Leer en Español
The Heritage Foundation announced today that Dr. Kevin Roberts will succeed Kay C. James and become the seventh president in the organization’s 48-year history.
Roberts will take the helm of America’s leading conservative think tank later this year.
Heritage Board Chair Barb Van Andel-Gaby said in a statement that the organization found in Dr. Roberts “a leader who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to Heritage’s mission and the conservative principles that guide our research” and says his choice was unanimous.
“While there were many outstanding candidates we interviewed during the search process, Kevin was the best choice to lead The Heritage Foundation at this pivotal moment in our nation’s history,” reads the statement.
An important institution
For his part, Dr. Roberts offered a few words as part of his inaugural address, “What we are going to do together is not simply allow this institution to flourish beyond any standard that has ever flourished before, but in doing so, serving one another, we are going to save this country and I look forward to leading you in it.”
“I am grateful for the opportunity to lead The Heritage Foundation and honored that the board has chosen me as its next president,” Roberts continued. “Heritage has led the conservative movement with distinction and its policy solutions have improved the lives of our fellow citizens. I look forward to continuing this legacy and addressing the challenges we face today and in the future.”
Roberts sees the Heritage Foundation as an “institution before an organization,” and believes it is the most important entity in “reminding Americans” what self-government is all about.
“There is no other institution that has the unique ability to remind this regime (and I use that word on purpose: they are authoritarian) to get back in their box and stay in,” Roberts said in his speech.
Roberts currently serves as executive director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute based in Austin and the nation’s largest state think tank.
Under Roberts’ leadership, TPPF doubled in size and expanded its influence from Texas to the entire country, opening an office in Washington, D.C., so that TPPF’s research could better inform federal policy debates.
As president of The Heritage Foundation, Roberts will continue to lead policy research efforts on many of the issues he championed at TPPF, including education, health care, border security, election integrity, and more, and his leadership will also be instrumental in combating the radical socialist agenda being pushed by the left.
