2018 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD

Alisa Green (BS ’08)

Alisa Green is not one to remain idle when it comes to helping others. At UCO, she was involved with 26 student organizations and mentored inner-city school students in her spare time.

She shows no sign of stopping since graduation.

Green received a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications from UCO in 2008; however, she found herself drawn to the nonprofit sector.

“Why work to make others rich, when you can enrich others,” Green says. “Sometimes people measure success through money. I’ve found that if by working toward that you find yourself unhappy and unfulfilled, maybe you can work to enrich the lives of others instead.”

In 2015, Green founded the Oklahoma City affiliate of Dress for Success, a national nonprofit organization that provides professional workwear to disadvantaged women who are rebuilding their lives and getting back into the workforce.

Raised as the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, Green understands the importance of community to overcome hardship. As a former Miss Asian UCO and a fourth runner-up for Miss Vietnam USA, she learned how to use her platform to empower others and address key issues in her community.

In addition to Dress for Success, Green also helps with a wheelchair-adaptable summer camp for individuals with disabilities and neuromuscular diseases.

Green stays active and fulfilled through ministry, traveling, reading and writing. She and her husband, film director Brent Ryan Green, live in Oklahoma City.