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Michael Leachman
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Job Title
Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy
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Michael Leachman

Michael Leachman is Senior Vice President for State Fiscal Policy. The division oversees CBPP’s work to advance equitable and transformative policies in the states and coordinates the State Priorities Partnership (SPP), a network of state policy organizations focused on designing and promoting policies that foster economic, health, and racial justice. Leachman also helps deepen connections across all the policy teams engaged on state policy work and sits on CBPP’s executive management group.

Leachman previously served as Vice President for State Fiscal Policy, directing the Center’s state policy research, overseeing analyses of state policy trends, how federal policy decisions affect states, and state policy choices that improve equity and boost opportunity. During this time, he led CBPP’s policy work aimed at securing needed fiscal aid for states, localities, tribal nations, and territories through the American Rescue Plan. He also launched CBPP’s highly successful state immigration policy project, served as lead author on a major project documenting the racist history of state taxes, and played a central role in starting projects aimed at transforming state criminal legal policies. Leachman joined CBPP in 2009 as a Senior Policy Analyst.

Prior to joining the Center, Leachman was a policy analyst for nine years at the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP), a member of the State Priorities Partnership. His work at OCPP included research on corporate income taxes, reserve funds, and spending limits.

Earlier in his career, Leachman worked as a community organizer in Chicago and, during graduate school, conducted a range of research projects in collaboration with community organizations.

Leachman holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago.

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