About Us
Sally’s List is a nonpartisan organization with a clear mission:
To train, support, and elect progressive women to public office in Oklahoma.
Since 2010, Sally’s List has empowered candidates to run for political office and campaign staff to incite change in Oklahoma. As a nonpartisan organization, the women of Sally’s List support community-building issues like public education, healthcare, and a strong economy. Our training programs mobilize women to make a long-lasting impact in their communities.
Sally’s List namesake, political trailblazer and advocate Sally Rae Merkle Mock, passed away in 2009. But her legacy of working diligently to empower women and improve Oklahoma communities lives on through our work.
Our record of success includes former candidates who are now serving in the Oklahoma House, Senate, Norman City Council, and on the Tulsa School Board. From our first small class of candidates, Sally’s List has grown exponentially – training, supporting, and electing women to office at the state and local levels.
Sustainability
We know that progress does not happen overnight. Changing the face of Oklahoma politics takes time and dedication, and Sally’s List is in it for the long haul.
Inclusivity
Sally’s List supports and trains women from diverse backgrounds, empowering them to create change and reshape the conversation. We foster an inclusive environment, where all have a place at the table.
Community
Progress is progress, and we celebrate all of it – from a woman’s name on a ballot to a woman’s seat in the Senate. We believe there is enough room for all of us to thrive.
Who Is Sally?
Sally was a trailblazer and an advocate for Oklahoma women.
Sally earned her J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1973, graduating first in her class. Her academic honors include membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the Mortar Board, Order of the Coif, Phi Delta Phi, and the Board of Editors of the Oklahoma Law Review. Upon graduation from law school, Sally served as a law clerk to Judge William J. Holloway of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. She also practiced at two Oklahoma City-based law firms before joining McAfee & Taft in 1988. She served as the first female member and as chairperson of the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners.
Sally was a strong advocate for the progressive issues we stand for today. She worked to advance women’s rights, serving as a board member of Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma, where she was recognized as Volunteer of the Year in 2007. She was also a co-founder of the Oklahoma Committee to Promote Women’s Health, a political action committee formed in 2008.
She was candid, honest, and never hesitated to express her opinion. After Sally passed away on February 14, 2009, Sara Jane Rose founded Sally’s List, naming it in honor of her friend. Although she is no longer with us, Sally continues to inspire us.
Sally’s List namesake, political trailblazer and advocate Sally Rae Merkle Mock, passed away in 2009. But her legacy of working diligently to empower women and improve Oklahoma communities lives on through our work.
Join the race for progress and equal representation in our government.
Staff Members
Shalondra Harrison
Executive Director
Rylee Meek
Programs Manager
Rylee is a lifelong resident of Oklahoma and has worked with various political organizations, non-profit groups, and coalitions across the nation in her nearly decade of work in public affairs and government relations. She has extensive experience with diverse issue campaigns, including work in the healthcare sphere, elections, polling, and environmental issues. In addition to her work, she is proud to be a CASA (court appointed special advocate), a freelance floral designer for events and weddings, and a volunteer for local campaigns. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Oklahoma City University. Her free time is spent with her children and partner, getting outdoors, practicing yoga, or reading nonfiction books.
Board Members
Andrea Benjamin
Board PResident
Kitti Asberry
A lifelong resident of Oklahoma, Kitti is a graduate of the George Meany School of Political Science and Labor Studies, and the University of Phoenix where she holds a Bachelor of Science in Business/Management and a Master of Business Administration/Human Resources Management. In 2007 she was the first African-American elected to serve as Vice Chair of the Oklahoma State Democratic Party. Prior to being elected Vice Chair, Kitti served for 5 consecutive years as the chief executive and inspirational leader for the Oklahoma County Democratic Party. She has also served as the State Secretary for the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women’s Clubs and, in 2012, Kitti was inducted into the Oklahoma Federation of Democratic Women’s Clubs Hall of Fame. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, and the Co-Chair of the Oklahoma, 2020 Women on Boards, National Campaign.
Sara Jane Rose
Sara Jane moved from California to Oklahoma in 2005 with her husband, an Oklahoma native, and two daughters. A 1982 graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island, her career in California included directing episodic series for network and cable television, and five years teaching martial arts and self-defense as an instructor with a leading national studio chain. She has a black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. She served on the board of Planned Parenthood for three years and in 2010, yearning to make a greater difference for women at the political level, Sara Jane founded Sally’s List. After serving as board president of Sally’s List for its first six years, she was its executive director from 2017 to 2022. Sara Jane stepped back onto the board in early 2023 and is currently serving as treasurer.
Creating positive change for women in Oklahoma through her work at Sally’s List is Sara Jane’s ‘Prime Directive’, but she’s also incredibly passionate about quilting, baking, and her pollinator garden.
Sarah Brune Edwards
Cindy Nguyen
Cindy Nguyen joined the ACLU of Oklahoma in 2022 as their Policy Director. She serves as the affiliate’s lobbyist at the state capitol on issues related to reproductive freedom, 2SLGBTQ+ rights, classroom censorship, voting rights, and criminal legal reform. Cindy graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Political Science. She started her career working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence at YWCA Oklahoma City. Serving as the Director of Social and Economic Justice, she led their Stand Against Racism Campaign and advocated for expanding the department’s initiative to focus on survivors of color, 2SLGBTQ+ survivors, and criminalized survivors. She has trained nonprofits, coalitions, and state agencies on equitable and inclusive policies and practices. In 2019, Cindy created the Asian Task Force of Oklahoma to address anti-Asian discrimination and gender-based violence in Oklahoma’s Asian American community. She is an unapologetic advocate, with a career devoted to serving marginalized communities.
Reina Mohan
Reina was born and raised in Oklahoma and is the CEO and founder of Mohan Consulting Agency, a consulting and recruitment firm specializing in top-level healthcare workers. She founded the company in 2006 after seeing inefficiencies in how larger staffing firms matched talent to available jobs. She excels at nurturing long-lasting relationships with both healthcare workers and the executive management of hospital systems. Her client companies encompass Oklahoma-based hospitals and multi-state regional systems on the West Coast.
Reina is also a highly accomplished teacher, and has enjoyed spearheading numerous classes at Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City since 2007. People from all over the state sign up to enjoy her cooking, and to be dazzled by her knife-cutting skills.
Reina is a role model to many younger women, including her niece, and she has been inspired by generations of powerful and accomplished women, like her mother, Sunita Sitara.
She is married to Kenny Pitts and they are parents to Leela, born in May of 2020. Her four-legged children include her two wonderful Cocker Spaniels Kokopelli and Anasazi.
Reina looks forward to working with many present and future business leaders as the president of Sally’s List.
Rena Cook
Krystal Yoseph
Allison Lawrence
