Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum CEO named to USA TODAY's 2025 Women of the Year

Kari Watkins, CEO of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, has been named one of USA TODAY's 2025 Women of the Year. Watkins joins a retinue of leaders inspiring women across the country, as well as the next generation.

Watkins joined News 9 on Tuesday to discuss what motivates her to be an inspiration for women around the country and to be a role model for the next generation.

Q: How do you inspire others to remember the bombing in 1995

"Well, first of all, you keep the stakeholders close, and those who are most impacted are key to us. Then you surround yourself with great people, and I think I've done that with an incredible staff. And you're blessed by the wisdom and guidance of a board of trustees and past trustees who have kind of carried us through the last 30 years. So, I know I get the recognition, but it is about a much broader audience."

Q: When did you know that the Memorial was your life mission?

"I think we went through some, I wouldn't say horrible times. They were hard. I mean, there were raw emotions. It was grief living out. These folks didn't ask to be in the public eye. In 1995, the Internet wasn't what it is today. And so it really was just... all the time. Every headline, every news, they were part of it. So I think once we lived through those first five years building the Memorial Museum, then we realized this was a story we had to tell; otherwise, it would keep happening. So I think for us, we wanted to make sure that we were clear in Oklahoma City, that we were a city on the hill, that this was dealt to us, and we had to overcome it. It was not gonna be the very worst, but we were gonna make the very best out of the very worst."

Q: What are your personal takeaways after almost 30 years of remembrance at the Memorial?

"I think I understand grace much better than ever before. I continue to work on my patients, and that doesn't come easy some days. I do think we've set a high bar at the memorial, where mediocrity is not accepted. It has to be excellent; the people who are there are too much on that site to settle for anything less than the best, and so for those family members, survivors, and first responders, they gave it their all, and we have to go do that every single day at work. So bringing in the best programming, bringing the best speakers, keeping that site pristine. Everything and everything we do, we've got to make it the very best. So I think for us, it is just making sure that it's always a place for family survivors and first responders. We were at the Conscience Committee on Friday, and 25 people around the board were just looking at the next, you know, 50 days or so. And I think we just want to make sure in everything we do, we bring honor to those who were lost, those who survived, and those changed forever."

Q: What is your message to young women?

"Well, I would say use your village. No joke. I mean, I raised two kids doing this job. My husband was incredibly supportive. My family was supportive, and my friends were, too. So some days you couldn't be there to pick up, and they were. Or you just have to help. I think for young girls, you've just got to know that there's nothing you can't do. I mean, to my daughter, I say, go, go. I mean, go try it. If you want to pull back, you can always pull back. Give it your very best every day, and make a difference because you only get one shot. And so we got one shot to do the memorial right. It started well. We've got to carry it to the, you know, we've just got to keep passing it through the generations. So for everyone, I think we have to just make sure that everyone knows there's nothing they can't do, and it's better when we all do it together. When we work together, we meet in the middle. We're all better."