Susan Savage

Two public boards with different responsibilities

The City currently lists Savage as chair of the Parks and Recreation Board and the Gilcrease Museum Board of Trustees, with a listed appointment term from May 22, 2024 to May 1, 2028. The Parks Board advises the mayor and Council on the management of city parks. The City describes the Gilcrease trustees as administering and managing the Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art for the public. These are collective board functions. The chair title does not give Savage the mayor’s executive authority or unilateral control of either institution. Park-board members constitute the museum trustees ex officio: the museum role follows the park-board seat, rather than proving a separate appointment.

From criminal-justice work to City Hall

Susan Savage’s early career combined criminal-justice administration and municipal management. Her Oklahoma Municipal League Hall of Fame biography says she graduated from Arcadia University and became a pretrial representative with Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas in 1974. It describes a decade as the first executive director of the Metropolitan Tulsa Citizens Crime Commission before she joined Mayor Rodger Randle’s administration in May 1988 as chief of staff and mayor pro tempore. These details come from a retrospective institutional biography; its references to then-current offices should be read in their historical setting.

Career & public service

1. 1974

   Early career

   Municipal League biography places her in Philadelphia pretrial work after university.

   Oklahoma Municipal League Hall of Fame: Susan Savage ↗
2. 1988

   Mayor’s staff

   Joined Rodger Randle’s administration as chief of staff and mayor pro tempore.

   Oklahoma Municipal League Hall of Fame: Susan Savage ↗
3. 1992–2002

   Mayor

   Served as Tulsa’s first woman mayor.

   City of Tulsa: Gallery of Mayors ↗
4. 2003–2011

   Secretary of state

   Served under Governor Brad Henry.

   Public Radio Tulsa: Former Mayor Named to Morton Spot ↗
5. 2013

   Morton philanthropy

   Appointment announcement described foundation-development work.

   Public Radio Tulsa: Former Mayor Named to Morton Spot ↗
6. October2016

   Health-policy testimony

   Senate identified her as Morton CEO.

   Oklahoma Senate: Uncompensated Care Fund study ↗
7. May2026

   Board chair

   Park minutes affirmed her chair election following the museum trustees’ meeting.

   Parks and Recreation Board minutes, May5,2026 ↗

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

8 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.

Disclosed compensation and oversight

Morton’s Form 990 for April 1, 2024 through March 31, 2025 reports Savage’s calendar-2024 compensation in Part VII: $210,658 from Morton, $0 from related organizations and $8,339 in estimated other compensation. These are reported compensation categories, not a current salary rate or a statement of her total personal income. The return was signed and submitted February 16, 2026; ProPublica’s index records filing February 17. Morton also reported an independent governing board, a conflict-of-interest policy and independent review of CEO compensation. Those are the organization’s disclosures. They distinguish executive employment from ownership and do not substitute for an independent assessment of performance.

Tulsa’s first woman mayor

The City’s mayoral history identifies Savage as Tulsa’s first woman mayor, serving from 1992 to 2002. She initially filled Randle’s unexpired term and then won a special election. The City’s retrospective account credits her administration with work on water-supply protection, environmental partnerships, transportation and neighborhood design. That is the municipality’s assessment of an administration’s record, rather than proof that those outcomes were hers alone. She subsequently served as Oklahoma secretary of state under Governor Brad Henry from 2003 to 2011, according to the biographical account accompanying Morton’s 2013 hiring announcement.

What the minutes show her doing

At the May 5, 2026 Parks Board meeting, Savage chaired discussion of the department’s work and identified children’s inability to swim as a safety concern. Director Anna America described free swimming lessons and a partnership with the YWCA, including efforts to reach teenagers. The minutes also record Savage’s comments on the history of Chamberlain and Berry parks and the need for investment. They do not attribute the department’s programs or fundraising to her individually. The board affirmed her election as chair following the Gilcrease trustees’ meeting, providing a dated record of the continuing leadership role.

Leadership of a community health provider

Morton Comprehensive Health Services lists Savage as its chief executive. Her work there initially involved philanthropy: the July 2013 announcement described a consultant and senior director role developing a foundation to support Morton’s primary and preventive care. By October 2016, the Oklahoma Senate identified her as CEO when she testified about the Uncompensated Care Fund. That hearing, requested by Senator Kevin Matthews, examined funding for care to uninsured patients after state payments had been interrupted and subsequently resumed. Her testimony is evidence of policy advocacy by a provider executive; it does not establish that she controlled the state appropriation or caused payments to resume.

