Meet the Highway Safety Team

DeAngela Gaymon has 20+ years of experience in federal grant work and quality management systems spanning the full spectrum of grant writing, execution, and administration, QMS audit/certification, and organizational leadership in the public and private sectors. She joined the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office in 2019 as a Program Manager and has led the highway safety grant program as Deputy Director since 2021.

DeAngela holds a B.S. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and a Master’s in Entrepreneurship from Langston University.  She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), Highway Traffic Safety Professional (HTSP), and State of Oklahoma Certified Procurement Officer.

Mike is a born and raised Oklahoman.  He spent 31 years in the Oklahoma Army National Guard. He’s held many different positions across the State, finally retiring in August 2019. Mike completed his bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Arkansas Grantham and is currently pursuing his MBA. Mike joined the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office in October 2019.

Marie is from the Oklahoma City metro area and has a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Southern Nazarene University.  She began her public employment in 1999 and joined the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office in December of 2019.  She is a Certified Government Financial Manager and a state Procurement Officer II. 

Megan has over 15 years of experience in data analytics and project management. She began her career in the Oil and Gas Industry and worked for various companies from large producers to startups, helping them manage their engineering data and operations across the United States. In 2023, she joined the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) as Senior Program Manager.

Megan is a native Texan, hailing from Midland, TX, and holds a bachelor's in communications from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She is committed to improving her community not only through her work at OHSO, but outside as well, by volunteering with the Junior League of Oklahoma City, Pet Food Pantry of Oklahoma and the United Way of Central Oklahoma.

Sam has worked for the Department of Public Safety since 1984.  Starting as a clerk in the Services and Records Division, she also served as Secretary in Supply Division, Driver License Examiner, Hearing Officer in Financial Responsibility and Case Manager for the Legal Division, before promoting to Program Manager with the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office in 2007.  Sam is a graduate of OU and loves cheering on her favorite softball players, college football teams, and everything new her grandchildren do.  Sam is a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and is passionate about occupant protection.

Nicole started with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) as a Driver License Examiner in December of 2004. She worked at the Shawnee exam station for many years and then became a Commercial Driver License Examiner working across the state. In 2013, Nicole assumed the position as the Motorcycle Safety Education Auditor with DPS. This position was grant funded through the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and transitioned over to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office in 2020.

Nicole started riding motorcycles after taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) Basic RiderCourse in September of 2003. She became an MSF certified RiderCoach in September of 2013, an MSF certified RiderCoach Trainer in April of 2017 and an MSF Quality Assurant Specialist in August of 2017. Nicole’s specialty area is motorcycle safety and she advises with the state Motorcycle Safety and Education Advisory Committee.

Lateka is a native Oklahoman who began her career with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety in 2001 as an Oklahoma State Trooper and is a proud graduate of the 53rd Academy. She retired from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in 2022 and joined the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office in September 2022. 

Lateka holds a B.S. in Corrections from Langston University and a master’s in criminology from Oklahoma City University. She is a Highway Traffic Safety Professional (HTSP) and continues serving in public safety.

April Soto joined our team back in August 2023. She is originally from Anaheim, CA and moved to Oklahoma City in 2009. She has 5+ years of state government experience in the areas of HR, payroll, accounting, travel reimbursement and federal grants.

Charles “Dale” Adkerson began his public service career in 1985 as a volunteer EMT for the ambulance service in Mangum Oklahoma. From Mangum, he worked in Alva, Oklahoma and Dodge City, Kansas. In 2002, Dale began working as an EMS Administrator in the EMS Division of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. While working as an EMS Administrator, he served as the Educational Coordinator, the Northwest EMS Administrator, and as a Regional Trauma Advisory Board Coordinator in the Trauma Division. In 2010, he was promoted to become the Administrative Program Manager of the EMS Division, overseeing all aspects of agency and individual certification and licensure.

In 2023, he left the EMS Division and began working in the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office within the Department of Public Safety as a Program Manager.

He is a graduate of Northwestern Oklahoma State University and earned bachelor’s degrees in law enforcement (1990) and Secondary Education (1995).  He is a Desert Storm Veteran, serving in the Oklahoma and Kansas Army National Guard between 1988 and 1994.

Megan joined the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office team in June 2023 after working several years in the data warehousing and technology space. She is thrilled to use her communications, marketing and public relations experience in a different, meaningful way to make Oklahoma roadways safer for everyone.

Megan earned her bachelor's degree in communications with a news media emphasis and a minor in nonprofit management from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

With over 20 years of experience in public safety, education, and advocacy, Kelli serves as Community Engagement Coordinator for the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO), overseeing the planning and implementation of engagement strategies. She also serves as a specialist and technical advisor, directing oversight of grant development with multiple state and local agencies, monitoring and evaluating grant programs statewide, and representing OHSO at local, state, and national levels. In 2022, she was invited to join the inaugural class of Emerging Leaders in Highway Safety with the Governors Highway Safety Association.

As parents of a child with autism, Kelli and her husband are passionate about the inclusion of people of all abilities in every aspect of daily life. She proudly serves on the Board of Directors for Not Your Average Joe, an inclusionary non-profit string of coffee shops dedicated to providing public-facing employment for students and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

She has a bachelor's degree in international political science from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.

Amy is a native of Ponca City, Oklahoma and has a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma. She worked as a cultural resource archaeologist in Illinois for 10 years before returning to Oklahoma for graduate school. She earned a master's degree in geography from Oklahoma State University in 2009 where she specialized in spatial statistics and analysis. She has been working as the Data Analyst at OHSO since December of 2016. Her role at the OHSO allows her to utilize her skills and knowledge of spatial analysis and GIS (Geographic Information Systems) in order to identify specific traffic safety issues across the state. One of her primary areas of emphasis is assisting in improving the quality and accuracy of highway safety data in Oklahoma.

A self-described military brat, Renee Peters moved to Oklahoma to attend the University of Oklahoma while her father was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base. After moving away for 4 years, she returned to Oklahoma in 2008 and started at the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office that fall. In August 2010, she took the position of Fatality Analyst Reporting System (FARS) Analyst for the State of Oklahoma. As the FARS analyst, she is responsible for coding Oklahoma's fatality collisions for statistical analysis. In addition to her current work with FARS, Renee is also involved with the Oklahoma Traffic Records Council and with committees working on the new Oklahoma electronic crash report and the Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria (MMUCC) standards.

Su Yang joined the team at the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) as an Accounting Technician in August 2022. She holds a bachelor's degree in public health and policy from the University of California, Irvine. Bringing a unique blend of expertise in accounting and a strong educational background, she plays a vital role in maintaining the financial integrity of the office and the state while leveraging her knowledge of public health to contribute to the office's mission of promoting safety and reducing crashes in Oklahoma.