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Dee Harris

Director of Open Culture Storytelling

Dee is the Director of Open Culture Storytelling at Creative Commons, bringing decades of experience in marketing communications, creative production, and advocacy. She previously served as Director of Communications at Creative Commons and returned in her current role to champion global collaboration in advancing open culture, giving future generations the access and opportunity to learn, create, and find inspiration in the creativity and knowledge that came before them.

Before her current work at Creative Commons, Dee led strategic communications, public engagement, creative content and multimedia services as Chief Marketing Communications Officer for Family & Children’s Services. She shaped the organization’s messaging across 72 programs, led crisis communications, and strengthened community outreach, deepening connections between the public and critical mental health and social services.

Beyond her leadership in marketing communications, Dee is a versatile creator whose work spans education, technology, the arts, and nonprofit industries. An author, illustrator, graphic designer, animator, and videographer, she is active member and juror for The Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. Her work has been internationally recognized with the Communicator Award of Excellence and the Clarion Award.

Dee serves on the advisory board of the Tulsa World Media Company and contributes op-eds on media, culture, openness, and justice. Her writing has appeared in the Safety and Justice Challenge, a MacArthur Foundation initiative, and she has trained at the Intensive Journalistic Writing Institute at The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. She is also the illustrator of No One Is Too Old to Learn: A Theoretical Perspective on Adult Brain Functions and Adult Learning.

Earlier in her career, Dee was a secondary English and journalism educator, earning recognition as Oklahoma Scholastic Media’s Journalism Teacher of the Year and a nominee for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence Medal of Honor. She has served on national and local boards of the Association for Women in Communications and the advisory boards of the Journalism Education Association and Southern Interscholastic Press Association. Additionally, she contributed to the redevelopment of the Journalism Certification Examination for Educators and co-authored a curriculum guide for sports broadcasting and video journalism.

Guided by curiosity, creative expression, and strategic thinking, Dee enjoys reading, writing, painting, and digital media art. She and her husband live in Tulsa, where they hang out with a Corgi named Conley, cycle, and contribute both creatively and technically to regional film productions.

Posts by Dee Harris

Understanding Barriers to Accessing Heritage

Open Culture

“Landscape along the Seine with the Institut de France and the Pont des Arts” by Alfred Sisley, 1875, CC0, Art Institute of Chicago, remixed with “TAROCH balloon” by Creative Commons/Dee Harris, 2025, CC0. We’re kicking off a three-part series leading up to the launch of the Open Heritage Statement in October. The Statement, developed by…

US, Partner Countries Launch Declaration for the Internet

Better Internet, Copyright

The Declaration for the Future of the Internet envisions advancing the free flow of information and protecting human rights. Creative Commons is committed to better sharing for a brighter future. This includes an open, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure internet.  Today, at a hybrid ministerial meeting organized by the White House’s National Security Council, over…

Creative Commons 2021 State of the Commons Annual Report

About CC

We are pleased to present the 2021 Creative Commons State of the Commons Annual Report. This report showcases last year’s 20th Anniversary activities and also highlights important innovations, achievements, collaborations, conversations, and partnerships.   Last year, our anniversary was visually branded with a sunflower. This image represented CC’s commitment to BETTER SHARING of knowledge and culture…

Better Internet Series: Architecture and Open Standards

Better Internet

See our article introducing this series. This article is the third of five detailing breakout sessions from the 2021 Creative Commons (CC) Global Summit about “creating a better internet.” The Summit was an opportune platform for these conversations, as it drew over 1600 attendees from over 90 countries. Attendees included organizations, activists, advocates, librarians, educators,…