Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Basic facts
Location:	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	Jonathan Small, President
Founder(s):	David Brown
Year founded:	1993
Website:	Official website

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization describing itself as "Oklahoma’s leading conservative think tank, do tank, and battle tank—with a proven track record of success at the state Capitol." The organization was founded in 1993.

Background

Dr. David Brown, an Oklahoma City-based orthopedic surgeon, founded the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in 1993. Brown was a board member and former chairman of the Heritage Foundation. The organization describes its work as "working to build an Oklahoma where taxes are low, the burden of government is light, traditional families can flourish, and healthy cultural norms are defended from the attacks of woke radicals."

As of September 2025, the organization listed its mission statement as to "promote the flourishing of the people of Oklahoma by advancing principles and policies that support free enterprise, limited government, individual initiative, personal responsibility, and strong families."

Leadership

As of September 2025, the following individuals held positions of leadership at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs:

• Jonathan Small, president
• Dave Bond, vice president for advocacy
• Mandi Broadfoot, development director
• Ray Carter, director, Center for Independent Journalism
• Victor Castillo, director of community engagement
• Brandon Dutcher, senior vice president
• Ryan Haynie, vice president for legal affairs
• Bre Oberdick, communications director
• Matt Oberdick, director, Center for Culture and the Family
• Rachel Hays Roberts, executive vice president

As of September 2025, the following individuals sat on the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs' board of trustees:

• Larry Parman, chairman
• Glenn Ashmore, D.D.S.
• Douglas Beall, M.D.
• Susan Bergen
• John A. Brock
• Larry Brown
• Ann Felton Gilliland
• Margaret Freede
• John A. Henry III
• Robert H. Kane
• Tara Koetter
• Brian Krafft
• Lloyd Noble II
• Andrew Oster
• Bill Price
• Thomas Rashid, M.D.
• Patrick T. Rooney
• Miriam Shaw
• Keith Smith, M.D.
• Charles M. Sublett
• William E. Warnock, Jr.
• Molly Wehrenberg
• Elizabeth Wilson
• Daryl Woodard

Work and activities

Legislative and policy work

As of September 2025, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs listed six active policy projects on its website:

• J. Rufus Fears Fellowship: The J. Rufus Fears Fellowship is an application-based program open to professionals and students aged 18-35. The program "develops young leaders in public life; equips them to stand up for free enterprise, limited government, personal responsibility and individual initiative; and perpetuates the memory of Oklahoma’s greatest scholar."
• Thinkin' on Lincoln Podcast: This sponsored podcast provides analysis of ongoing cultural and political issues.
• Aim Higher Oklahoma: This program discusses what the organization describes as inappropriate conduct and policies at Oklahoma's public university system and promotes participation in the J. Rufus Fears Fellowship.
• Repeal JNC: This program supports amending the Oklahoma Constitution to eliminate the state's judicial nomination commission and replace it with a system where the governor nominates justices and the state senate votes to confirm or reject their nominations.
• Comprehensive Case Review for Judicial Scorecard: This project assesses the Oklahoma Supreme Court justices' rulings on cases to produce a judicial scorecard rating their decisions.
• Data Tools: The organization offers tools to view state government data. As of September 2025, the following nine reports were available:
  • Oklahoma Open-Transfer Vacancies
  • Oklahoma Expenditures
  • Oklahoma Revenue
  • Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System
  • Oklahoma Vendor Payments
  • Oklahoma Education Spending and Revenue
  • Oklahoma Payroll
  • Oklahoma Public Pension Systems
  • Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.

Notable ballot measure endorsements by Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs

Measure	Position	Outcome
Oklahoma State Question 802, Medicaid Expansion Initiative (June 2020)  source	Oppose	Approved
Oklahoma State Question 805, Criminal History in Sentencing and Sentence Modification Initiative (2020)  source	Support	Defeated

The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) is a liberty-minded educational institute and is the premier policy organization in Oklahoma. OCPA has been part of an emerging, national trend of conservative, state-based think tanks. Today, within the arena of public policy and politics, OCPA is regarded as “the flagship of the conservative movement in Oklahoma.”

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs' revenues and expenses from 2001 to 2023. The information comes from ProPublica.

Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs financial data 2001-2023

Year	Revenue	Expenses
2001	$0.6 million	$0.4 million
2002	$0.8 million	$0.6 million
2003	$0.9 million	$0.8 million
2004	$1.2 million	$0.7 million
2005	$1.2 million	$1.0 million
2006	$1.2 million	$1.1 million
2007	$1.2 million	$1.0 million
2008	$1.5 million	$1.4 million
2009	$1.1 million	$1.1 million
2010	$1.4 million	$1.4 million
2011	$3.1 million	$1.8 million
2012	$1.4 million	$1.9 million
2013	$2.1 million	$2.1 million
2014	$2.3 million	$1.8 million
2015	$2.7 million	$2.0 million
2016	$1.9 million	$2.2 million
2017	$2.9 million	$2.5 million
2018	$2.1 million	$2.3 million
2019	$3.1 million	$3.1 million
2020	$4.2 million	$4.9 million
2021	$4.0 million	$3.9 million
2022	$3.7 million	$3.6 million
2023	$4.0 million	$3.5 million

See also

• What is an influencer?
• 501(c)(3)

External links

• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs official website
• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs on Facebook
• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs on X
• Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs on LinkedIn