About Us

SunHive creates a safe and inviting space for young adults with disabilities to grow in their daily living, social and transitional skills. Each person’s individual and unique abilities are cultivated and fostered through organic, hands-on experiences that help them thrive while building meaningful relationships within the community.

Loralei Gann, a special ed teacher and one of our co-founders, knew there needed to be something more for her students after high school. She reached out to Kelly and Melissa Collyar, knowing that Hannah, their daughter with disabilities, had just graduated. Loralei asked them what Hannah was doing now. When the Collyars answered, “Nothing,” it shocked her. Melissa and Loralei put their ideas of what they would love to see in a program for young adults with disabilities together planting the seed for SunHive Collective!

Meet the Team

Melissa Collyar

Co-Founder & Director of Operations

Melissa was born and raised in Oklahoma. She currently works a small farm on the edge of Norman where she and her husband Kelly are raising their three children, Hannah, Ava and Karson. On the farm, they raise chickens and miniature donkeys along with their two dogs, Blue and Ivy, and one bunny named Bambi. She loves taking care of her animals, gardening and vacationing in Colorado with her friends and family. 

Melissa’s passion for starting this project and helping young adults with disabilities comes from her daughter Hannah, who was born with a rare syndrome called ZTTK. Hannah is 22 and needs a place to socialize with her friends and be part of the Norman community now more than ever. The SunHive Collective grew from this need!

Loralei Gann

Co-Founder & Director

Loralei Gann joined the Norman community when she married her husband Justin in 2014. They now happily reside there with their two little boys and puppy, Marmaduke. She graduated from Edmond North High School and continued her education at East Central University, where she graduated with a BA in English and a double minor in Education and Special Education. She went on to teach at Norman North before redirecting her passion to the SunHive project. In her downtime, Loralei loves to read, cook, stress clean while listening to Christmas music and spend quality time with her loud, entertaining circle of family and friends. She also enjoys being outside, crafting and having a delicious cup of coffee.

Nikki mire

Program Director

Nikki has been a lifelong special educator, with her very first best friend being an individual with IDD. That passion led her to pursue a special education degree from the University of Central Oklahoma. After college, she moved to Moore to teach at Moore High School. (Go Lions!) While there, she taught in the functional skills classroom and completely fell in love! Transition and independent living skills have been a passion of hers since then. She went on to be the nonprofit manager at Not Your Average Joe, a local nonprofit coffee shop that employs individuals with disabilities alongside neurotypical peers. From there, she worked for the University of Oklahoma in Pre-Employment Transition Services. With Pre-ETS, she was able to serve in many Oklahoma schools and teach transition skills to high school students of all abilities. It was there, at NNHS, that she met Loralei and heard about the vision for SunHive!

Nikki lives in Moore with her husband Chance, son Asher, pup Waldo, and fish Spikey. She enjoys Pokemon, elephants, reading, board game nights, painting, and fishing. Being outside with her fellas in the Fall is one of her favorites! She will always accept gifts of coffee, strawberry pie, and bread!

Meet The Board

Ida Fryhover

Board President

is a committed advocate for the value of education, training, and community service. During her 25 years in CareerTech she has served in various roles from teaching, administration, and leadership. Ida is known to use her professional skill set to engage in collaborative projects that support community partnerships designed to encourage leaders to take action and provide solutions. She is committed to making a positive difference in our community and connects with other community and organizational leaders to make that happen. Her extra time is spent volunteering through organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Norman, SunHive Collective, Moore Rotary Club, PTA, 1 Million Cups of Norman, and serving on committees with the Chamber of Commerce and several other organizations. She is a soccer mom, enjoys the arts, reading, gardening and makes it a point to support locally owned businesses. She holds a Master of Science degree in Adult Training and Development and has earned multiple certifications. Her side hustle is owning and operating an Airbnb in Norman.

Dr. Eric M. Snyder

Board Vice President

Dr. Eric M. Snyder has served as the Head of School at Terra Verde Discovery School in Norman, Oklahoma, since August 2015. Prior to serving as Head, he worked for 3 years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma where he managed an administrative graduate degree program in education.

