Teresa Meinders Burkett

Public boards and the limits of the role

Teresa Meinders Burkett is vice chair of Tulsa’s Parks and Recreation Board and the Gilcrease Museum Board of Trustees. The City lists her Parks seat through May 1, 2027. The Parks Board advises the mayor and Council on the park system; its members also serve as museum trustees ex officio. The museum trustees exercise collective management powers. These linked offices do not give an individual trustee unilateral control of either institution. The same roster identifies her as an Animal Welfare Commission member through December 31, 2026. That commission advises and advocates on animal care, adoption, population control and neighborhood safety; it does not replace department management.

From nursing to health law

Burkett’s professional education spans nursing and law. Her Best Lawyers biographical listing records a University of Oklahoma nursing degree in 1982 and a law degree with honors in 1985. In her 2011 interview, she described working as a registered nurse during law school and becoming interested in the rules governing patient care and hospitals. She considered administration before choosing law. These are professional-biographical and personal accounts, rather than an inference from her present board positions. The sequence helps explain why healthcare regulation became a substantial part of her career.

Career & public service

1. 1982

   Nursing education

   Earned a University of Oklahoma nursing degree.

   Best Lawyers: Teresa Meinders Burkett ↗
2. 1985

   Law degree

   Graduated with honors from law school.

   Best Lawyers: Teresa Meinders Burkett ↗
3. 2011

   Clinical perspective

   Discussed nursing and health-information privacy work in a published interview.

   Knowing the Realities ↗
4. 2022

   Civic recognition

   Leadership Oklahoma recognized Community Service Council volunteer work.

   Leadership Oklahoma annual report2022–2023 ↗
5. May2026

   Board leadership

   Minutes affirmed the vice-chair role.

   Parks and Recreation Board minutes, May5,2026 ↗
6. July2026

   Firm combination

   Conner & Winters combined with Spencer Fane.

   Conner & Winters combines with Spencer Fane ↗

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

9 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.

Homelessness governance

Housing Solutions lists Teresa Burkett as its board secretary. Its identification of her legal employer, together with Spencer Fane’s listing of the same secretary role, supports connecting the shortened name to this person. This is nonprofit board service, distinct from the City’s public-board appointments. The board roster also lists other directors, but shared service alone does not establish personal alliances, coordination on public decisions or control over those directors’ employers.

The practice and its institutional setting

Spencer Fane currently lists Burkett as of counsel in Tulsa. Its biography describes work for hospitals, physician groups, nursing homes and other providers on compliance, patient rights, employment and litigation. Conner & Winters’ combination with Spencer Fane took effect July 1, 2026. Older nonprofit rosters still describe her Conner & Winters affiliation; the current law-firm page supplies the present professional title. Neither the of-counsel title nor a historical partnership establishes an ownership percentage or personal income.

How she describes the value of clinical experience

In a 2011 Super Lawyers interview with Nyssa Gesch, Burkett said working inside hospitals helped her judge whether legal advice could be carried out across shifts and professional boundaries. She explained that physicians with hospital privileges could have practices separate from the hospital itself. She also described helping develop privacy arrangements for a regional health-information exchange. Those are her accounts of her work and perspective, preserved in a dated interview. They explain the practical problems around which her career developed without treating an interview as an independent audit of client results.

Health-policy work beyond individual clients

The University of Oklahoma’s 2012 agency workbook includes an interview summary identifying Burkett as a lawyer for local hospitals and physician groups and a Community Service Council board member. The summary describes her interest in shifting reimbursement toward preventive primary care and her donated legal work. Leadership Oklahoma’s 2022–2023 annual report later recorded a Helping Oklahoma recognition for her volunteer work with the council at its February 2022 event. These records establish a historical civic-policy connection; they do not establish a current council board seat. Her current employer also describes legal work supporting presentation of Medicaid expansion to voters. That description is attributed to the firm; it is not a finding that she alone secured the policy change.

A dated record of board leadership

The May 5, 2026 Parks Board minutes record affirmation of Susan Savage as chair and Burkett as vice chair following the Gilcrease trustees’ meeting. The minutes place her role inside an operating public body, alongside department reports and discussion of services. The distinction matters: board leadership is one part of institutional governance, while the department carries out programs. The City’s current roster and this dated record support the present vice-chair title; older references to Burkett as chair belong to an earlier period.

Education philanthropy

The TCC Foundation lists Burkett among its trustees. The foundation supports Tulsa Community College through scholarships and other resources for students, faculty and staff. Serving its board connects Burkett to educational philanthropy, but the foundation is distinct from the public college and its governing regents. Her listed trusteeship does not establish authority to set tuition, direct the college administration or control public appropriations. The foundation roster’s older employer label is retained as a source-history issue, while her current professional affiliation is established separately.

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: 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.

2. 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.

3. TCC Foundation board of trustees ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

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

4. TCC Foundation mission ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

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

5. Spencer Fane: Teresa Meinders Burkett ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Named biography; Of Counsel, education, related experience and community involvement. Employer self-description; no independent endorsement of claimed outcomes.

6. Conner & Winters combines with Spencer Fane ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Completed combination effective July1; current firm biography corroborates employment transition.

7. Knowing the Realities ↗

   independent-reporting · Source date 2011-10-17 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Nyssa Gesch interview, October17,2011. Nursing experience, privacy infrastructure and healthcare practice; answers are Burkett’s own account.

8. Housing Solutions board ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-23

   Teresa Burkett secretary, older Connor & Winters employer label; identity corroborated by current firm biography.

9. OU Tulsa: Agency Workbook ↗

   primary · Source date 2012 · Checked 2026-10-23

   Printed pages97–98: Teresa Burkett interview summary, health-policy interests and Community Service Council service; historical2012 context.

10. Leadership Oklahoma annual report2022–2023 ↗

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

    Printed page9: February15,2022 event and Helping Oklahoma recognition for volunteer work with Community Service Council. No financial amount used.

11. Best Lawyers: Teresa Meinders Burkett ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-23

    Education: OU BS nursing1982 and JD1985. Older Conner & Winters employer label not used as current.