As president and CEO of State Policy Network (SPN), Tracie Sharp serves a 150+ member peer network community of independent, non-partisan, free-market allies in all 50 states.
Since 1992, SPN has worked to be a force for good locally, training leaders and catalyzing thriving, durable freedom networks in every state, anchored with high-performing, independent state think tanks. SPN’s 50-state Network are ideally positioned to listen to and learn from people about the issues they care about and bring them together to fuel ground-up solutions that enhance lives and livelihoods.
Under Tracie’s leadership, State Policy Network has grown from 36 think tanks in 34 states with combined revenues of about $15 million in 1999. Today SPN serves a collaborative Network of over 150 think tank members, including 64 independent, state-focused think tanks in 50 states who employ over 1,200 staff, with combined revenues exceeding $188 million. During that time SPN’s own revenues have grown from just under $200,000 in 1999 to over $24 million in 2021.
Background
Tracie helped launch Oregon’s market-oriented state think tank, Cascade Policy Institute, in 1991. Prior to her leadership at Cascade Policy Institute, Tracie worked alongside Washington State radio commentator John Carlson, serving as director of programs at the Washington Institute for Policy Studies in Seattle (now Washington Policy Center). During that time, she was also active in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, and HOPE Worldwide, a volunteer community fighting poverty on the front lines.
Tracie earned a degree in history from the University of Washington. She and her husband and sons live in the San Francisco Bay area. Her family is active in local charitable efforts, including the award-winning e-Soccer and e-Hoops programs, serving special needs children across the Bay area.