Savanna Payne & Jamie Blank
Savanna Payne has worked in education as a teacher, OELA grant coordinator, and facilitator for the past 10+ years. She is currently an English Language Development Administrator at Oklahoma City public schools and oversees English Language Development programming in multiple middle schools. She received a Bachelors and Masters degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. Her educational background includes a Bachelors in Elementary Education and advancing with a Masters Degree in Bilingual Education/TESL. Beyond the school building, Savanna is the current president of Oklahoma Association of Bilingual Education. She also works on the side as an adjunct instructor in the TESL department at UCO for undergraduate and graduate courses to reach new and current educators. Savanna learned to accept a variety of cultures while developing her identity as a child through frequent moves along the east coast of the United States with her Navy father and family. Embracing her Chicana background on her mother’s side, showed her the importance of representation within a classroom and the value of cultural knowledge. In her free time, Savanna supports local conferences for multiculturalism and bilingualism, purchases art from the local OKC art scene with her husband, and spends quiet time reading. Jamie Blank has served 10 years with Oklahoma City Public Schools as a teacher, coach, and facilitator. In her current position, English Language Development program administrator, she oversees English Language Development programming in multiple middle schools. Her educational background includes a Bachelors in Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Oklahoma and continued education with achieving double Master’s Degrees in both Secondary and Adult Education & Training from the University of Central Oklahoma. Alongside her duties with OKCPS, Jamie has partnered as an educational trainer with Myriad Education. In this partnership, she continues to provide professional development and training to surrounding school districts with a primary focus on English learners in K-12 schools. Outside of her educational commitments, she also focuses on building an inclusive and diverse soccer program that includes coaching mentorship for fundamental skills and character building in our youth. Along with, being the current newsletter editor and running social media for the Oklahoma Association of Bilingual Education. As a second-generation immigrant, Jamie was brought up surrounded by a strong presence of the Filipino community. Growing up as a Filipino-American and Army Brat, the military often moved Jamie and her family to different states, cities, and schools. Through her childhood, each new setting exposed her to a wide range of diverse communities and new sets of challenges. This exposure helped shape her own identity and passion for advocacy, while developing her love for educating others with diversity and inclusion. In her free time, you can find her mentoring kids at the local YMCA, playing and coaching soccer, or traveling the world with her husband to learn and connect with other cultures.
