Circumstance, as much as anything, has led to the meteoric rise of Tulsa Remote, its managing director said Wednesday.

"Tulsa Remote in many ways was kind of ‘right place, right time,’” Justin Harlan said. “I don’t believe that if Tulsa Remote launched 20 years ago that many of you in the program would have made the decision to move. When I was in college, there was no reason to come downtown. We didn’t have the Gathering Place. We didn’t have the BOK Center. We didn’t have the baseball park. 

 To me, that is work that has been done years before Tulsa Remote was even a thought that needs to be acknowledged. It’s prepared the city to be an attractive place that people want to come to.”

A program of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Tulsa Remote, featured this week in a New York Times story, in 2019 started offering $10,000 to remote workers willing to move to Tulsa for at least a year. Since that time, about 3,300 workers have cashed in on the offer.

For every dollar spent on the initiative, the city has received about a $13 return on the investment, Harlan said. Roughly 90% of Tulsa Remoters stay beyond a year, with many putting down roots. Since the program’s inception, about 500 Remoters have purchased homes in Tulsa.

“Tulsa is sticky,” Harlan said. “If we can get people to give Tulsa a chance, the magic of this place is going to shine.”

Harlan took part in a panel discussion at Plugged In: A Remote Work Summit on Wednesday at the Living Arts Center. Moderated by local consultant Shagah Zakerion, the panel examined how remote work is shaping local economies and opportunities.

Sharing the stage with Harlan and Zakerion were Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, and Garry Clark Jr., president and CEO of PartnerTulsa, the economic development arm of the City of Tulsa.

Hired at PartnerTulsa only two months ago, Clark came to Oklahoma after serving a similar role in the Seattle area. Tulsa’s civic energy is a big draw, he said.

“You can see it; it’s palpable,” Clark said. “…I want to be a part of the growth that’s happening.”

That growth lies at the heart of Tulsa’s appeal. And people and job attraction can’t happen without a robust economy, Neal said.

“What we tell companies when we are recruiting them is that we feel we have the best public-private partnership in America, right here in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he said.

The city prospers, Neal said, because  it and the Chamber readily collaborate with municipal, county, state and federal governments, as well as with tribal leadership.

“You have everybody at the table supporting one another,” Neal said. “And whether you are building a new arena, whether you are building a new baseball stadium or a soccer stadium, having people coming together in the public and private sector is essential.”

Neal also stressed Tulsa’s ability, because of its relatively modest expanse, to serve as a civic clay that residents can mold.

“Tulsa is the right-sized city,” he said. “I think you have probably already figured this out, but it is the right-sized city for you to get engaged (in the community).

“And that engagement will be a game-changer for you and your family. It will be a game-changer for you and the community.”

Neal cited as an example a man who became chair of the Chamber roughly three years after moving to Tulsa from Wichita, Kan.

“He (Cox Communications executive Roger Ramseyer) said, ‘I thought you had to live here your whole life before you could ever be chairman of the Chamber,’” Neal said.

 "…What I can say about Tulsa is that they welcome new ideas. They welcome new thoughts. They welcome diversity.”