‘She is Tulsa’ continues her legacy elevating local women and their stories

TULSA, Okla. — Nicole Barton is the creator behind the “She is Tulsa” empire.

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, when Barton moved to Tulsa she felt there weren’t many good representations of women or even platforms to share their stories.

Barton was initially inspired to create a documentary called, “She is Tulsa,” highlighting local women and their “superpowers.”

The documentary was screened at the Circle Cinema in 2022. It was a two-part series and sold out both times.

Barton says there was really still a lot of demand to hear more women’s stories in Tulsa and to see more women in the limelight.

“I thought a quarterly magazine was the best way to kind of continue that narrative,” said Barton. “Giving them a platform and portraying them in an elevated way like they do in Vogue but making it a magazine for Tulsa.”

The photographer likes to focus on mature women in pictures. Barton’s work has been described as capturing the magic within the seemingly ordinary.

“I wanted women over 40 to come in and feel really good really beautiful and heard and validated so that’s kind of why we focus on mature women in ‘She is Tulsa,’” said Barton.

Today, Barton did a photography session with Jessi Nippert, VP of Morgan Stanley and a rodeo competitor.

Next week, she’ll be capturing Rebecca Marshall behind the lens.

“She is the founder of the non-profit “Scarfing Tulsa’ leaving carves with inspirational messages tied all over Tulsa for the homeless,” said Barton.

It’s been about a year since Barton launched her, ‘She is Tulsa‘ magazine. She is currently working on her fifth issue which is expected to drop in December 2023.