Dee Ann Vaughn Harris
2025 Distinguished Alumni
B.A. English '88
Dee Ann Vaughn Harris graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.
Dee is a creative strategist and narrative architect who drives systemic change across education, behavioral health, and cultural advocacy by transforming how communities understand complex challenges by turning creative potential into confidence, stigma into empathy, and policy complexity into accessible narratives.
As Director of Open Culture Storytelling at Creative Commons, she serves as Secretariat of the global TAROCH Coalition and leads advocacy communications advancing equitable access to cultural heritage through international policy standards under UNESCO's auspices. She translates legal, technical, and cultural barriers to accessing shared public domain heritage into strategic advocacy campaigns and story-driven messaging.
Previously, as Chief Marketing Communications Officer for Family & Children’s Services, one of Oklahoma’s largest behavioral health centers, Harris built and led an integrated marketing, communications, legislative, and community engagement team that supported the communications needs of more than 70 programs. She launched a multimedia storytelling team that produced award-winning campaigns and founded the OK State of Mind podcast, amplifying local voices and reshaping public understanding of mental health.
As a former educator, Dee founded award-winning journalism and multimedia programs in Bixby Public Schools that empowered students through project-based learning and creative confidence. She developed a curriculum blending media literacy, narrative writing, and visual storytelling, earning state and local recognition for teaching excellence. She also intentionally designed her classrooms as dynamic creative studios that fueled collaboration and experimentation, giving students room to explore their curiosity and agency. These environments became story labs that laid the foundation for her ongoing commitment to using creativity as a tool for transformation in a rapidly changing digital world.
Dee writes and speaks across disciplines on access to cultural heritage, creative leadership, digital storytelling strategies, and mental health advocacy, inspiring audiences from community gatherings to international conferences. She is currently at work on a book exploring the creative fluencies essential for thriving in an AI-enabled world. She also serves as a member and juror for the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts and has held national leadership roles with the Association for Women in Communications and the Journalism Education Association.
Dee enjoys cycling, painting, and quality time with her family: her husband Kurt, children Britni Harris Downing and Ryan Harris, and son-in-law Josh Downing.