Mr. Okun offers clients a seasoned perspective on federal policy and regulatory matters based on four decades of work in the private and public sectors. He provides the knowledge and insight needed to make well-informed decisions about public policy.
Mr. Okun is CEO of the O Team, a lobbying firm that represents media, health care, and business interests. He previously served as vice president and head of the Washington, D.C., office for NBCUniversal, where he focused on telecommunication regulatory, First Amendment, spectrum management, social media, and broadcasting/cable content matters and issues for 17 years.
Mr. Okun began his career in Washington, D.C., working for several congressional leadership offices, focusing on economic deregulation, budget, telecommunication, and health care issues. He served as staff director, in succession, of the House Republican Task Force on Regulatory Reform, House Republican Research Committee, House Republican Policy Committee, and House Republican Conference.
Mr. Okun also served as co-staff director of the 1988 Platform Committee of the Republican National Committee.
In 1991, during the administration of President George H.W. Bush, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved Mr. Okun as assistant secretary of Education for Legislative Affairs under Secretary Lamar Alexander, where he was responsible for public policy involving primary, secondary, post-secondary, and special needs education.
In 1993, Mr. Okun worked as a floor assistant to House Republican Leader Bob Michel and also served as Senate liaison to the Senate Republican leadership and was an officer of the U.S. House of Representatives focusing on a range of domestic policy issues.
As chair of a military family scholarship nonprofit for 17 years, Mr. Okun provided post-secondary school scholarships for children and spouses of active-duty military personnel. He currently serves as CEO and executive producer of an organization that provides benefit concerts to assist veterans and first responders.
He also has had various appearances on PBS News Hour and C-SPAN.