State Board of Career and Technology Education

Members of the Oklahoma Career and Technology Education State Board of Education are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

The nine-member board is led by the state superintendent of public instruction, who serves as the chairperson. Two members of the State Board of Education* are appointed to the board along with a representative of each congressional district and one member at large.

Brent Haken became the ninth state director of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education in January 2023. Haken was in his fourth year as superintendent of Morrison Public Schools when he was named state director of ODCTE.

Before Haken was named superintendent he served in several capacities in Morrison, including agricultural education instructor, elementary assistant principal, special education director, high school principal and testing coordinator.

He was an agricultural education instructor in Wellston, Stillwater and Morrison, Oklahoma prior to becoming an administrator in Morrison.

Haken received the 2022 Superintendents Chairman’s Award from the Oklahoma Youth Expo and was the Oklahoma Association of Superintendents District 4 Superintendent of the Year for 2022. He is a member of the Oklahoma State Professional Education Council and the Cooperative Council for Secondary Administrators.

He has been a member of the Oklahoma Career Technology Master Teacher Committee, the National Association of Agriculture Educators and the Association of Career Technical Educators and served on the board and as vice president of the Oklahoma Agriculture Education Teachers Association.

Haken earned a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Central Oklahoma and a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Oklahoma State University.

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Ryan Walters currently serves as the Oklahoma Secretary of Education and the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Elected in 2022, Walters championed parental empowerment, transparency within the government, accountability in government, and teacher pay raises. Walters has continued to fight for parents, students, and teachers in Oklahoma.

Prior to running for State Superintendent, Walters was tapped by Governor Kevin Stitt to serve as the Secretary of Education in 2020, while in the middle of a pandemic. Walters fought to get students back into the classroom and opposed long-term virtual-only learning. Before entering the political arena, Ryan Walters served as the Executive Director for Every Kid Counts Oklahoma (EKCO), an education-focused organization that empowers teachers, parents, and community leaders to improve our education system for all Oklahoma students.

Hailing from McAlester, Walters returned to his hometown after college and taught a variety of courses for nine years as a high school history teacher, including AP U.S. History, World History, and U.S. Government. Additionally, he taught special education classes and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) classes. In 2016, he was honored to be selected as an Oklahoma Teacher of the Year finalist.

In addition to being a cabinet member, he served on Governor Stitt's Education Committee and as the Executive Director of Oklahoma Achieves, an education initiative of the State Chamber of Oklahoma that sought to engage the business community more actively in education. Walters worked as an education consultant on numerous topics including teacher evaluations, professional development, virtual learning, and a social studies curriculum. He and his wife, Katie, have four young children and reside in Oklahoma City.

Kendra Wesson is a proud Oklahoman and a member of the Caddo Nation. She was born in Lawton and attended nine different schools from K–12. This has given her an understanding of Oklahoma’s rural communities and how important Public Education is in those areas. She graduated from Moore High School and was a part of their Business Technology Internship Program which allowed her to work during her senior year and receive high school credit at the same time. She appreciates the value that CareerTech brings to Oklahomans.

Kendra is the president of an accounting firm in Norman, OK, and she has served businesses across many industries for over three decades with their accounting needs. She specializes in CFO for hire and operational efficiency and profitability. Kendra has been active on a local school board for almost two years, making education decisions including employee pay, contracts, and strategic planning. She has also worked on school board elections around the state encouraging candidates to run and promoting get-out-the-vote efforts. Kendra and her husband are active in their community supporting first responders and serving at their church. She serves several local non-profits working with families to help meet their needs. She earned her first associate degree in Accounting from OSU, a second associate degree in Business Enterprise from OSU, and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a CPA emphasis from Mid-America Christian University.

Pete Dillingham is an owner, manager and Chairman of the Board of No Man’s Land Foods, LLC and NML Holdings LLC (“No Man’s Land”). No Man’s Land currently employees 200 associates, operates three manufacturing facilities in Oklahoma and is the fastest growing beef jerky company in the country. Mr. Dillingham has served the company since 2015 in many of the functions typically performed by chief executive and chief financial officers.

Mr. Dillingham is also President of A & P Holdings, LLC. He is the former Vice President of Business Development and Sales Operations for Advance-Pierre Holdings and served in that role from 2010 to 2013. Mr. Dillingham also served as Chief Operating Officer of Advance Food Company from 2000 to 2010. He also served as Chief Executive Officer for Suits Rig Corporation from 1987 to 2000.

Mr. Dillingham currently serves on the board of governors for St. Marys Regional Medical Center in Enid, the Enid Higher Education Council and is Trustee of The Dillingham Foundation. Mr. Dillingham served from 2014 to 2017 as a member of the Compensation and Nominating & Governance Committees as a Director for AdvancePierre Foods (NYSE:APHF). He has also served on the board of directors of the Denny Price Family YMCA (9 years), the Cherokee Strip Community Foundation (6 years), Loaves & Fishes of Northwest Oklahoma (1 year), Leadership Oklahoma (4 years), REVx Technologies (6 years) and Integris Bass Hospital (5 years).

Mr. Dillingham graduated in 1987 from Colorado School of Mines with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He and his wife Annie live in Enid, OK and have three adult daughters.

Michael Brown is the president/owner of Chardon Builders of Lawton, a company specializing in design/build and construction management. He has an extensive background in business as owner/partner in many business endeavors.

Brown graduated from Oklahoma State University. He served two terms on the Lawton City Council, representing Ward 2, and two years as Lawton’s mayor pro tempore. He is involved in several professional and civic organizations, including Leadership Lawton/Fort Sill, Leadership Oklahoma and Lawton Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Brown also served on the Cameron University Foundation Board of Governors and the Oklahoma State University Foundation Board of Governors.

Randy Gilbert graduated Tecumseh High School and earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural education from Oklahoma State University in 1983 and taught vocational agriculture at Lawton High School from 1983 to 1988. Since 1988, Gilbert has also been the operations manager and vice president of Gilbert & Sons Trucking Co. in Tecumseh. He is a member of the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce, Tecumseh Growth and Development Authority and the Pottawatomie County Safety Center Trust and a lifetime member of the Oklahoma FFA Alumni Association. Gilbert is also a licensed Oklahoma insurance agent and used motor vehicle salesman.

Gilbert is also a member of the Sirloin Club of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association, Limousin Breeders Association and the Oklahoma State University Alumni Association.

Eddie Hilliary, Jr. is the managing partner of Hilliary Communications, the trade name for five regulated telephone companies (ILEC) in Oklahoma and Texas, covering 3,000 square miles, and three competitive broadband companies (CLEC) in Oklahoma and Texas, with operations in 22 counties. He is a graduate of Cameron University and is very active in community and national boards and activities.

Eddie is a member of the Elgin Library Board of Directors, and serves on the Armed Services YMCA in Lawton, which provides outreach, support, and social opportunities to military families in southwestern Oklahoma.

He is also involved in organizations like the Elgin Tip-in, Quarterback Clubs, and Elgin Schools Education Foundation.