Heather
Hurlburt
Heather directs the New Models of Policy Change project at New America’s Political Reform program. Her work explores the intersection of international affairs policy and domestic political polarization, and develops policy approaches on topics from trade, climate, and political violence to nuclear security. New Models also supports analysis and convening around diversity, gender, and equity in international affairs. Previously, Heather was a special assistant and speechwriter to President Bill Clinton, served in the State Department as a speechwriter and member of the policy planning staff, and worked on Capitol Hill and on the US Delegation to the OSCE. She has also held senior positions in international affairs advocacy, including at the International Crisis Group, National Security Network, and Human Rights First.
Hurlburt is a regular contributor to New York Magazine and frequently appears in print and broadcast media. She is a cofounder and co-chair of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security, serves on the boards of National Security Action and the Scoville Fellowship, and holds degrees from Brown and George Washington Universities.
I am most excited to work on projects that… combine practical problem-solving with sky-is-the-limit thinking that transcends categories and silos.
I am looking for partners who can help me… understand, respond, and adapt to this completely new moment we’re in.
A moment when I felt most inspired in my work was… anytime I see colleagues able to take something I can offer and run with it in entirely new directions.
Innovations in my field that I am most excited to work on… thinking in network theory, diversity theory, feminist foreign policy, and global activism successes that ought to be completely renovating the what and how of our field.