Julie Chappell: Co-Founder of City Center, Mother of the Center, and Builder of a Culture of Dignity
In this powerful opening episode of Voices of OKC, Jed sits down with his wife and City Center co-founder, Julie Chappell. She is the heart, the glue, and the steady voice behind the culture of dignity that defines everything City Center does. Julie’s story is one of resilience, compassion, and lived experience. She knows firsthand what it feels like to be a young mother struggling to survive. She also knows exactly what it feels like to receive help, both the right way and the wrong way.
Julie shares her early life in Jones, Oklahoma, becoming a single mom in her early twenties while working, attending college, and battling food insecurity. She describes the painful day she visited a local food pantry, a day that shaped her entire philosophy of leadership. After being interrogated, judged, and handed moldy bread in a Ziploc bag, Julie walked away with a promise: no one should ever feel this way when asking for help.
That vow is now the foundation of City Center's culture. Julie runs operations with a relentless commitment to dignity, making every visitor feel seen, respected, and valued. Whether she is planning a community block party, reorganizing the resource center, or personally shopping for Christmas gifts for thousands of kids, her mission is simple: to help kids succeed. Restore dignity and remind people they matter.
She tells meaningful stories of families whose lives have changed because of City Center's approach, including the growing list of moms, dads, and young people who return years later as volunteers. Julie also shares one deeply moving success story. A young woman who was once affiliated with a gang discovered hope, graduated from college, earned a wrestling scholarship, and is now headed to law school to fight for kids just like her.
What You Will Hear in This Episode• Julie's upbringing in Jones, Oklahoma
• Becoming a single mother while in college
• Navigating poverty, food insecurity, and stigma
• The dehumanizing food pantry experience that changed everything
• Why is dignity at the core of City Center
• How the Christmas program was built from Julie’s lived experiences
• Behind the scenes of more than seven thousand Christmas gifts
• What makes block parties, resource centers, and events so impactful
• A powerful redemption story of a once meanest kid in the building, now becoming a future attorney
“It was not about the food. It was the way I was treated.”