40 Influential Leaders - Phil Sletten

Phil Sletten
Research Director at NH Fiscal Policy Institute

Phil Sletten is where he always intended to be, in his home state of NH doing public policy work. As the research director at the NH Fiscal Policy Institute (NHFPI), where he has worked since 2016, Sletten admits he probably spends more time with the state budget than anyone who is not a state official.

“A lot of my job is turning data into information and then making the information understandable for more people. Especially people who are busy and need to understand something that is complex in a relatively short amount of time, with a relatively small amount of effort because that may be all they can devote to understanding it,” he says.

Founded in 2009, NHFPI is a nonprofit research organization that develops and promotes public policies that foster economic opportunity for NH residents, with an emphasis on low- and moderate-income families and individuals.

He says this approach shows how the state’s lack of affordable housing, affordable childcare and healthcare are connected.

“New Hampshire’s economic growth is dependent on population growth, but we are facing a scenario now, with housing, that constrains population growth. That has an impact for how we support people in the workforce,” says Sletten. “We have to look at policy levers to address housing, childcare, education and the health and wellbeing of residents.”