The executive director of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is expected to leave the agency April 24.
Julie Bisbee, who has served as TSET’s executive director since 2019, said that she voluntarily submitted her resignation.
She said conversations about severance are ongoing.
“What this agency has built over 25 years is something Oklahoma should genuinely be proud of,” Bisbee said. “Innovation, transparency, and accountability have defined this work. The board has set a bold direction for what comes next. I’m leaving knowing this organization is better positioned than it ever has been.”
Bisbee, who has been with the agency since 2012, said she was not forced out or pressured to leave and is “open to opportunities.”
She said she had accomplished her goals at the agency.
Bisbee’s salary is $167,490.
The TSET Board tapped Lance Thomas, chief of staff, as interim director while it searches for a permanent leader.
Voters in 2000 created TSET to invest funds from a lawsuit against tobacco companies and use the earnings for health projects.
It oversees about $2 billion in public funds.
Over the years, lawmakers have attempted but failed to control the agency and its funding.
In January, the Oklahoma Supreme Court nullified a law that could have injected politics into the agency’s spending.
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