Anna America has long been committed to helping make Tulsa an even better place to raise her family, and has worked toward that end in both her professional and personal life. Seeking a spot on the Tulsa School Board is a natural culmination of that effort.

Anna, 46, is married to Michael Patton, executive director of the Metropolitan Environmental Trust. They have two children, Braden, 11, and Eva, 7, both Tulsa Public Schools students at Eisenhower International School. Anna and Michael are committed to the value of community service, and their children regularly participate in litter clean-ups, tree plantings and other volunteer efforts.

For the past three years, Anna has been executive director of Up With Trees, a longtime Tulsa non-profit that promotes urban forestry education and has planted more than 23,000 trees in the Tulsa area.  The organization has flourished under her leadership, more than doubling the number of trees it plants annually and greatly expanding its educational programs.

Anna attended high school in Illinois before moving to Tulsa with her family as a teenager, attending Tulsa Junior College before graduating from the University of Tulsa with a degree in communications.  She worked for two decades as a journalist, writer, editor and communications consultant – including a two-year-stint Washington D.C. before coming back home to Tulsa – and then worked for Mayor Kathy Taylor before taking the Up With Trees position.

Anna is a member of the Eisenhower PTA and has helped lead many committees for the school, working on teacher support, fundraising, school spirit and more. She is a Girl Scout Troop Leader, has coached more than 10 seasons of youth soccer, and spent several years as chairman of the parenting group at her family’s church. She has also been a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and Meals on Wheels, and many other Tulsa community programs.

A big believer in the importance of community involvement, Anna  was president of her neighborhood association for more than a decade, and was a member of the 11th Street Corridor Task Force. While working for Mayor Taylor, she developed and led the highly successful NeighborFest series of block parties in Mayor Taylor’s first year. She was one of the community team members on the PlaniTulsa comprehensive plan effort. Anna also is a member of the Rotary Club of Tulsa.

Anna is committed to the idea of collaboration and forging partnerships, and believes that Tulsa Public Schools should be working with local, state and federal governments, faith-based groups, businesses and individuals to find ways to make our schools the best possible.

Anna and her family live with three dogs and a cat in the Mingo Valley neighborhood in District 4.