Ann Felton Gilliland: Woman of Influence
Because she’s so lithe, beautifully dressed and elegant, it would be easy to miss Ann Gilliland Felton’s defining trait. It’s her empathy. A close second? Her tenacity. This woman has been the driving force behind Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity and its executive director for more than three decades, and under her watch the nonprofit has built more than 1,000 homes for Oklahomans.
“I’ve received more than I’ve ever given,” Gilliland says. She started with the agency as a volunteer board member, though initially she really wasn’t sure it was a fit. She’d been very involved in the arts (still is), and couldn’t quite see herself wielding a hammer. “A friend of mine recruited me to join the board, and I thought I’d commit for a year or two, but I’ve been here ever since,” she says Gilliland soon moved into the director position, albeit on a volunteer basis … for the first 12 years.
“When I first came here, we were building one to three houses a year, frame houses. Now our homes are all brick, with two-car garages and there are 14 floorplans to choose from,” she says, pride evident. “People get to choose their paint colors, carpet and countertops, and it’s so much fun.”
These days, it’s not just about building homes one at a time, here and there. Gilliland and her band of do-gooders now develop entire neighborhood additions, complete with sidewalks, pretty parks with gazebos and playgrounds—plus homeowners’ associations to ensure funds for maintenance.
If you’re thinking, “Wow, they think of everything,” you’re right, and there’s so much more. New projects are developed with the whole family in mind. “We look at the schools. For example, we’re building Cornerstone Creek at NW 150th and Morgan Road. That’s Piedmont schools, which are some of the best,” she says.
For children of parents facing economic challenges, moving from one apartment to another can be a regular—and disruptive—occurrence. “You can immediately see the difference in a child with a family home,” says Gilliland. “Their grades go up. They make permanent friends. I love driving through and seeing families’ Halloween and holiday decorations. A home means everything.”
Kids aren’t the only ones whose academic careers shine. Because Habitat homes are affordable, many folks’ mortgages are lower than their rents were. “We see single moms go back to school,” Gilliland says, because they can afford to, and also because there’s a confidence and self-esteem boost that comes with owning a home.
When Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity is operating at full throttle, its small staff and 7,000+ volunteers frame a house every week. Some 45 or so homes are completed each year, except during COVID, which has slowed them to a rate of about 35 a year. When each family is ready to move in, they receive their keys at a house dedication celebration, complete with a blessing of the home.
“We are the 13th largest builder in the state,” Gilliland says. Habitat homes are well designed (there are two architects on the board) and energy-efficient, and the management of the construction process is a feat of logistical prowess. In the large warehouse space at Habitat’s headquarters compound, a huge whiteboard, divided into days of the month, contains military-grade, detailed plans for what each house needs next and which groups need to be involved to keep things moving. Each new address also has a space in the warehouse where neat stacks of appliances, fencing and other items wait to be packed up and trucked to their destinations.
Fundraising is an area where Gilliland’s artistic mindset fosters creative solutions that benefit the community and her agency. Habitat operates two ReStore home improvement shops, which together impressively netted more than half a million dollars last year. If you’re Gilliland, you instantly translate that figure: “That’s three homes!”
Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity has another program, Critical Home Repair, which helps low-income homeowners restore and repair their homes with pride and dignity. Homeowners work alongside Habitat volunteers and tackle projects like exterior/interior painting, adding insulation, minor roof repair, adding accessibility ramps and more.
If all of this sounds amazing, that’s because it is. And she is.
