About Us
Dedicated to the revolutionary ideals of liberty
Our organization is inspired by the New Hampshire Pine Tree Riot which established early on that we are a revolutionary people.
Fighting arbitrary and oppressive Government is at the core of our history and is in the DNA of our political life. Over 100 years before the Pine Tree Riot in 1772, the Pine Tree Rioters’ great grandfathers’ generation convicted English King Charles I for treason and beheaded him for not agreeing that Parliament was supreme. A very revolutionary idea at the time.
Later, about 85 years before the Pine Tree Riot, when Charles’ grandson, James II seemed to forget the lesson of a constitutional monarchy, he lost his job in the Glorious Revolution. James II was thrown out of England and they hired a Dutch prince to be King.
Indeed, our revolutionary right to cast off oppressors and tyrants is the reason we have a constitutional right to bear arms and the right of revolution is enshrined in the New Hampshire Constitution.
But it is not because of the Federal or New Hampshire Constitution that we are free. Our rights of liberty are unalienable and confirm that each of us is a sovereign unto ourselves. We grant the power of governance over us and each of us must – and the Pine Tree Public Policy Institute will – always be alert that this grant is not violated.
President: Stephen B. Stepanek
Stephen Stepanek is a graduate of Villanova University with a Finance and Economics and brings a long history of business, community, and political accomplishments to Pine Tree Public Policy.
He founded Hampshire Paper Corporation, a paper converting company, and grew it over 25 years into a major employer in his community with 160 employees and over $20 million in annual revenue.
Stephen also was a co-owner of SPJ Real Estate Associates, a real estate management company that owned and managed 160,000 square feet of industrial space. He founded White Cliff Realty, a wholly owned real estate management company that owned and managed 90,000 square feet of commercial real estate.
Stephen’s business successes continued with technology companies. He founded White Cliff Communications which zoned, built, and managed cell towers. He co-founded RegDOX Solutions Inc. RegDOX provides a patented high security software solution for the storage, management and collaboration of highly confidential information, such as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) regulated by the ITAR (International Trafficking in Arms Regulations) data and the DEFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement).
Stephen's dedication to a strong local and state community has driven his involvement in a number of civic and social organizations. Included among those are the Knights of Columbus and the local Rotary Club. He also was appointed to a six year term as the non-lawyer member of the New Hampshire Supreme Court Professional Conduct Committee.
In politics, Stephen served as a member of the Town of Amherst (NH) Board of Selectman. He also served as the co-chair of the Amherst Ways and Means Committee and later as a five-term New Hampshire State Representative for the Town of Amherst.
While in the legislature, Stephen served in a number of leadership roles. He was the Vice Chairman of the Commerce Committee, a House Minority Whip, and as the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee
Outside of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, Stephen served as the New Hampshire State Co-Chairman of the Rudy Giuliani for President Committee, as well as Co-Chair of the Donald Trump for President Committee
Following his legislative career, Stephen was appointed as the NE Regional Director of the GSA. He also co-Founded the Right of Center Meeting organized and run by Pine Tree Public Policy Institute
These days, in addition to his service as President of Pine Tree Public Policy Institute and his numerous business interests, Stephen is in his second term as Chairman of the NH Republican Party.
Stephen is happily married to Ellen and they both reside in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, where they enjoy visits and the company of Cassandra, Jessica, Nicole and Patrick, the young adults who make up their immediate family.
Chairman: William O'Brien
Bill O’Brien brings an extraordinary background and record of achievement to Pine Tree Public Policy Institute.
Raised as the son of an Army officer, Bill O’Brien was born on a military base and spent much of his youth on military bases around the world as his father – and truly his whole family – served our nation.
It was through this experience that Bill first saw what many don’t see: the devastation caused by nations who turn their back on democracy, on freedom, on entrepreneurship, and on our system of capitalism which has made America great.
Bill was in Germany as it struggled to recover from the horrendous era of the Nazis under Hitler and, due to a business trip which took him back, Bill was there as the Berlin Wall fell. He walked the streets entering East Germany to see the devastation of Socialism bent on Communism, a system where personal freedoms were repressed, and the economy sputtered under the weight of too much government control.
It was with that background that Bill later chose to settle in the “Live Free or Die” state and following law school and private practice, Bill ran for and became not only a Legislator in New Hampshire but also one of New Hampshire’s leaders as Speaker of the House.
As the Speaker of the New Hampshire House Bill O’Brien made personal freedom, liberty, and economic growth a hallmark of his leadership. He knows people come first, not government.
Bill's proven leadership produced results.
Working with other Legislators, Bill O’Brien helped eliminate wasteful spending – more than $1 billion worth. He helped pass a budget with no new taxes and no increased fees all the while maintaining necessary education funding. Bill helped eliminate the auto registration surcharge fee while also lowering costs and eliminating red tape for small business job creators.
To protect funds for the truly needy – and not the greedy – he helped put in new safeguards to ensure welfare applicants have their identity and financial information verified before receiving payments. To ensure all New Hampshire citizens know how the government is spending their money he helped require that state agencies post their spending information on the state’s website.
A New Hampshire job creator and entrepreneur, Bill is a business owner in the technology sector, who has helped businesses and organizations safeguard their privacy an era of increased foreign espionage and cyber threats. He currently operates a Nashua, New Hampshire-based cybersecurity company that he started after his legislative career and that is growing at annual rate of 30%.
Married for more than 45 years, Bill and his wife Roxanne are the proud parents of two daughters and a son who followed in his footsteps by earning a law degree and practicing law as a prosecutor and private litigator.
With one daughter working in the important field of pharmaceutical testing and another in organic food research, Bill recognizes his daughters’ success comes from being strong, independent women.
- A common sense conservative and lover of freedom
- An entrepreneur and job creator
- A husband and father
- A Speaker of New Hampshire’s House who is proven and tested
- A young man who saw the devastations of socialism, and vowed never to allow it to happen in America
Organization of Pine Tree Public Policy Institute
Pine Tree Public Policy Institute has been formed by former NH House Speaker Bill O’Brien and NH GOP Chairman Stephen Stepanek as a Delaware nonprofit corporation pursuant to section 108 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
The mission of Pine Tree Public Policy Institute is to research and provide policy direction on issues of state and regional importance, as well as to sponsor the twice-a-month, center right meeting to bring together various center-right groups, individuals, and government officials to exchange ideas, advise others of upcoming events, and maintain sustained, supportive communication among each other.