Headshot of NDA's Director of Advocacy, Catherine Appling-Pooler.

Catherine Appling-Pooler Director of Policy

Catherine Appling-Pooler is NDA’s Director of Policy. She joined the NDA team in March 2024. She previously held the position of Legislative Liaison for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and was the Director of Scheduling for Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell. She earned her degrees from Oklahoma State University including a bachelor’s in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources majoring in agricultural communications with a minor in environmental economics, politics, and policy, and a master’s in International Agriculture with a concentration in business and rural development.

Originally from Colleyville, Texas, Catherine now resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with her husband, Sawyer, and their two golden retrievers, Nelly and Britton. She enjoys hunting, fishing, reading, visiting national parks, experimenting with wild game recipes and sharing it with her non-hunting friends.