People and Leadership - The International Freedom Center

Biography

Stephen B. Heintz
Member of the Board of Directors, Secretary

Stephen B. Heintz joined the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) in February 2001 as its fourth president. Founded in 1940 by the sons and daughter of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the RBF is an international foundation supporting social change to help build a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world.

Before joining the RBF, Mr. Heintz held top leadership positions in both the nonprofit and public sectors. Most recently, Mr. Heintz was Founding President of Démos: A Network for Ideas & Action. Démos is a public policy research and advocacy organization working to enhance the vitality of American democracy and promote more broadly shared economic prosperity.

Prior to founding Démos, Mr. Heintz served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the EastWest Institute (EWI), where he worked on issues of economic reform, civil society development, and international security. Based in Prague, Czech Republic from 1990 through 1997, Mr. Heintz worked extensively throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States.

Mr. Heintz devoted the first fifteen years of his career to politics and government service in the State of Connecticut, where he served as Commissioner of Economic Development (1988-1990) and Commissioner of Social Welfare (1983-1988). In 1988, he helped draft and secure passage by Congress of “The Family Support Act,” the first major effort to reform the nation’s welfare system.

Articles written by Mr. Heintz have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal Europe and several books and journals. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Yale University.

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