- Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
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Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs Established 1993 Chairman Dr. David Brown President Michael Carnuccio Staff 10 Location Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Address 1401 N Lincoln Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73104 Website [1]
The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) is the leading conservative think tank in Oklahoma, USA.Contents
Founding, Mission, and Leadership
Founded in 1993 by Dr. David Brown, also chairman of the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., OCPA strives to bring groundbreaking research to the state by adhering to a mission statement that strives to "accumulate, evaluate, and disseminate public policy ideas and information for Oklahoma consistent with the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and individual initiative."
Ten years later, OCPA launched a capital campaign which resulted in a newly renovated building. OCPA's staff of ten now occupies the headquarters just blocks from the Oklahoma State Capitol in the heart of Oklahoma City. The facilities are frequently used as a meeting point by local legislators, authors, experts, and statewide elected officials.
Michael C. Carnuccio serves as President of OCPA and joined the staff in January of 2010. Previously, Michael served as senior advisor for Oklahomans for Responsible Government, director of public affairs for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and director of public affairs for Saxum Strategic Communications (now Saxum PR). Prior to joining Saxum, he was a graduate teaching assistant in courses on American Government with the Department of Political Science at Oklahoma State University. He has been published in the Korean Journal of Public Policy, The Oklahoman, and the Tulsa World. Michael received both his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and his M.A. in Political Science from Oklahoma State University.
Annual Citizenship Award
OCPA's annual Citizenship Award has proven to be the council's biggest event, most recently honoring former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Former recipients include Paul Ryan, John R. Bolton, Peggy Noonan, Thomas Patten Stafford, Larry Arnn, Newt Gingrich, Ronald Reagan and son Michael Reagan, Tommy Franks, J.C. Watts, John T. Walton, William F. Buckley, Jr., Clarence Thomas, Cal Thomas, Steve Forbes, and Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Research
In accordance with the mission statement, OCPA applies its philosophy to a variety of issues facing Oklahoma today. With its four Freedom Centers, OCPA is positioned to be the definitive resource on policy issues related to education, economics, healthcare and Constitutional rights.
O-CHIP
With the research and insight of consultant Tom Daxon, in 2008 OCPA published its statement regarding the health care crisis in Oklahoma. Entitled "O-CHIP" (Oklahoma-Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan), this plan aims to solve many of the problems by "(1) dramatically deregulating the health insurance market and (2) providing assistance for low-income individuals by helping them buy insurance."
See also
- Heritage Foundation
- American conservatism
- Oklahoma
External links
Categories:- Politics of Oklahoma
- Organizations based in Oklahoma
- 1993 establishments in the United States
- Oklahoma stubs
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