WASHINGTON—The Heritage Foundation this week marks 50 years of fighting for the everyday American. Founded on Feb. 16, 1973, the conservative policy organization is marking this milestone with a celebration in April that features conservative leaders, convenes movement allies, and honors its supporters.
The 50th anniversary celebration will take place on both sides of the Potomac River, from Thursday, April 20, through Friday, April 21. The two-day event will consist of a welcome reception at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia as well as a Leadership Summit and evening gala at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Maryland.
Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts, who became the organization’s seventh president in 2021, recognized the milestone by honoring founders and supporters, while also charting the course for the next chapter in Heritage’s storied history.
“Ever since Heritage’s founding 50 years ago, this organization has dedicated itself to advancing conservative policy with world-class research, analysis, and advocacy. Today, we celebrate those who had the vision for Heritage and the accomplishments they achieved on behalf of the American people,” Roberts said. “We equally celebrate the men and women throughout the conservative movement who have worked tirelessly to save our country alongside all of us. We have unfinished work and a limited window of opportunity to save this country. It is time for an ambitious, audacious, and aspirational conservative agenda to take back this country from an emboldened progressive Left. Everything we do is strategically focused on winning battles for the everyday American who our leaders in Washington, D.C., have forgotten.”
Roberts will kick off Heritage’s Leadership Summit, the heart of the celebration, on the morning of Thursday, April 20. The summit will demonstrate consensus around big-picture questions facing America and deliver a conservative policy agenda equipped to unite the movement around an offensive strategy to take back our country, restore self-governance, and rebuild key institutions of civil society. Central to this conservative agenda is Heritage’s new “policy bible,” titled “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” written by over 365 scholars from across the country and the conservative movement.
Featuring leaders from every sector of the conservative coalition, the two-day Leadership Summit will further unpack strategies and tactics for the federal, state, and local levels to both halt the Left’s cultural onslaught and strengthen our most cherished institutions and principles. The summit will be open to a limited number of news outlets.
The summit will showcase discussions about:
- Preparing the next conservative president
- Conducting oversight and defeating bad actors
- Empowering parents to make education choices
- Securing America’s borders and reducing crime
- Ensuring free and fair elections
- Reversing the growth of regulations, spending, and inflation
- Countering the threat of Communist China
- Holding Big Tech accountable
- Protecting unborn life and family formation
The event will conclude Friday, April 21, with an evening gala celebrating the promise of America and the courageous American spirit. Heritage will announce its keynote speaker and more details on the program soon.
Heritage’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Edwin Feulner, who was the organization’s president for 36 years and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees, said he’s proud to have played a prominent role at Heritage while watching the conservative movement grow.
“As we celebrate 50 years of leadership in the conservative movement, it is my honor to have worked with Heritage’s supporters on Capitol Hill and around the country,” Feulner said. “Looking ahead to our next chapter, I know Heritage will continue to play its leadership role in promoting our conservative ideas and achieving policy victories.”
Heritage Board of Trustees Chairman Barb Van Andel-Gaby said the organization has never been stronger than it is today. She credited Heritage’s founders, former and current staff, and supporters for ensuring that it is positioned for success in its next 50 years.
“In the early 1970s, Ed Feulner and Paul Weyrich saw a widening gap between the ideas and policies conservatives championed and what polices were signed into law. To fill that gap, Heritage set about providing timely research to lawmakers who could then affect policy outcomes. Today, we are seeing at Heritage a renewal of this spirit,” Van Andel-Gaby said. “Under the leadership of Dr. Kevin Roberts, guided by my fellow board members, and with the support of half a million members, this great institution has seized the day. If there’s a fight to be had, we are in it. If there’s an opportunity to change policies at the federal or state level, we’re seizing it. If there’s a coalition to be gathered, we are convening it.”
Heritage will announce additional information and speakers in the coming weeks. For more information, click here. To apply for a press pass, click here. For inquiries, please contact Noah Weinrich ([email protected]).
