Neal Osten, Executive Director
Neal Osten has decades of experience convening state and federal leaders to solve problems, explore emerging issues, and facilitate collaboration across state lines and between the public and private sectors.
Prior to leading the Institute for State Policy Leaders, Neal served as Director of the National Conference of State Legislature’s (NCSL) Washington, D.C. Office. In this position he directed NCSL’s state-federal relations. Before becoming Director of the Washington Office, Neal directed NCSL's Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxation. In this capacity he had responsibility for sales and excise taxes, telecommunications tax modernization, corporate and business taxation, and interstate taxation. Neal led the efforts to address the collection of sales taxes on out of state transactions which resulted in the landmark 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc.
Neal served in the administration of President George H.W. Bush (41st) as a Director of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Department of Agriculture. Before joining the Bush administration, Neal served as Chief of Staff to the Assistant Majority Leader of the New York State Senate, and previous to that position, served as Committee Director for the Senate Banking Committee. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Villanova University and attended the Legislative Administration Program at the School of Public Affairs at the State University of New York at Albany.
Max Behlke, Deputy Executive Director
Max Behlke is a team-oriented and detail-focused public policy leader with a proven ability to form strategic alliances and develop innovative solutions to challenging problems. Max has extensive experience in the state public policy arena in both the public and private sectors. Since beginning his career in the Maryland General Assembly, he has advocated at the federal level on behalf of states, established the public policy program of a multi-billion dollar company, and directed state government affairs for a trade association.
His expertise has been cited in publications that include the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Christian Science Monitor, CNN, NPR, ABC News, Bloomberg, CNBC, Fox, Forbes, Governing, Stateline, Reuters, and the Associated Press. In 2018, he was recognized by Bloomberg Tax as a “State Tax Titan”.
Max holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.