Medicaid changes and the burden on providers

During Oklahoma’s 2023 Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, Savage told StateImpact that administrative work had fallen on medical practices. Jillian Taylor’s reporting described Morton staff helping people review eligibility and enroll, with dedicated space for that work, while patients struggled with confusing notices or lost coverage. The same report included the Oklahoma Health Care Authority’s account of letters, text messages, outreach, staffing and portal changes intended to help members. This episode shows how a health-center executive can press a public agency about implementation while her institution helps patients navigate it. The reporting supports a documented dispute about administration, not a finding that the agency acted unlawfully.

A foundation role in higher education

The TCC Foundation lists Savage as chair and identifies her Morton employment. The foundation develops relationships and financial resources for Tulsa Community College, supporting scholarships and resources for students, faculty and staff. This is a fundraising and philanthropic governance connection to higher education. The foundation and the public college are distinct institutions; foundation chairmanship does not establish that Savage is a college regent, controls tuition or appoints the college president. Her listed service connects a health-provider executive with the institution that supports the college’s educational work.

A documented family connection in public service

The Oklahoma Eagle identified Emily Hall as Savage’s daughter when reporting Hall’s December 2024 appointment as the mayor’s senior adviser on homelessness. Both women have relevant public roles, making the relationship part of Tulsa’s institutional history. The family connection is independently reported, but it does not establish that Savage secured Hall’s appointment, directs her work or coordinates decisions with her. Their offices and responsibilities remain separate.

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. The Oklahoma Eagle — Nichols takes office ↗

   independent-reporting · Source date 2024-12-03 · Checked 2026-10-04

   Kimberly Marsh, Emily Hall subsection: Tulsa native, William Woods 2003, TPS 2014–2020, YMCA, legal internship, TU law candidacy and Susan Savage relationship. MPA institution wording ambiguous; not normalized.

2. City of Tulsa — Park Board ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-04

   Current roster: Susan Savage chair. Used with independent Eagle documentation of adult mother–daughter relationship; no coordination inferred.

3. City of Tulsa: authorities, boards and commissions ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Parks and Recreation Board and Gilcrease Museum Board of Trustees: purpose, ex officio membership, Savage seat04 and May22,2024–May1,2028 term.

4. City of Tulsa: Gallery of Mayors ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Susan Savage,36th mayor,1992–2002; succession and special election.

5. Oklahoma Municipal League Hall of Fame: Susan Savage ↗

   primary · Source date 2020-05-07 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Historical 2005 inductee biography, reposted May7,2020. Early employment, education,1988 chief of staff and January2003 appointment; current-office language is historical.

6. Public Radio Tulsa: Former Mayor Named to Morton Spot ↗

   primary · Source date 2013-07-06 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Carries Morton July5 announcement: consultant/senior director philanthropic development; Secretary of State2003–2011. Organization announcement, not independent evaluation.

7. Morton executive staff ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   M. Susan Savage named CEO, named institutional portrait; direct HTML retrieved.

8. Oklahoma Senate: Uncompensated Care Fund study ↗

   primary · Source date 2016-10-13 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Named CEO testimony, Health and Human Services study requested by Kevin Matthews; describes funding interruption and resumption.

9. StateImpact: navigating SoonerCare unwinding ↗

   independent-reporting · Source date 2023-12-14 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Jillian Taylor; Savage and Morton enrollment work; OHCA response by Emily Long.

10. Parks and Recreation Board minutes, May5,2026 ↗

    primary · Source date 2026-05-05 · Checked 2026-10-23

    Pages1–3: Savage chairs; department report; swimming instruction discussion; affirmation of chair election at Gilcrease meeting.

11. TCC Foundation board of trustees ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-23

    Susan Savage chair, identified as Morton CEO; foundation board distinct from college regents.

12. TCC Foundation mission ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-23

    Foundation supports Tulsa Community College through scholarships, resources and relationships.

13. Morton Form990 for year ended March31,2025 ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-23

    Original IRS e-file rendered by ProPublica. Page7 PartVII-A row6 columnsD/E/F, calendar2024 compensation USD210658/0/8339; p6 governance. Tax periodApril1,2024–March31,2025. Signed/submittedFebruary16,2026; index filedFebruary17. Amended box unchecked; visually inspected.

14. Morton IRS filing index ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-23

    EIN73-1177858; latest listed return FYMarch2025, filedFebruary17,2026; index warns amendments may not be reflected.