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Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma to Honor Kimberly Johnson and Leslie Paris with 2026 Trailblazer Awards at 5th Annual Go Girl Gala
Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma announced today that Kimberly Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Tulsa City-County Library, and Leslie Paris, Senior Vice President & Senior Director of Community and Employee Engagement at BOK Financial and President of the BOKF Foundation, have been named the 2026 recipients of the Trailblazer Award.
The award will be formally presented during the 5th annual Go Girl Gala on April 17, 2026, the council’s premier celebration recognizing women who demonstrate exceptional leadership and make extraordinary contributions to their communities. The Go Girl Gala brings together supporters, partners, and community champions to raise vital funds for Girl Scout programs that prepare girls to become the next generation of resilient, ethical, and community-minded leaders.
“We could not be more proud to honor Kimberly Johnson and Leslie Paris with the Trailblazer Award,” said Melissa Bogle, Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma. “These remarkable women embody the courage, confidence, and character that are at the heart of the Girl Scout leadership experience. Their commitment to service, their visionary leadership, and their dedication to strengthening communities are the very qualities our programming cultivates in girls across Eastern Oklahoma. They show our Girl Scouts what is possible when women lead boldly and lift others along the way.”
Kimberly Johnson, CEO, Tulsa City-County Library
Since joining the Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) in 1998 as the system’s first African American Resource Center coordinator, Kimberly Johnson has played a transformative role in shaping library services across Tulsa County. At the Rudisill Regional Library, she launched the county’s first public tour of Oklahoma’s historic all-Black towns and developed partnerships that brought acclaimed authors to the community. She also created Tulsa Metro Reads—now known as One Book, One Tulsa—the library’s first countywide public reading program.
During her 28-year tenure, Johnson has served in seven leadership roles, including Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Operating Officer. She led a five-year modernization initiative that overhauled the library system’s branches and services, advanced a customer-centered approach that increased accessibility, and achieved national recognition when TCCL earned a prestigious 5-star rating in 2022, placing it among the top five public libraries in the nation. Appointed CEO in 2017—the first African American to hold the position—Johnson continues to shape TCCL’s strategic future.
She is currently leading a $54 million capital campaign to rebuild and enhance four major library branches. The new Bronson Brookside Library opened in 2025, and additional major projects—including the Rudisill Regional Library and the groundbreaking Eddy Gibbs Library in Owasso, Oklahoma’s first multi-use library—are underway. Johnson is a respected civic leader, contributing her expertise to numerous boards over the years, including the Philbrook Museum, Tulsa Area United Way, Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice, TTCU, the American Library Association, and many others.
Leslie Paris, Senior Director of Community and Employee Engagement, BOK Financial; President, BOKF Foundation
A 40-year veteran of BOK Financial, Leslie Paris has shaped the company’s culture of community engagement across an eight-state region. As Director and President of the BOKF Foundation, she has overseen more than $125 million in philanthropic giving to hundreds of nonprofit organizations over the past 25 years. Paris has led key initiatives including United Way campaigns that have generated more than $30 million, a children’s book drive that collected over 300,000 books, and the Learn for Life Financial Education Program, utilizing employees to teach essential financial literacy skills to individuals and families.
Paris also helped create the Guide the Giving Program, empowering employees to direct corporate philanthropic priorities, and the Strategic Community Engagement Placement Program, which pairs employees with nonprofits for committee and board service. More than 400 BOK Financial employees currently serve on nonprofit boards through this initiative. She also led the redesign of the company’s Employee Service Award Program to strengthen culture and recognition.
A dedicated community leader, Paris has served as board president for Leadership Oklahoma, the Tulsa YWCA, and Resonance, and has held leadership roles with the Tulsa Area United Way, Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and many others. She currently serves on numerous state and local boards, including the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State University Foundation Board of Governors, and the Women for OSU Council. Guided by John Wesley’s call to “do all the good you can,” Paris is widely recognized for her lifelong commitment to service, leadership, and community empowerment.
