Leadership & Board

Karen Tilkin joined CAP Tulsa in 2008, became chief operating officer in 2009, and was named Executive Director/CEO in October 2019. Under her leadership, CAP Tulsa was recognized by The NonProfit Times as one of the Best Nonprofits to Work For for seven consecutive years, earning the top ranking in 2021. The organization was also named a 2024 Oklahoma Top Workplace and a 2025 Best Nonprofit Workplace nationally. Tilkin was selected as a Woman of Distinction by Tulsa Business & Legal News in 2016 and was nominated for The Journal Record’s Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEO award in 2021. Her recent honors include the League of Women Voters’ Madam President Award (2024), recognition among The Journal Record’s 50 Most Influential Oklahomans (2024), TulsaKids’ Impactful Women of the 918 (2025), and Top 50 Tulsa Woman Leader (2026).

Before joining CAP Tulsa, Tilkin spent seventeen years with The Bama Companies, Inc., serving in a variety of leadership roles in the United States and Beijing, China. Earlier in her career, she worked in international banking with Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in New York, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Tilkin holds a Ph.D. in Organizational and Community Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, an MBA from Oklahoma State University, and a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Tilkin serves on the boards of Housing Solutions, Inc. and Congregation B’nai Emunah. She is also a member of the Healthy Brain and Child Development Community Advisory Board and Tulsa Area United Way’s Women United. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa.

karen.tilkin@captulsa.org 

Michelle Boatright joined CAP Tulsa in 2003 and currently manages the departments at CAP Tulsa that offer direct services to families. Additionally, Boatright oversees support departments and a statewide program operated by the agency and serves as CAP Tulsa’s Head Start director. During her tenure at CAP Tulsa, Boatright has served in a range of roles spanning fundraising, strategic planning, family recruitment and intake, home visiting, asset building and work readiness initiatives, public benefit screening, and two-generation program design.

In 2006, when CAP Tulsa was first selected to implement a new statewide program aimed at improving the quality and quantity of services available to at-risk children ages birth through three, Boatright helped lead the effort to launch what became the highly lauded Oklahoma Early Childhood Program.

Prior to joining CAP Tulsa, Boatright was the executive director for a domestic violence services center in central Oklahoma and also served as a child advocate for the organization. She has worked in the non-profit sector for the majority of her career and is an Oklahoma State University graduate.

Prior to joining CAP Tulsa in April 2023, as Chief Financial Officer, Michael spent the majority of the past 15 years with FORVIS, LLP where he was most recently a Director in the firm's audit practice. He has also worked as a Controller for Cypress Energy Partners, LLP. Michael is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s in business administration-accounting with minors in economics and political science. Having mainly worked with governmental and tribal clients, including other Head Start grantees in Oklahoma, along with some community non-profits, Michael brings great experience to this role.

Michael has been a very active volunteer in the Tulsa community, enabling him to bring a wide range of perspectives to the agency. He just completed a six-year term on the Board of the Mental Health Association Oklahoma. He currently serves on the OSU School of Accounting Advisory Board, the Tulsa Area United Way Emerging Leaders Society, Council Oak Elementary Foundation Board, and is an active member of both First Presbyterian Church Tulsa and the Philbrook Museum of Art Ambassadors Circle.

Catheryn Ackenhausen joined CAP Tulsa in 2003 and currently provides strategic guidance and leadership in the areas of Human Resources, Organizational Development, and Culture. During her tenure at CAP Tulsa, Ackenhausen has served in a variety of roles including Director of Fund Development and Communications, Learning & Performance Director, and Human Resources & Organizational Development Director. She has been responsible for designing and shepherding CAP Tulsa’s leadership succession planning process, leadership development and aspiring leader programs, training and talent development initiatives, and was integrally involved in the creation and subsequent integration of CAP Tulsa Core Values across the organization.

Prior to joining CAP Tulsa, Ackenhausen worked in various industries including a private philanthropic foundation, software development, national healthcare quality assurance and risk mitigation, and academia. She holds both a BA and MA from the University of Virginia, from which she graduated magna cum laude and was awarded membership in the Phi Beta Kappa honors society. Ackenhausen is a Leadership Tulsa graduate, has served on various Boards of non-profit organizations and professional associations, and is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR).