Historical record
Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust
Initial PAC trustee appointment
January19,2022
Exact start and end dates not established.
People / Government & civic life
Tina Peña
Tulsa Performing Arts Center trustee; interpreter educator and nonprofit leader
Language education, Spanish-language media and community service form the background to her public arts trusteeship.
Tina Peña is a Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust member and president of Mita’s Foundation. Her documented career includes teaching Spanish and interpreting at Tulsa Community College, chairing a national medical-interpreter certification board and hosting Temas en Tulsa. Her current civic role concerns collective arts governance; her educational and nonprofit work operates through separate institutions.
From Peru to Tulsa education
Independent KJRH reporting describes Peña’s move from Peru to the United States and her pursuit of higher education while working multiple jobs. It reports a bachelor’s degree followed by a master’s in education from Northeastern State University, without giving graduation dates. The report also documents her mentoring of Hispanic students and her use of community volunteering as part of their learning. These are educational and civic connections, not evidence of an elected political career.
Career & public service
- 1992
TCC faculty career begins
The national board’s 2012 announcement dates her college service to 1992.
- 2012–2014
National certification leadership
Elected to chair the medical-interpreter certification board for this term.
- 2016–2017
Spanish-language broadcasting
KJRH documents the show’s 2016 arts award and her host role in 2017.
- January 2022
Training and arts governance
TCC documents interpreter graduates; the City records her PAC appointment that month.
- March 2026
Foundation work
An independent interview documents local assistance and reported Peru projects.
People, institutions and the relationships between them
Following the connections
Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.
personTina Peña
media programTemas en Tulsa
collegeTulsa Community College
The hosting role and college production relationship are distinct.
personTina Peña
nonprofitMita’s Foundation
Foundation leadership is separate from public arts trusteeship.
Documented relationships
9 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.
Current source roster
Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust
PAC trustee
Current roster; scheduled term through June30,2027
Scheduled end is not proof of departure.
Historical record
Tulsa Community College
Spanish professor and interpreter trainer
Faculty since1992; documented2022; now described as retired
Retirement date not established; no claim that all teaching ceased.
Historical record
Northeastern State University
Reported master’s in education
Graduation date not established
Exact start and end dates not established.
Historical record
National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters
Elected national certification-board chair
Historical record
National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters
National certification-board chair
Announced2012–2014 term
Exact start and end dates not established.
Current source roster
Mita’s Foundation
Foundation president
Verified November2026
Exact start and end dates not established.
Current source roster
Temas en Tulsa
Spanish-language program host
Documented2017; current foundation biography lists role
Current production schedule not independently verified.
Historical record
Temas en Tulsa
College-produced program · Tulsa Community College
Interpretation
How to evaluate the connections
Peña’s documented career connects language education, professional standards, Spanish-language media and nonprofit assistance with arts governance. These roles can give her experience with audiences and residents who encounter language barriers. That is an interpretation of the institutional record, not proof that a particular PAC decision resulted from her involvement. Assessing her trustee work requires meeting records and votes; assessing philanthropic outcomes requires project and financial reporting. Public titles, professional experience and demonstrated results should remain separately documented.
What the trust governs
The PAC describes the trust as the organization that operates the performing arts center, produces and hosts entertainment, assists with facility improvements and provides grants to arts organizations. Peña participates in that collective governance. The published roster identifies other people as chair and executive leadership; membership alone does not make her the venue’s chief executive or establish personal authority over every booking, grant or contract. A trustee’s institutional responsibility and a documented individual decision remain different kinds of evidence.
Teaching the difference between fluency and professional interpreting
A 2012 professional-board announcement identifies Peña as a TCC faculty member since 1992 and coordinator of Spanish and medical-interpreting programs. A separate January 2022 college report names her as an associate professor and interpreting trainer at a ceremony for graduates of its interpreting and translation certificate programs. The college distinguished spoken communication assistance from written translation. It described service-learning in court and farmers’ market settings, including students’ preparation of specialized glossaries. This is evidence of a training program and completed student work, rather than a claim that every graduate obtained professional certification.
