OKPOLICY.ORG
OK Policy is excited to announce that Nicole Poindexter has joined the organization as a full-time Outreach and Legislative Liaison and that Kyle Lawson has been promoted to a new position as Senior Field Organizer.
As Outreach and Legislative Liaison, Nicole will have primary responsibility for working with legislators, advocates, and other stakeholders in pursuit of OK Policy’s legislative priorities. She will be based in Oklahoma City.
For the past two years Poindexter has worked for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy as Operations Coordinator, where her duties included creating and strengthening community partnerships and engaging policymakers. A native Californian who has lived in Oklahoma since 2008, Poindexter has also worked for Women Lead Oklahoma and in emergency medical services. She serves on the Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness as part of a group working to create and implement a five-year plan to end homelessness in Oklahoma.
“Nicole brings a strong network of relationships and a deep passion for our mission of expanding opportunity and equity,” said Sabine Brown, OK Policy’s Outreach and Legislative Director. “I know she will be successful in developing and implementing issue-based campaigns and coalitions that will contribute to important policy victories.”
“I am excited to join the OK Policy team and continue my years of work creating and implementing effective policy for all Oklahomans,” said Poindexter. “There are many hurdles facing those living in our great state and I want to ensure a better life for them.”
In addition to Poindexter, OK Policy’s outreach and advocacy team has also been strengthened by the recent promotion of Kyle Lawson to the position of Senior Field Organizer. Lawson joined OK Policy in early 2019 as a part-time contract field organizer for Southeastern Oklahoma and has helped build thriving chapters of Together Oklahoma, OK Policy’s grassroots education and advocacy coalition, in Ardmore and McAlester. As a Senior Field Organizer based in Oklahoma City, Lawson will lead Together Oklahoma’s grassroots advocacy efforts in the Oklahoma City metro area in addition to Southeast Oklahoma.
A native of Arizona, Lawson served in the U.S. Army as a Human Intelligence Collector and worked for Congressman Jim Kolbe before moving to Oklahoma in 2010 to be near his family. His extensive work experience and community involvement includes three years as Mayor of Gene Autry, OK and four years as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children. Learn more about Kyle here.
“Kyle has proven himself to be a tireless and effective organizer, with a special knack for finding ways to get ordinary Oklahomans more actively engaged in the democratic process,” said Brown. “I’m excited that as a full-time Senior Organizer, Kyle will now be able to build on his successes in Southeast Oklahoma as his work expands to the Oklahoma City area.”
“I’m looking forward to working with the brilliant individuals at OK Policy and with our grassroots organization Together Oklahoma, and to bringing my knowledge and skill set to the table to work towards making a Oklahoma better place,” Lawson said.
Along with Brown, Poindexter, and Lawson, OK Policy’s outreach and advocacy team includes Jacobi Crowley, who serves as the Southwest Oklahoma field organizer based in Lawton. A field organizer for Northeast Oklahoma will be added soon.
“OK Policy has always been highly skilled at producing rock-solid policy research and analysis,” stated Executive Director David Blatt. “Increasingly we are adding the people and resources needed to make sure our ideas have an impact through effective citizen engagement, coalition-building, and legislative advocacy.”
Launched in 2008, OK Policy now has a full-time staff of 20, along with contract employees and interns. Funded by foundation grants and individual donors, its mission is to advance equitable and fiscally responsible policies that expand opportunity for all Oklahomans through non-partisan research, analysis, and advocacy.
