TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols announced Krystal Reyes will serve as the City’s new Deputy Mayor on Tuesday.
Reyes will be the first Latina to hold the position in the City of Tulsa’s history starting on Feb. 10.
She will oversee education, youth, and resilience initiatives on behalf of the Nichols Administration, the City of Tulsa’s announcement said.
“Reyes will also be tasked with helping establish and manage the City’s first Office of Children, Youth, and Families - a critical part of Mayor Nichols’ effort to embed a dedicated function of government into City services to meet the needs of youth, families, and students in Tulsa,” the announcement said.
Reyes currently serves as the City’s Chief Resilience Officer for the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity (MORE). According to the announcement, she will continue to oversee MORE and be involved in the hiring of a new Chief Resilience Officer.
Before her time in Tulsa, Reyes served in various policy and leadership roles in government offices and nonprofit organizations:
- Director of Community Engagement for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Division of Family and Child Health from 2015 to 2019
- Senior Advisor for Children and Family Services under New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s administration from 2008 to 2013
- Policy Analyst for The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families
- Public Policy Fellow for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans from 2004-2005
“Krystal is a dedicated and proven leader who will play a major role in improving the lives of our youth and families in Tulsa,” Mayor Nichols said. “Krystal is trusted in the community and has a track record of success here in Tulsa and during her time in New York City and under Mayor Bloomberg. When it comes to improving lives and embedding an equitable lens to all functions of City government, Krystal will fill this needed role in our administration, and I couldn’t be happier to have her join the team.”
As Tulsa’s Chief Resilience Officer, Reyes was responsible for overseeing citywide strategies to advance resilience, equity and welcoming, including the Resilient Tulsa Strategy and the New Tulsans Welcoming Plan, the announcement said.
According to the announcement, she oversaw and expanded focus of City government in the following areas:
- The establishment of the City’s first Financial Empowerment Center, which ultimately led to the City having an Office of Financial Empowerment & Community Wealth
- The oversight of six annual Tulsa Equality Indicators reports and learning series’ to measure equality in Tulsa
- The creation of a Citywide language access policy to better serve the needs of thousands of multilingual Tulsans and those with limited English proficiency
- The implementation of Tulsa’s comprehensive community-wide welcoming plan for immigrants and refugees in Tulsa
- The implementation of a citywide Equity Dialogues training program to help hundreds of Tulsans connect to one another and build trust
- The creation of a commission on youth mental health and the hiring the City’s first chief mental health officer
“I am honored that Mayor Nichols has asked me to join his administration and I am excited to help advance one of his key initiatives to improve outcomes for Tulsa’s children, youth, and families,” Reyes said. “Tulsa is a special place for so many reasons - one of them being the level of collaboration across all sectors to work toward common goals. I look forward to continuing to serve Tulsa and continuing to work with colleagues and community partners both inside and outside of City government, who are committed to the goal of making Tulsa the best city it can be.”
Reyes is the first Latina Deputy Mayor for the City of Tulsa at a time when the Latino community is one of the fastest growing communities in Tulsa, the announcement said.
“Krystal Reyes has been an invaluable asset to our city through her work in the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity, where she has led efforts to implement strategies and initiatives advancing social justice for the immigrant community in Tulsa,” said Elian Hurtado, founder of Galera Business Consulting and active member in various boards and commissions across Tulsa. “I am incredibly proud of her appointment as Deputy Mayor—a well-deserved recognition of her dedication and leadership. As a Latina myself, I feel immense pride in seeing leaders like Krystal represent and uplift our community.”
Reyes also serves on multiple board in Tulsa, including the Tulsa City County Board of Health, American Song Archives and Tulsa Area United Way.
She has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Public Administration from New York University.
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