A national role in medical-interpreter certification
The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters announced Peña’s election as chair for 2012–2014 following its May 1 meeting in Tulsa. The announcement set out goals involving awareness of certification, additional languages and testing locations, and growth in the certified workforce. This placed her educational work within a national professional-standards institution. The stated goals are the board’s agenda at the time; the announcement does not demonstrate that all targets were achieved during her chairmanship.
Spanish-language public affairs
Peña also hosted Temas en Tulsa, a Spanish-language program produced at Tulsa Community College covering regional current events, arts, culture and education. KJRH’s 2017 account of a reporter’s appearance explicitly identifies the host as both a college associate professor and Mita’s Foundation president. It reports that the program received a Governor’s Arts Award in October 2016. That recognition belongs to the show; it should not be converted into a separate personal award or evidence that the broadcaster represented the City government.
Mita’s Foundation and community access
Mita’s Foundation identifies Peña as its president. In a March 2026 La Semana del Sur interview, she described work with local organizations providing food, translation and referrals for migrant families, alongside support for training projects in Peru. The account links immediate assistance with practical skills and access to institutions. Its descriptions are reported through the interview; they are not audited measures of expenditures, beneficiaries or lasting outcomes. The nonprofit’s activities are separate from her authority as a PAC trustee, and its funds should not be treated as personal income.
Consulting and training beyond the college
In her professional self-description, Peña identifies herself as president and CEO of Peña Language Consulting and a senior trainer with the RICARTI Group. She describes work in interpreting, translation and language access. These are attributed professional claims, useful for understanding the continuation of her work beyond a college position. They do not establish the consulting business’s legal structure, current revenue, contract awards or any financial interest in the performing arts trust.
Check the record
Sources & corrections
Research checked 2026-11-04. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.
- PAC Board of Trustees ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-23
Ken Busby named trustee and identified portrait; trust operates venue and supports programming, facilities and grants.
- City of Tulsa: authorities, boards and commissions ↗
primary institutional record · Checked 2026-11-04
PAC Trust seat12: Tina Pena, January19,2022 appointment, June30,2027 scheduled term end.
- Tulsa PAC: trustee institutional affiliation ↗
primary institutional record · Checked 2026-11-04
Tina Peña identified as Tulsa Community College associate professor. Used only for occupational identity bridge; outdated seat numbering and employment not adopted. No personal contact data retained.
- Mita’s Foundation: Tina Peña biography ↗
primary institutional record · Checked 2026-11-04
President; retired TCC Spanish professor and interpreter trainer; Temas en Tulsa host. Undated affiliations are not all treated as current.
- KJRH: Tulsa professor shares Hispanic culture ↗
independent reporting · Source date 2020 · Checked 2026-11-04
Karen Larsen reporting: Peru origin; bachelor’s degree and later master’s in education from NSU; TCC, mentoring and Mita’s Foundation identity bridge. Exact graduation dates not stated.
- National Board: Peña elected chair for2012–2014 ↗
primary institutional record · Source date 2012-06 · Checked 2026-11-04
PDF p1: May1 election, TCC faculty since1992, program coordination and certification goals. Historical term, not current office.
- TCC: Spanish interpreter and translator pinning ceremony ↗
primary institutional record · Source date 2022-01-18 · Checked 2026-11-04
January13 ceremony for2020–2021 graduates; Peña named associate professor and trainer; distinct spoken/written programs and service-learning.
- KJRH: reporter visits Temas en Tulsa ↗
independent reporting · Source date 2017 · Checked 2026-11-04
TCC-produced Spanish program, Peña host and Mita’s president; October2016 Governor’s Arts Award belongs to show.
- La Semana del Sur: Tina Peña and Mita’s Foundation ↗
independent reporting · Source date 2026-03-31 · Checked 2026-11-04
Guillermo Rojas and Victoria Lis Marino interview; attributed local food/referral/translation and Peru training projects. No independent audited outcome totals.
- Tina Peña professional self-description ↗
attributed self-report · Checked 2026-11-04
Self-description: Peña Language Consulting CEO/president and RICARTI senior trainer; no revenue or ownership percentage established.