Healthcare Helper—Hadley Heath—Hopes this week for an American Homerun

The granddaughter of a campaign man for both Ronald Reagan and Jesse Helms as well as a five-time conservative book author follows family tradition: taking on a high-profile role to shape public policy.

Hadley Heath has dedicated the start of her career in Washington, D.C. to learn and educate others about health care policy.

The issue is timely, with a Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as “Obamacare,” expected this Thursday.

“Local folks should come to SCOTUS [the Supreme Court of the United States] Thursday,” Hadley encouraged.

Hadley focuses on health care policy as a senior policy analyst for Independent Women’s Forum.


“One of my favorite projects is the HealthCareLawsuits.org Web site, a site we created to track the legal challenges to President Obama's health law,” Hadley said.  “Health care is a great issue for limited government conservatives: It gives us a chance to explain the difference between government control and market-based solutions.”

Hadley’s op-eds on health care have been published in Roll Call, The Tampa Tribune, Daily Caller, Townhall, Human Events, and National Review's Critical Condition blog.  She has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, Al-Jazeera English, FoxNews.com, PJTV, as well as a variety of talk radio shows. This week she is booked for many on-air appearances.

At her employer’s suggestion, Hadley enrolled in the Leadership Institute’s On-Camera Television Workshop in August 2010, just a few weeks after being hired by Independent Women’s Forum (IWF).

“Independent Women’s Forum encouraged me to attend media training, and naturally they turned to the Leadership Institute as the best source of professional training,” Hadley said.

“I learned in the Leadership Institute’s training that communication on television is very different from communication in writing.  You may not have the chance to make your main point later; you should begin by getting directly to the point,” Hadley said.  “I was nervous to do any live on-camera work, but LI's workshop was an important step for me in overcoming this fear and learning how to present myself as a likable, articulate advocate for limited government.”

Hadley’s grandfather and his example marked her for life in the public policy arena.

“My grandfather is a life-long conservative and has been influential on my views on society and government,” Hadley told the Leadership Institute.

Co-founding the chapter of Young Republicans at Shelby High School in North Carolina was another confidence booster early on in Hadley’s political journey.

But it wasn’t until college at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill that Hadley became an articulate, assertive conservative.

“I owe a thank you to all the liberals at UNC who, through practice, taught me a lot about articulating and defending my conservative views,” Hadley shared. 

She majored in economics and journalism with a focus in electronic/broadcast media. However, her global perspective was enhanced by receiving the Morehead-Cain scholarship.

“This scholarship afforded me unique travel experiences in college including a survival course in California's Sierra Nevadas, a service project in Calcutta, India, an independent research project in Western Europe, and a semester abroad in Santiago, Chile,” Hadley fondly remembered.  “This scholarship program definitely shaped my direction in life and gave me opportunities I could not have found elsewhere.”

As a college junior, Hadley read What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us by Danielle Crittenden, an IWF scholar. The book so sparked her interest in IWF’s work that she applied for a summer internship with the organization.

“This led to the job offer that got me where I am today,” Hadley told LI.  “The women I've worked with at IWF have been incredible mentors: They've helped me hone my writing skills and my understanding of public policy, and importantly, they've supported my every venture - whether professional or personal.”

The Independent Women’s Forum is a is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) research and educational institution that aggressively seeks earned media, provides easy-to-read, timely publications and commentary, and reaches out to the public to cultivate support and encourage women to join the organization in working to return the country to limited, constitutional government.

“I did not come to Washington with the expectation of appearing on TV,” Hadley shared.  “I simply wanted to advocate for limited government in the best way that I can.  My training at the Leadership Institute definitely gave me the confidence to pursue broadcast media as another avenue to do this.  Since my training, I've found that appearing on live television gets easier and easier with practice.  But my first experience on TV would've been much harder without the important lessons I learned at LI.”


Hadley joins more than 107,000 graduates trained by the Leadership Institute since 1979. You too can become LI trained.

LI offers training in 50 states and dozens of countries each year. Please go here to register for an already-scheduled training or contact LI to request training in your area.



“The Leadership Institute is a friendly, encouraging environment for conservatives to find the professional training they need to survive in Washington,” Hadley said.  “We face a difficult but important task - advocating for limited government in a city prone to favor government expansion.  But that's why LI's work is so vital: This Institute can prepare conservative professionals for the toughest challenges and equip them for success.”

Please welcome Hadley as LI’s Graduate of the Week.

To nominate a Leadership Institute graduate to be featured as LI's graduate of the week, please contact LI's External Affairs Officer Lauren Hart at LaurenHart@LeadershipInstitute.org.

The Leadership Institute does not oppose or support any candidate, official, or legislation and all programs are open to the public.