Tracie J. Sharp is the current president and CEO of the State Policy Network (SPN). She has been president of the State Policy Network since 1999, and she has grown SPN from 36 think tanks in 34 states with a revenue of $15 million to 64 state-based think tanks with combined revenues of over $130 million. The State Policy Network is a collection of right-leaning and conservative think tanks, with member organizations in all 50 states. She also helped create the Cascade Policy Institute, which is the state-based affiliate of the State Policy Network.
A large number of members of the State Policy Network either deny climate change outright or deny the extent to which climate change will affect the environment. For example, the Heartland Institute says that “Global warming is not a crisis. The threat was exaggerated” and that “there is no need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and no point in attempting to do so.”
Many of their member organizations accept donations from Koch Foundations. Other associated organizations that either deny climate change entirely or deny the extent of it are the Atlas Network, the Cato Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Charles Koch Institute, the Heartland Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and the Reason Foundation. SPN will promote the articles, publications, and events of these organizations on their website and with their vast network of nonprofits, which effectively spreads the message of climate change denial.
Sharp has spoken at conferences hosted by organizations that deny climate change, such as a conference hosted by the Cato Institute in 2014.
Sharp’s personal projects focus on healthcare reform and school choice.
See also:
State Policy Network
Climate of Denial