Where Policy Meets Philanthropy: Hoplin Jackson at State Policy Network (SPN) 2025
HJ’s SPN Visit by the Numbers
Traveled 2,297 miles
Met with 53 exceptional leaders one-on-one and countless others in elevators and buffet lines, though none on Bourbon Street.
Participated in 5 donor-centered events
Ate 2 delicious beignets!
Enjoyed meeting 1 brand new President & CEO of SPN Christopher S. Dauer while celebrating the incredibly talented and highly accomplished outgoing President & CEO Tracie Sharp.
Exchanged 0 Mardi Gras beads but countless business cards!
At the end of August, Hoplin Jackson President Nicole Hoplin and VP of Advisors Services Heather Stohler spent an especially valuable week at the State Policy Network’s Annual Meeting in New Orleans, where more than 1,500 leaders from all 50 states gathered, including nonprofit executives, policy experts, legal scholars, and philanthropists. State Policy Network’s Annual Meeting is the premier gathering place for innovators and leaders shaping today’s policy landscape.
Photo Credit: State Policy Network. Heather Stohler gathers with members of the liberty movement at the SPN Annual Meeting reception hosted by Daniels Fund. Left to right: Tracie Sharp, Chen Rosenberg, Heather Stohler, and Carol Platt Liebau
While it was impossible to meet with everyone, the Hoplin Jackson team was grateful for the opportunity to connect with key leaders throughout the four-day event, many of whom represent organizations supported by Hoplin Jackson’s generous clients. These conversations provided timely updates, nurtured client priorities, and offered candid perspectives on some of today’s most pressing issues ranging from school choice and Medicare reform to discrimination in higher education, AI, energy, and the removal of regulatory barriers that stifle innovation.
For more than three decades, SPN has served as the backbone of the liberty movement, empowering a growing nationwide network of organizations to advance freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility. Its value lies in both the ideas it champions and the “Durable Freedom Infrastructure” it has worked to build: fostering collaboration among hundreds of SPN partners, accelerating proven policy solutions, and strengthening the capacity and influence of its leaders. Through training, advisory work, research, and leadership development, SPN equips organizations to shape state-based reform. In emphasizing the benefits of federalism, SPN ensures that freedom-focused organizations can compete (and win) in today’s complex policy ecosystem.
Photo Credit State Policy Network; Nicole Hoplin addresses a leadership lunch sponsored by T.W. Lewis Foundation
Given SPN’s effectiveness and work to foster policy leaders, T.W. Lewis Foundation chose to sponsor a lunch at the Annual Meeting for several dozen executive vice presidents (EVPs) from SPN affiliates and partners. These EVPs gathered for additional training and networking. During the lunch, Hoplin participated in a conversation led by Chris Koopman, CEO of the Abundance Institute, about artificial intelligence and how EVPs could harness AI to make their nonprofits more efficient and responsive to donors. Lewis also provided copies of his book, Solid Ground: A Foundation for Winning in Work and Life, for each of the attendees, and Nicole shared some key lessons from the book with the audience. Hoplin Jackson Charitable Advisors worked alongside Tom Lewis to support his philanthropy for years, and Hoplin continues to serve on the Board of his private foundation.
This year’s Annual Meeting also marked an important transition for SPN. The Network warmly welcomed its new president & CEO, Christopher Dauer, who previously spent 15 years at the Hoover Institution where he helped drive record revenue growth and elevate the organization’s national profile. Attendees also celebrated SPN’s outgoing leader, Tracie Sharp, whose two decades of extraordinary leadership have shaped SPN into the powerhouse it is today. Now serving as senior strategic advisor, Sharp will continue to lend her wisdom and many talents to strengthen the Network she played a large role in building.
SPN’s Annual Meeting is always a highlight for Hoplin Jackson, serving as a true relationship hub where ideas, partnerships, and innovation flourish.
Heather Stohler (left photo) and Nicole Hoplin (right photo) enjoy New Orleans culture, music, and food during an event showcasing Louisiana and sponsored by the Pelican Institute for Public Policy