneak peek at the ambitious vision outlined by the Master Plan.

Follow Shagah on LinkedIn, on Twitter and Instagram.

In this episode’s edition of What the What?!, Morgan Phillips tries brewing her own kombucha. And yes, she touched the SCOBY...

Local music featured in this episode is “Not a Thing” by Faye Moffett. Learn more here.

Original theme and interstitial music for Tulsa Talks by The Earslips, recorded and mixed by Mike Gilliland at Auggy Reed Studios.

Tulsa Talks is produced by Langdon Publishing.