Sara Phoenix

Her public role and its limits

Sara Phoenix serves on the Tulsa Arts Commission in the seat for an arts organization serving Tulsa. The City roster lists October 16, 2026, through December 1, 2027, for her current term. That entry establishes the listed term, not the beginning of all her commission service. The commission advises on public artwork, its purchase and maintenance, signage and the aesthetic quality of development. Members are appointed by the mayor with Council approval. These are responsibilities exercised through a commission; the seat does not give Phoenix unilateral authority over the City’s art collection or municipal spending.

Theatre training and arts education

The Tulsa Performing Arts Center’s staff biography identifies Phoenix as a University of Oklahoma graduate with a BFA in theatre. It describes experience as a certified theatre teacher and as Tulsa Public Schools’ fine-arts content manager. No graduation year is supplied. The school role is independently dated by a district account of its 2021 bond proposal: Phoenix explained how arts programs depended on bond-funded resources, from elementary music and art to high-school theatre and instrumental programs. Her comments document participation in the district’s public case for arts investment.

Career & public service

1. 2017

   Theatre leadership

   Identified as Theatre Tulsa executive artistic director.

   Theatre Tulsa at 95 ↗
2. 2020

   Season postponement

   Spoke for the company about its pandemic response.

   Theatre Tulsa announces season changes ↗
3. 2021

   School arts advocacy

   Identified as TPS fine-arts content manager in district bond coverage.

   TPS 2021 bond: arts resources ↗
4. 2021

   PAC staff appointment

   Move to development and community engagement announced.

   AACT Spotlight: New Roles ↗
5. 2021–22

   National association

   Listed as AACT executive vice president.

   AACT Spotlight: New Roles ↗
6. 2023

   AACT recognition

   Named an AACT Fellow.

   AACT Fellows ↗
7. 2026

   Current commission term

   Official roster lists term ending December1,2027.

   City of Tulsa: Arts Commission roster and purpose ↗

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.

Documented relationships

7 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.

What the compensation record shows

The PAC Trust’s Form 990 filed November 16, 2025, lists Phoenix as vice president of development and reports $102,162 in compensation from the organization. The return covers July 2024–June 2025, but its Part VII compensation table uses calendar year 2024. The related-organization and other-compensation columns each report zero. This is disclosed compensation for that reporting period, not a current salary rate, total household income or payment for Arts Commission service. The source distinguishes employees from the separately listed trustees.

Leading a community theatre

In June 2017, Public Radio Tulsa introduced Phoenix as Theatre Tulsa’s executive artistic director alongside managing director Jarrod Kopp. They discussed a production marking the company’s 95th anniversary at the PAC. The distinction between their positions matters: artistic leadership and management were shared across named roles. AACT’s later account describes Phoenix spending nine years with Theatre Tulsa before her 2021 move. Together, these sources establish a substantial period of production leadership without assigning her sole responsibility for the company’s finances, governance or success.

A pandemic-era programming decision

A May 2020 BroadwayWorld report carried Theatre Tulsa’s announcement that its next season would be delayed a year, to summer 2021. It quoted Phoenix explaining the need to consider performers, workers and audiences after the interruption of A Little Night Music. This is a documented example of her speaking for the organization on a consequential programming decision. The report records the company’s announced response; it does not establish the later financial result or whether every production resumed according to that timetable.

From theatre leadership to PAC development

AACT’s November–December 2021 publication announced Phoenix’s appointment as the PAC’s vice president of development and community engagement. The current staff page calls her VP of Development. Her work therefore connects artistic production and education with fundraising and institutional outreach. The PAC describes its operations as having transferred from City administration to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust in 2019. Phoenix’s staff position sits within that operating structure. It is distinct from an Arts Commission appointment and from service as a trustee.

A former trusteeship and national theatre work

The Council’s December 15, 2021, agenda scheduled Wendy Garrett’s appointment to the PAC Trust in a seat identified as replacing Phoenix. That is evidence of a planned trustee succession, not a substitute for the Council’s final vote record. It also cautions against treating Phoenix’s subsequent employee title as proof of continuing trusteeship. Beyond Tulsa, AACT listed her as executive vice president for 2021–22 and named her a Fellow in 2023. Those are dated national theatre connections; the historical executive office is not presented as a current appointment.

Check the record

Sources & corrections

Research checked 2026-10-23. 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.

1. City of Tulsa: Arts Commission roster and purpose ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Arts Commission: arts organization serving Tulsa seat, Sara Phoenix; listed October16,2026–December1,2027. Listed date is not asserted as first-ever service.

2. Tulsa Arts Commission ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Named commissioner; public artwork selection/stewardship, aesthetic advice and public meetings.

3. Tulsa PAC executive staff ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Sara Phoenix, VP of Development: BFA theatre University of Oklahoma, former TPS fine-arts content manager, former Theatre Tulsa executive/artistic director. Named portrait.

4. AACT Spotlight: New Roles ↗

   primary · Source date 2021-11 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Printed22: Phoenix appointed PAC vice president of development and community engagement after nine years at Theatre Tulsa; advisory-board plan. Printed7: AACT executive VP in2021–22.

5. Theatre Tulsa at 95 ↗

   independent-reporting · Source date 2017-06-23 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Rich Fisher, June23,2017: Phoenix executive artistic director and Jarrod Kopp managing director, anniversary production at PAC.

6. Theatre Tulsa announces season changes ↗

   reported-announcement · Source date 2020-05-21 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Stephi Wild, May21,2020: attributed company announcement, A Little Night Music closure, season postponed to summer2021.

7. TPS 2021 bond: arts resources ↗

   primary · Source date 2021 · Checked 2026-10-23

   District news identifies Phoenix as fine arts content manager and quotes her support for bond-funded equipment/resources; advocacy account, not independent outcome audit.

8. AACT Fellows ↗

   primary · Source date 2023 cohort · Checked 2026-10-23

   Previously honored Fellows:2023 Sara Phoenix, Tulsa. Historical recognition; not evidence of current executive office.

9. Tulsa PAC institutional history ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   City-owned venue opened1977; operations transferred to Trust in2019; education and access programs described by institution.

10. Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust Form990, FY2025 ↗

    primary · Source date 2025-11-16 · Checked 2026-10-23

    Filed November16,2025; tax period July1,2024–June30,2025. Page7 PartVII SectionA row4, columnsD/E/F:102162/0/0 USD, calendar2024 reportable compensation. Original IRS efile visual rendering inspected in browser; latest indexed return as checked; amended checkbox unchecked. Not a2026salary rate.

11. Council December15,2021 agenda ↗

    primary · Source date 2021-12-15 · Checked 2026-10-23

    Item2a schedules Wendy Garrett appointment replacing Sara Phoenix on PACTrust; agenda documents proposal, not vote outcome.