West Bartlesville
Revitalization
Shavon Annette
Executive Director
West Bartlesville is more than a place where I work. It is part of my story.
"West Bartlesville is more than a place where I work. It is part of my story."
West Bartlesville isn't just a project or a professional challenge; it's the landscape of my childhood and the foundation of my values. My roots here mean that every street, every building, and every face holds a memory. This community raised me, and now my work is about returning that investment in a way that respects our shared history while building a vibrant future.
Living and working in West Bartlesville has allowed me to see the community's potential through the lens of a neighbor. I believe revitalization starts at home, with the people who have been here through every season. By focusing on our deep-seated connections, we aren't just changing the scenery; we're strengthening the very soul of the place we call home, ensuring it remains a beacon of hope for generations.
From Community Center to Community Development
When I stepped into leadership of what was then Westside Community Center, my immediate responsibility was rebuilding an organization that had been through a difficult period. There were financial and operational challenges to address, relationships to restore, a building that needed attention, and an institution that needed a clear direction for its future.
As that work progressed, I began looking beyond the walls of the Center. The challenges affecting the organization were connected to larger issues throughout West Bartlesville: housing, vacant and underused properties, disappearing businesses, limited investment, infrastructure, and opportunities for residents and entrepreneurs.
I realized that rebuilding one institution would not be enough. If we wanted the Cultural Center and the surrounding community to thrive long term, we had to think more broadly about the conditions that allow communities to grow.
“Revitalizing one institution would not be enough. We needed to think bigger.”
Professional Background
I bring a multidisciplinary background spanning business development, organizational strategy, marketing and communications, nonprofit leadership, financial restructuring, entrepreneurship, and community development. Throughout my career, my work has consistently centered on the same challenge: understanding how organizations, people, resources, and opportunities can be better aligned to create sustainable growth.
My professional experience includes managing major events and public-facing initiatives, developing marketing and business strategies, working within investment and entrepreneurial environments, managing budgets and operations, guiding organizational restructuring, and helping organizations navigate periods of growth, transition, and reinvention. That combination of business and community experience has shaped how I approach development. Strong communities require more than individual programs. They require strong institutions, economic opportunity, thoughtful investment, and systems capable of turning ideas into implementation.
As Executive Director of Bartlesville Cultural Center, I led the transformation of a struggling community institution into a broader cultural and community development organization, expanding our work into cultural preservation, entrepreneurship, workforce development, civic engagement, and place-based revitalization. That work has expanded into housing and real estate development, neighborhood planning, business development, land stewardship, public-private partnerships, and long-term investment strategy.
I also serve as an appointed member of the Bartlesville Planning Commission, which has given me direct experience with the relationship between land use, development, municipal planning, infrastructure, and community priorities. My work with residents, property owners, businesses, financial institutions, tribal nations, developers, elected officials, and public agencies continues to shape West Bartlesville Revitalization as an implementation-focused community development effort.
Today, I lead West Bartlesville Revitalization with a focus on connecting people, property, capital, culture, and opportunity. My role is not simply to envision what West Bartlesville could become. It is to build the partnerships, organizational infrastructure, development pipeline, and investment strategy necessary to move that vision forward.
Building the Capacity
to Lead the Work
Once I understood the scale of the opportunity in West Bartlesville, I knew vision alone would not be enough. If I was going to lead this work responsibly, I needed to understand the systems that determine what actually gets built, financed, approved, and sustained.
I began intentionally expanding my knowledge of housing, land use, real estate development, neighborhood revitalization, economic development, financing, and the public and private investment systems that shape communities. Just as importantly, I began seeking out people already doing this work successfully. I have learned from developers, community development leaders, financial institutions, municipal leaders, elected officials, Main Street professionals, and organizations working in communities across Oklahoma and beyond.
My appointment to the Bartlesville Planning Commission added another dimension to that learning, giving me direct exposure to land use, zoning, infrastructure, development proposals, and the role local government plays in shaping a city's physical future.
“I don't have to be the expert in every room. My responsibility is to understand the work well enough to bring the right experts, resources, partners, and opportunities into the same room.”
That is how I approach West Bartlesville Revitalization. I ask questions. I research. I build relationships. I find people who know what I do not know. I look for resources that have not been brought to the table. And then I work to connect those pieces around a shared strategy.
West Bartlesville Revitalization grew from that approach. It is being built as a community development organization capable of moving from conversation to implementation, connecting resident priorities with housing, property development, entrepreneurship, investment, partnerships, and long-term neighborhood revitalization.
“My job is to understand how the pieces connect.”
My career has taken me across business, entrepreneurship, organizational leadership, marketing, operations, nonprofit management, civic leadership, and now community development. Those experiences taught me to see connections across sectors. Housing affects economic opportunity. Business development affects neighborhood vitality. Infrastructure affects investment. Culture affects identity and belonging. None of these systems operates independently, and neither can revitalization.
West Bartlesville has a history worth honoring. And I believe its future is worth investing in.
Why I Believe in West Bartlesville
My belief in this community is rooted in the people who have built lives here, raised families here, started businesses here, worshipped here, created here, and carried West Bartlesville's stories from one generation to the next.
Revitalization should not erase that history in the name of progress. It should build from it.
I believe we can create new housing, strengthen businesses, attract investment, improve neighborhoods, and open new opportunities while protecting the culture, character, and sense of belonging that make West Bartlesville home.
The Next Chapter
“West Bartlesville has a history worth honoring. And I believe its future is worth investing in.”
West Bartlesville Revitalization is moving from vision to implementation. The work ahead includes housing, property redevelopment, entrepreneurship, neighborhood investment, land stewardship, placemaking, and partnerships capable of bringing new resources into West Bartlesville.
But this work will not be built by one organization or one person. Residents will shape it. Property owners will participate in it. Businesses and entrepreneurs will create opportunity through it. Developers, financial institutions, tribal nations, foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and public partners will help invest in it.
My responsibility is to help bring those pieces together and keep the work moving forward.
