New Gaylord Staff Members

The deans from the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education and Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts - Ed Kelley, Stacy Reeder and Mary Margaret Holt, respectively - recognized a shared need among their students for additional support. That’s where Deborah Binkley Jackson comes in.

A licensed counselor in the state of Oklahoma, Binkley Jackson now serves this trio of colleges as a student advocate. Binkley Jackson’s main role is to be an additional support system for students as they navigate higher education.

Faculty and staff can make a referral if they recognize a student might need extra support, then it is up to the students to contact Binkley Jackson if they would like to meet with her. Binkley Jackson mentioned that some students may be seeing other clinicians, and her role is not to circumvent or undermine them but rather to work alongside them to aid the students.

Binkley Jackson is no stranger to roles that focus on student support. Prior to moving into her current role, she worked for OU’s Project Threshold for more than 22 years. Before starting with OU, Binkley Jackson worked for a number of years with youth and adults for agencies who contracted with the Department of Human Services for home and community-based services.

“I’ve made it very clear that this is a position that we all have to support each other in order to support students,” Binkley Jackson explained. “I've often said that really nothing changes except the zip code. We all have challenges that have come about through certain situations in our lives. Students don't just stop being who they are, or not have what they brought with them just because they come to the University of Oklahoma.”

Binkley Jackson is a two-time OU alumna, earning an undergraduate degree in law enforcement administration and a master’s in human relations. Currently, she is a student in the adult and higher education doctoral program, where her primary research interests are focused on Black women and their migration through higher education.

If any Gaylord alumni are interested in being involved with the college’s support efforts, Binkley Jackson encouraged them to consider becoming a mentor. Anyone who is interested can contact her at dbjackson@ou.edu.

“Those who are willing to serve as mentors, we need you,” she said. “This is a team effort, and as I’ve said, we all have to circle the wagons on this and help each of our students to be healthy as they move through this process of getting a higher education degree.”

Since a young age, Victor Caballero has been drawn to making films and creating stories. Now, he’s applying his background in these areas as the equipment and property director for Gaylord College.

Caballero oversees “The Cage” for Gaylord, which is the space where the video equipment is stored and checked out by students. He also helps take care of the building, assisting if there are issues, reaching out to facilities to request services or aiding in setting up for events.

After attending OCCC, Caballero went to work for Tyler Media. He spent 15 years with the company, most recently working as a master control supervisor. A couple of highlights from Caballero’s career include being part of the first Oklahoma Spanish Newscast and being a writer, producer and director for award-winning short films. Currently, Caballero is writing his first feature film.

He recalls going to movies with his parents, then taking a notebook when he went to the laundromat with his mom after seeing a film. There, Caballero would start writing sequels for those movies in his notebooks.

Caballero and his wife, Ashley, have a 1-year-old daughter, Zoelia. Ashley, who earned her master’s degree in journalism from OU, has worked as a journalism instructor for Gaylord since January and previously was an adjunct for the college.

For Caballero, the student-centered atmosphere of Gaylord College has stood out during his first few months on the job. So far, he has most enjoyed working with students and being able to help by answering their questions.

“One of the reasons I’m enjoying working here at Gaylord is because students come first, and I love that,” Caballero said. “I love that Gaylord is smart and is always asking, ‘What can we do next? What can we do to advance and help these students when they get out in the real world?’”

For Kennedy Patrick, starting a job at the University of Oklahoma felt like coming home. Patrick is an OU graduate, and her parents, Steve and Cheryl, attended the university and worked on campus. She even has OU journalism connections, as her father graduated from the school.

“It felt like coming home to OU and to my family roots,” said Patrick, who works as the assistant to the deans in Gaylord College. “I was born and raised in Norman, and Crimson and Cream run really deep for me. Dean (Yvette) Walker recommended me to this position, and when that happened, I saw the opportunity to serve great administrators and a great college and community. I really couldn't pass up the opportunity.”

After graduating from OU with a degree in music education, Patrick taught music at Norman’s Roosevelt Elementary. She later moved into nonprofit work as the volunteer director at YWCA Oklahoma City before moving back into the education realm in a role with TEL Education.

Outside of work, Patrick plays the cello in a quartet through OU’s community orchestra. She also enjoys crafting and doing anything creative, is a big plant lover and has a cat named Jeffrey.

In her current role, Patrick said each of her days look different. Sometimes she is scheduling, organizing, managing office supplies and the building or working with facilities. Other days, she might be event planning or collaborating with other OU departments. Regardless of the tasks, Patrick takes pride in serving students and helping others.

“I want the alumni to know that while I wear many different hats and do many different things, my focus has been and always will be taking careful care of the space and everyone in it in the best interest of our students,” Patrick said. “I’m always willing to help, and if I do not have an immediate answer, I will find one.”

Reed Wilson works behind the scenes to make sure Gaylord College’s broadcasts happen. As a broadcast engineer, he ensures the broadcast technology, such as video switchers and routers, audio consoles and cameras, all communicate effectively with each other during a newscast or other on-air content.

Wilson has worked in broadcasting since 1991, starting in instructional television services while in college. Prior to that, he was in the Navy, where he was in advanced electronics. After graduating from Tarrant County College, Willson started with KTVT in Fort Worth, a station that was owned by the Gaylord Entertainment Company at the time.

During his time in Gaylord, Wilson said he has seen “a lot of great kids” who come from diverse backgrounds and are committed and dedicated to what they do.

“A lot of the students seem to enjoy actually going to college and doing their degree program, which is pretty unique to me,” Wilson said. “I think the opportunity to get to share with these students the knowledge that I have has been my favorite part so far about being here in Gaylord.”

Wilson had lived in Texas since he got out of the Navy, and the opportunity within Gaylord College is what drew him to Oklahoma. So far, he has liked the smaller town feel of Norman compared to the DFW area, and he especially likes that this is the first job he’s close enough to be able to ride his bicycle to work. In his free time, Wilson enjoys taking weekend trips on his motorcycle.

The broadcast engineering industry is a niche industry, and Wilson encouraged those who are interested in doing broadcast engineering to look more into it.

“There are societies and training available to help you work into the niche of being a broadcast engineer,” Wilson explained. “We’re struggling to find broadcast engineers because people just don’t understand what it is that we do every day. I would hope that through things like this we can get the message out there that we are looking for people and there are definitely opportunities to be a broadcast engineer.”