OKPOLICY.ORG
The Oklahoma Department of Human Service’s Practice and Policy Lecture Series will host our very own policy analyst, Kate Richey, on April 25th to discuss Oklahoma’s racial wealth gap in asset building. The free event will take place from noon to 1 pm at the Oklahoma History Center located at 800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive in Oklahoma City. Click here to pre-register for the lecture.
Kate’s lecture, entitled Closing the Opportunity Gap: Building Equity in Oklahoma, is based on her report released by OKPolicy last year. Asset building refers to items necessary for prosperity such as a savings account, home ownership, and an education. Kate will outline how the housing crisis and Great Recession has widened the already present opportunity gap between whites and minorities in Oklahoma. She will argue that unless policy initiatives are implemented that facilitate asset building for low-income Oklahomans, the American dream will not only stay out of reach for thousands, but also hurt the entire state’s future economic prosperity.
A policy analyst for OKPolicy since 2011, Kate Richey possesses an extensive knowledge on a wide range of public policy issues including poverty, race, immigration, healthcare, and asset building. She received her B.A. in Business from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her M.A. in Political Science from the University of Central Oklahoma. In addition to public policy research and writing, Kate also has taught government and public policy at the college level. Visit our Staff webpage for her complete bio.
All lectures in the Policy and Practice lecture series are free and open to the public. For more information contact the Office of Planning, Research and Statistics at 405-521-3552. View the complete lecture series lineup here.
