Chris Morriss retired with 23 years of state service in Oklahoma. In her professional role, Ms. Morriss was the Director of the International Relations and Services Division in the Office of the Oklahoma Secretary of State. In that capacity, she also served as the State’s Chief of Protocol, the state’s first. She was responsible for facilitating meetings; providing country specific background and protocol briefings for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, elected officials, cabinet secretaries, agency directors and other entities receiving chiefs of state, heads of government, and foreign diplomats; and maintaining records documenting those visits.

Ms. Morriss was also responsible for the State of Oklahoma Sister State agreements with Kyoto Prefecture, Japan; Gansu Province, China; and Taiwan Province, Taiwan. Additionally, she was instrumental in generating support for the creation and growth of the Oklahoma Consular Corps.

Prior duties with the Office of Secretary of State included serving as the Assistant Secretary of State and the agency legislative liaison.

Morriss earned her Protocol Officer certification in 2008 from the internationally renowned Protocol School of Washington. She attended the University of Texas at Arlington, East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma, and graduated with Honors with a B.S in Business Administration/Accounting from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.

In addition to her recent appointment as board member of the Friends of the Capitol, Morriss was appointed to the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission in 2017. She is a member of the Protocol and Diplomacy International-Protocol Officers Association and serves as Treasurer of the Sister Cities International, Oklahoma City organization. She previously served as Chair of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women and Treasurer of the Oklahoma Governor’s International Team.

She is the proud mother of one daughter and two grandchildren. She loves to travel and enjoys live performances of any genre of music. She has lived in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Sicily and has enjoyed extended visits to England, the southern region of Spain, the Amalfi Coast of Italy, Taiwan, and Kyoto, Japan.