journalrecord.com » T HE J OURNAL R ECORD » October 1, 2020 » 3A Castilla selected for 2020 Most Powerful Women in Banking Animal welfare groups start anti-cruelty campaign BY JOURNAL RECORD STAFF EDMOND – Jill Castilla, president and CEO of Citizens Bank of Edmond, was selected as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker It is the first time Castilla has been awarded the listing by American Banker following six years on American Banker’s Women to Watch list – 2014-2019. “For 18 years, this list has honored those who have achieved amazing things in the face of countless challenges – in- dividuals who are bravely creating the change we need and driving the industry forward,” said Gemma Postlethwaite, CEO of Arizent, publisher of the maga- zine. “This year, our honorees have col- lectively succeeded in moving us forward despite unprecedented obstacles.” This year, the honorees are leading their organizations in the face of unprec- edented challenges. Even so, they remain at the forefront of the biggest ideas driv- ing the industry. “It is a true honor to join the ranks of incredibly talented women leaders in the financial services industry, especially this year as we have navigated uncharted waters with the pandemic,” said Castilla. “Citizens Bank of Edmond is a small but mighty bank that stepped up as an eco- nomic first responder both in our com- munity and nationally to help protect small business owners and customers from the impacts of COVID-19. Our successes didn’t happen overnight. Due to hard leadership decisions over the years, a commitment to accessibility and a drive for collaborative innovation, we are well-positioned to thrive for genera- tions to come. Thank you to my board, the dedicated team at Citizens Bank of Edmond and the countless community partners who made this American Banker recognition possible.” American Banker’s profile of Castilla focused on her efforts with Mark Cuban to advocate for relief and resources for small businesses across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as fea- tured her efforts to advance development in underserved communities and invest- ment in minority-owned businesses. “There are many women and men across financial services who are doing extraordinary work in a year unlike any- thing we have ever experienced before,” said Bonnie McGeer, executive editor of American Banker and chair of the Most Powerful Women in Banking and Fi- nance program. “Against this backdrop, where the circumstances have raised the bar for everyone, the women selected for this honor continue to stand out as the best of the best.” Castilla is one of the few bank chief executives with a Twitter following of customers and NBA owners – including Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks. As the coronavirus pandemic began to grip the U.S. economy earlier this year and small businesses scrambled to find help, Castilla took to the social media site to keep customers informed. Cuban began directing his followers to Castilla, American Banker said in its profile of Castilla. “Soon, the two would partner on multiple fronts,” the magazine’s profile said. “A plan Cuban had been trumpet- ing since the start of the pandemic to allow business owners to overdraft their banking accounts without paying fees was readily embraced by Castilla, and over the next three months her $317 million-asset bank collected no overdraft fees from its business customers. Then, after hearing from people desperate to get through the labyrinth of the Paycheck Protection Program, Castilla and Cuban partnered to build a website borrowers could use to prepare applications for loan forgiveness.” So far, “hundreds of thousands” of small businesses have accessed the site, Castilla said. Castilla also is tackling issues of economic inequality that have been at the heart of protests across the country. She told of a recent presentation from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, where research showed that Black women are more likely to own busi- nesses than their male peers but face higher barriers to credit. So she has made recruiting Black women to her a bank a priority. “It’s important to be representative of our community,” she said. “If you see someone of color at the bank and you’re a woman of color, there’s an impression the customer has that this person will know what is needed.” At Citizens Bank of Edmond, Castilla has spearheaded innovation through de- velopment of ATM customer interaction products, branch lobby design and cus- tomer outreach methods. She led the development of the bank’s empty office building in downtown Edmond into an entrepreneurial cen- ter. Vault 405 is used to provide offices, shared workspaces and resources for some 200 smaller businesses at afford- able prices. Castilla is a veteran, having served in the U.S. Army and Oklahoma Army National Guard. BY JOURNAL RECORD STAFF OKLAHOMA CITY – Cruelty Isn’t OK, a statewide campaign to end the abuse of captive big cats, illegal cockfighting, and live-lure greyhound training, was an- nounced Wednesday by a coalition of key animal protection groups and advocates, including former Attorney General Drew Edmondson. In recent months, these problems have been reported after investigations by Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation and GREY2K USA Worldwide. “Oklahoma is a family-friendly state with a growing economy,” said Edmond- son, co-chair of the National Law Enforce- ment Council of AWA and AWF. “We don’t want this good reputation tarred by the presence of persistent animal cruelty in our state.” The organizations are calling for the creation of a statewide task force to exam- ine improved enforcement of state and fed- eral laws in Oklahoma and policies to fill gaps in the law, particularly when it comes to private ownership of big cats and other potentially dangerous exotic wild animals. As part of its public awareness efforts, Cruelty Isn’t OK on Wednesday started an advertising campaign. Also on Wednesday, supplement- ing its original investigation into illegal cockfighting, AWA and AWF released letters, signed by Edmondson, to the U.S. attorneys for the Western and Northern Districts of Oklahoma, detailing yet more illegal animal trafficking for cockfighting based in the state. In May, the groups wrote to the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma to investigate allegations of ongoing trafficking of birds to Guam for cockfighting and for illegal animal fighting activities. Edmondson, on behalf of AWA and AWF, alleges that “Oklahoma is indisput- ably the cockfighting capital of the United States.” Edmondson previously wrote to the district attorneys for Cherokee, Haskell and LeFlore counties to investigate the allegations as well and to bring charges as appropriate. Since the investigative results were handed over to law enforcement in May, there’s been no apparent action taken. The anti-greyhound racing group GREY2K USA this summer released a multi-state investigation, centered in Okla- homa, into live-lure training in greyhound racing. In live-lure training, dog trainers teach greyhounds to kill rabbits and other small animals to instill a bloodlust in the animals. Oklahoma bans live-lure training, and the greyhound racing industry has long denied that anyone in the industry uses live lures to prepare greyhounds for racing. “Our investigation discovered a deputy sheriff involved in illegal animal cruelty,” said Christine Dorchak, president of GREY2K USA. “The rule of law matters, and it’s important that all law enforcement agencies treat animal cruelty crimes with the seriousness they warrant.” More than a month ago, the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture suspended the ex- hibitor’s license of Jeff Lowe, who operates the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Garvin County. Lowe took over for Joe “Joe Exotic” Maldonado, after he began serving a prison sentence for activities that included illegal killing of tigers. Big Cat Rescue, a Florida-based animal welfare group, is expected to take control of the park later this week. “Oklahoma is one of a handful of states without restrictions on private ownership of tigers, lions and other big cats, and that’s precisely why Joe Maldonado and others have treated Oklahoma as a com- mercial playground and a stage for their menageries,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action. “Oklahoma was one of the last holdouts on illegal cockfighting, and it’s one of the last hold- outs on exotic animal ownership. Keeping 350-pound wild carnivores in back- yards or basements is a prescription for mayhem.” During his time as Oklahoma attorney general, Edmondson defended the state’s anti-cockfighting law from constitutional challenges brought by cockfighters. In Edmondson v. Pearce , the Oklahoma Su- preme Court determined in a unanimous ruling that the anti-cockfighting law rep- resents a proper exercise of authority and that cockfighting and related activities are forbidden in the state. Numerous fed- eral courts have upheld the federal anti- animal fighting law as constitutional. Jill Castilla attends American Banker’s 2018 Women to Watch event. COURTESY PHOTO/CITIZENS BANK Illegal cockfighting in eastern Oklahoma. COURTESY PHOTO/ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION