It’s a major announcement for champions and advocates of federalism: Christopher Dauer, the Hoover Institution’s chief operating officer, today was named the new president and chief executive officer of State Policy Network (SPN), the highly regarded and consequential national organization heralded for its spearheading of cooperative efforts among state-based, liberty-defending, free-market, and federalism-loving think tanks and policy laboratories.
Dauer will succeed Tracie Sharp, revered in right-of-center and limited-government circles for her quarter century at SPN’s helm. Sharp, who announced in January that she would be stepping down from her CEO position, will remain with the pro-federalism juggernaut “in a strategic advisory role,” according to an SPN statement.
“I am thrilled to be going to a place where I can help put ideas into action, and am looking forward to being in the arena with SPN and its affiliates/partners to achieve enduring policy victories,” Dauer told National Review.
SPN board Chairman Lawson Bader praised Sharp as “a remarkable leader in our movement,” saying her new role “ensures not only a successful leadership transition, but a wealth of wisdom and insight available to Chris as he leads SPN.”
Bader told NR that Dauer, who has served at the Hoover Institution for 15 years,
understands that SPN, building on Tom Roe’s legacy these many decades, is precious. He comes into this new role not only with impeccable and diverse management skills in both the nonprofit and business community, but with a heart for Federalism. He recognizes the importance of this moment – when the states are in a position to offer solutions that have a national impact.
He also praised Sharp for her consequential tenure. SPN was founded in 1992 by the late Tom Roe to counteract the aggrandizing of federal power.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Hoover’s director, praised Dauer, saying that “since joining Hoover, Chris’s leadership and commitment to our mission have left an enduring mark on our institution. He has helped to both shape and strengthen our operations, expand our impact through marketing and development, and cultivated lasting partnerships.” She added that “SPN is gaining a leader with a steady hand, strong values, and a deep understanding of how to turn vision into impact.”
SPN’s formal announcement said Dauer’s appointment
comes as SPN moves into the next phase of its long-term strategic objectives, which focuses on building Durable Freedom Infrastructure in the states by investing in the people, ideas, and state solutions that shape public policy. Dauer brings a collaborative leadership style, fundraising leadership experience, and a vision aligned with the Network’s mission to catalyze and defend liberty in the states.
Carl Helstrom, who chaired SPN’s board for over two decades, stepping down from that role last year, told NR he was
blessed to work closely with Tracie Sharp in pursuit of State Policy Network’s mission for 25 years. She has been the linchpin of SPN’s accomplishments as a careful and persistent builder of successful culture, within SPN itself and among the broader community SPN serves, and her special attention to stewardship has been the hallmark of our efforts.
Helstrom, who is also a National Review Institute trustee, added that
from the beginning of the CEO succession discussion until its culmination this week, SPN’s Board of Directors sought to preserve that culture and set SPN up for continued success with a lead executive that can continue to pursue SPN’s original vision, alongside Tracie, the Board, SPN’s staff, and, most importantly, our partners in the states. I’m confident we have found that kind of executive in Chris Dauer.
A graduate of Brown University and Stanford University, Dauer, a California native, said he was “honored to join the talented team at State Policy Network and build on the incredible legacy that Tracie and the Board have shaped,” adding that “this Network is doing the most vital policy and civil society work in America—empowering citizens, equipping leaders, and advancing freedom from the ground up.”
Prior to his years at Hoover, Dauer served as a senior executive at four Silicon Valley startups. At Hoover, his various duties included oversight of the institution’s research programming functions and fundraising strategies, as well as managing its general administrative and operations departments and, for a dozen years, its strategic communications operations. He also led Hoover Institution Press.
SPN’s mission is to “catalyze thriving, durable freedom movements in every state, anchored with high-performing independent think tanks,” declaring that the solution to “what ails America” is a “restoration of federalism; the individual rights and local governance that for centuries has made America a beacon of hope for millions around the world.”