Heritage Foundation names Kay Coles James as its new president

The Heritage Foundation announced Tuesday that Kay Coles James will become the sixth president of the conservative think tank on Jan. 1.

“I’m honored that the board of trustees would ask me to lead this important work,” Mrs. James said. “What we believe, what we develop, what we fight for — these are the policies that help people. I look forward to expanding the conservative movement in a positive, inclusive way as we build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish.”

She takes over for Edwin J. Feulner, who founded the organization 44 years ago and has been serving as interim president during the search process. The board unanimously elected Mrs. James as president, said chairman Thomas A. Saunders.

“All of us at Heritage are looking forward to continuing working with Kay Coles James developing and advancing conservative policy solutions and principles that are in the best interest of the American people,” Mr. Saunders said.

Mrs. James has an extensive background in public policy that spans decades. The organization says she is “a lifelong grass-roots activist and has served in multiple roles at the local, state and national level.”

That include working for three Republican presidents.

Mrs. James was a member of the National Commission on Children under President Ronald Reagan and later served as associate director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and as assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for President George H.W. Bush. Mrs. James also was President George W. Bush’s director of the Office of Personnel Management.

Mrs. James and former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese led President Trump’s transition team for the Office of Management and Budget, Office of Personnel Management, and General Services Administration.

For the commonwealth of Virginia, Mrs. James was secretary of health and human resources and a member of the state board of education under Gov. George Allen.

She was also dean of the School of Government at Regent University and a senior vice president of the Family Research Council. Mrs. James is an author of four books, a mother of three and a grandmother of five.