Director
David Blatt

David helped found OK Policy and served as Director of Policy before becoming the organization's Director in 2010. David's work involves conducting research, writing papers, and giving public presentations on state budget and tax policy, poverty, asset development, and various other subjects. Recognized as one of the state's leading experts on fiscal policy and selected as one of the Tulsa World's five "Oklahomans to Watch" in 2011, David previously served for seven years as Director of Public Policy for Community Action Project of Tulsa County and for three years as a budget analyst for the State Senate. He has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University and a B.A. from the University of Alberta. He lives in Tulsa with his wife, Patty Hipsher, a special education teacher at an elementary school in Broken Arrow and their son, Noah.

Outreach Coordinator

Megan Benn

Megan is on contract with OK Policy as an Outreach Coordinator to bring organizations together to promote sound budget and tax policies in the state. Megan has over 17 years of public policy experience at both the state and federal levels. She has researched and promoted policies related to economic development, education, and state budget and tax structures. Megan’s work experience includes stints at the White House, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the Oklahoma State Senate Research and Policy Division, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, and currently with her own private public affairs consulting and lobbying firm. Megan received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas Christian University. Megan and her husband Dr. Jason Benn reside in Norman, OK with their two children.

Office Manager

Shiloh Kantz

Shiloh joined OK Policy in February of 2010.  She is a wife and mother of three children, Grantham, Ethan and Delilah.  Prior to joining OK Policy, she worked as a controller and office manager for an Oklahoma small business group.  Her work at OK Policy has further tuned her in to what is happening in our state and fostered a drive to play a more active part in it.  Before joining the staff, she felt she was a suburban wife and mother who had no interest in state government because it did not affect her.  She now realizes state government affects all residents, big and small, old and young.

Policy Analyst

Gene Perry

Gene joined OK Policy in January 2011. He is a native Oklahoman who grew up in Oklahoma City and Edmond. He has an M.A. in journalism and a B.A. in history, both from the University of Oklahoma.  Prior to joining OK Policy, he worked as a grant writer for the OU Department of Geriatric Medicine and a writing consultant with the OU Writing Center.  Gene has served on the boards of the Oklahoma Sustainability Network and Voices of Oklahoma, a community radio project in Norman.

Policy Analyst

Kate Richey

Kate joined OK Policy in January 2011. She graduated with honors from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor of International Business Administration in 2003 and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2006. She is a PhD Candidate in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma with a research emphasis on the politics of sex, gender, and violence. Kate has previously served as the executive director of a non-profit trade association in Oklahoma City, coached high school and college policy debate teams, and taught government and public policy classes at OU, OCCC, and OSU-OKC.