Dr. Snyder attended California University of Pennsylvania, where he received his B.S. with distinction, Utah State University, where he completed his M.S with distinction, and completed his Ph.D. through a fellowship with a concentration in Educational Policy and Evaluation at the University of Kentucky. He started his career in education as a youth soccer camp counselor, and has experience in private education, public education, and higher education. For the past seven years, Dr. Snyder has focused on building the premier K-12 educational institution in Norman, Oklahoma. Dr. Snyder is married to Mrs. Rachel Snyder. They have a four-year-old daughter (Josephine) and a two-year-old son (Lee).

Kathryn Walker

Board Secretary

Kathryn Walker currently serves as the City Attorney for the City of Norman, Oklahoma. She graduated in 1999 with a degree in Psychology and after working a few years in the mental health field, decided to go to law school, graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 2004. Since then, she has worked for the Oklahoma Attorney General, been in private practice, and for the last 17 years, has represented the City of Norman. She was named Interim City Attorney for the City of Norman in January 2019 and was confirmed as the City Attorney in October 2019. She has been a board member of the Oklahoma Association of Municipal Attorneys since 2012, serving as President from 2017-2022. She serves as Co-Treasurer of the Norman Future Farmers of America Booster Club and as Secretary of the SunHive Collective Board of Directors. She and her husband live in Norman and have two teenagers, Ryan and Emma.

Traci Sutton

Board Treasure

Traci lives in Moore with her husband, Cory and her twin daughters, Brooke and Alex. She works as a speech-language pathologist for Norman Public Schools. Her work as a speech-language pathologist has assisted in her involvement in the public school system, as an SLP provider for the DDSD, Developmental Disabilities Service Division, private practice and home service provider. She was also a presenter for the Autism Registry Training for the State Department of Education and provided instruction regarding communication to Oklahoma resource teachers. 

Traci and her husband have participated in the Partners in Policymaking program and received training on advocating and working with lawmakers regarding policies that impact individuals with developmental disabilities. 

She is very excited about the mission of SunHive Collective and the opportunity to serve on the board!

Emily Virgin

Board Member

Emily was born and raised in Norman and attended OU for both her undergraduate and law degrees. She was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives to serve District 44 in central Norman and served in that position until she reached her term limit in 2022. During her time in the legislature, Emily was elected by her peers to be the House Minority leader from 2018 until 2022. 

 Emily now serves as Policy Counsel for Human Rights for Kids, a national non-profit advocating for how young people are treated in the criminal legal system.

Melanie Luster

Board Member

Melanie Luster is a mother, grandma, wife, animal lover, small business owner and business consultant. Her hobbies include planning who she would split her lotto winnings with, making homemade Play-Doh with her granddaughter and creating unnecessary work for her husband. Melanie has a genuine love for people and a desire to be a part of the good in the world. Serving on the SunHive board fills her with joy, and she is honored to be given the opportunity.

Kelly Collyar

Board Member

Kelly is a lifelong Oklahoman. He was born in Blackwell, and now he and his wife Melissa and their three children, Hannah, Ava and Karson, live on a small 10-acre farm in Norman. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma, serving as Vice President and General Manager for Sooner Sports Properties, the Multimedia Rights Holder for Oklahoma Athletics.

Kelly’s passion for SunHive is fueled by his 22-year-old daughter Hannah, who was born with a rare syndrome called ZTTK. She is a bright, happy and extremely enthusiastic young woman who longs for the relational community she had throughout her school years. SunHive will fill the gap for Hannah and countless others like her who desperately need each other to grow.

When he’s not at an OU sporting event or advocating for SunHive, Kelly can be found fly-fishing in the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River outside of Lake City, Colorado, where he and his family spend their summers.

Dr. Isaac IIaoa

Board Member

Dr. Ilaoa is a true “Okie from Muskogee”. After finishing high school, he enlisted into the U.S. Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. After completing 5 years of service, including a tour in Iraq, he returned home to continue his pursuit of practicing medicine. He attended the University of Oklahoma for his undergraduate and completed medical school at Oklahoma State University – College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Ilaoa went on to complete a residency in Internal Medicine in San Diego, California, and later finished a second stint in the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander. He currently is excited to be back in Oklahoma serving his home community as a physician in the OKC Metro.

5201 24th Ave NE Norman, OK 73071

The HiveHouse is a safe, inviting space where members can come and socialize with their friends. We will provide daily activities, including both structured events and free-choice opportunities. Every activity is guaranteed inclusive!