Staff

Tracey Strader became the first Executive Director for the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust in August 2002. She holds a master's degree in social work, and is licensed by the State of Oklahoma. Strader has broad experience in providing direct services, management and administrative oversight for community-based and statewide programs. For nearly 30 years, she has been extensively involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs related to public health, tobacco control, maternal and child health, services for senior adults, and mental health and substance abuse services. Contact Tracey at traceys@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3888.

Jonás Osio Mata has served as the TSET's first Director of Grants and Programs since 2004. Previous to coming to TSET, Mata was the Director of Operations for the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City and previous to that, he served as a top-level manager for the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs. Mata has extensive management, consultation, and grant-making experience in tobacco control, social services, juvenile justice and child welfare. For more than 25 years he has designed, implemented, and evaluated policy efforts dealing with children and youth, as well as programs related to delinquency prevention and justice system reform. Matas received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Social Work from the Jane Addams School of Social Work at the University of Illinois. His Master's degree is in Social Work Administration and Planning. Contact Jonás at jonasm@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3878. 

Sjonna Paulson, APR, became the first Director of Communications for the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust in November 2007. She is an accredited public relations counselor and holds a bachelor's degree in journalism/public relations with an emphasis in accounting. 
For more than 20 years, Paulson has had an active career in public relations and marketing with a diverse array of for-profits and non-profits organizations receiving both local and national professional awards. Contact Sjonna at sjonnap@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3885.

Connie Befort serves as the Program Manager for Certified Healthy Communities for the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.  She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Central Oklahoma. For the past 35 years, Befort has held leadership positions in both profit and non-profit organizations.  At the American Lung Association, she served as the Director of Advocacy for Oklahoma and as Chairman of the Oklahoma Alliance on Health or Tobacco and Smoke Free Oklahoma. Contact Connie at connieb@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-4985.

Sharon Howard has over 30 years of experience in hospital, outpatient and education settings. A registered nurse, Howard was the health services coordinator for Norman Public Schools, the senior nurse at Moore Public Schools, a telephone triage nurse at Children’s Hospital and clinic manager for pediatric gastroenterology at Children’s Hospital. Howard is president of the School Nurses Association, adviser to the State Certified Healthy Schools Committee and a member of the Cleveland County Fitness and Nutrition Coalition, Healthy Community Coalition, Cleveland County Tobacco Coalition and Cleveland County Turning Point. She was named Oklahoma School Nurse Administrator of the Year in 2011. Howard holds a bachelors of science in nursing from the University of Oklahoma and a Masters of Health Occupation Education from the University of Central Oklahoma. Contact Sharon at sharonh@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-6231.

Kim McCoy has worked in public service for nearly 20 years. Her professional experience includes community and cultural development, program design and implementation, public policy, grants administration and social services. Having held positions supporting causes ranging from the arts to public health, Ms. McCoy has also provided training to nonprofit organizations in board and fund development and strategic planning. She directed the Leadership Arts program while at the Oklahoma Arts Council and worked closely with city government officials to promote the creation of specialty districts for the purpose of enhancing quality of life and economic development. McCoy recently earned her Master of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Central Oklahoma and has a Bachelor of Science in Family Studies. Contact Kim at kimm@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-6423. 

Sharon Neal has worked as a Program Officer for the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust since 2006. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Administration - Information Processing from Oklahoma State University. She is a Certified Procurement Officer (CPO) for the State of Oklahoma. Neal also completed a Training and Development Certificate program from the University of Oklahoma College of Continuing Education. Prior to joining the TSET, she worked in both the private and public sector in various IT-related positions. Contact Sharon at sharonn@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3884.

J. Lance Thomas serves as the health communications coordinator for the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. He has previously served in state government for the Department of Rehabilitation Services, Oklahoma Insurance Department and at the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Thomas has worked in public relations for the past 17 years, serving clients and organizations in health care, consumer products, financial services, insurance and education. He has been responsible for writing/editing, media relations, events, strategic planning, plan implementation and evaluation. Thomas has a bachelor's degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from the University of Oklahoma. Contact Lance at lancet@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3875.

James S. Tyree joined TSET as a health communications coordinator in November 2011 after working as a newspaper reporter for more than 19 years. He covered a variety of beats that ranged from politics, education and police and courts to the fine and performing arts, religion and sports. Tyree reported for newspapers in Oregon, Illinois, Kansas City and his native Janesville, Wis., and locally at The Oklahoman, Norman Transcript and Edmond Sun. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and currently is president of JayMac, the alumni association of OU’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. He also has spent the past five years teaching part-time at the Gaylord College as an adjunct instructor. Contact James at jamest@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3879.

Jennifer Wilson is known nationally for her work as a consultant and trainer with over 18 years of community mobilization and grant writing experience. Over the past nine years, she worked at the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) as the coordinator for the Tobacco Use Prevention Service’s Students Working Against Tobacco program and was a program consultant for the Communities of Excellence tobacco control grantees. Wilson also served as the Training and Evaluation Coordinator within OSDH’s Office of Performance Management. Additionally, she has been a consultant and trainer with the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, a Program Grants Coordinator for Red Salmon Arts in Texas, and served in a similar position for the Tulsa Creek Indian Community. Wilson’s skills include youth empowerment and community mobilization strategies, grant writing and administration, consulting and training, strategic planning, and performance management through quality improvement. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art History from the University of Central Oklahoma. Contact Jennifer at jenniferw@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-4959.

Contact Denice at denicey@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3886.

Contact Dianne at diannem@tset.ok.gov or (405) 521-3886.