Jay Hein
Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives

Jay F. Hein was named Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives on August 3, 2006. He is the founding president of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, an international public policy research firm headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. In this capacity, Jay directed the institute’s research portfolio concentrating on a range of community-based policies such as welfare-to-work, access to college, affordable health care and crime prevention.

Jay also served as Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for American Renewal, a public charity established by Ambassador Daniel R. Coats. The foundation provides financial grants and other support to community-based organizations and educates the general public on effective compassion principles and practices.

Prior to taking the helm of Sagamore Institute, Jay was Executive Director of Civil Society Programs at Hudson Institute, including the Welfare Policy Center, the Faith in Communities initiative, and community-based healthcare reform.

Also at Hudson Institute, Jay served as Director of Hudson’s field office in Madison, Wisconsin, where he conducted hands-on research and analysis in support of the State’s welfare reforms. He also served in Wisconsin State government as a policy director. In both of these roles, Jay helped design and implement Wisconsin’s ground-breaking welfare replacement program.

Earlier in his career, Jay worked in a range of leadership roles within Illinois State government, including the Illinois Department of Public Aid; Illinois Secretary of State’s Office; and Illinois State Library, where he contributed to the initial planning of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

Jay performed his Master’s work in Political Studies at the University of Illinois-Springfield and earned his B.A. at Eureka College, where he was an inaugural member of the Ronald W. Reagan Fellowship program.