IWF is delighted to announce that Helena Ramirez Richardson, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Young Leaders Program, is the latest in our popular series of Champion Women profiles.

In her job at Heritage, Helena helps to develop the next generation of conservative leaders. “Just last semester alone we had seventy students from 50-plus colleges,” she says. “We have geographical diversity. We have some from the smallest schools of 350-person student bodies all the way to U.C. Berkeley. And they were able to get along and to say ‘Wow, we really need to talk about solutions moving forward.’ Well, again, we were homing in on individual freedom, limited government, free enterprise, traditional values and a strong national defense.”

For Helena Ramirez Richardson, none of these issues is merely an academic or dry concept—she knows the bravery and sacrifice required to preserve them. For her, it’s all in a name—the name that she shares with a grandmother who recognized tyranny for what it was and risked it all to give her children liberty and freedom.

“When I speak to young people at Heritage, I say that my belief in liberty is very personal.” Helena explains. “And then I share my story. This is not something I read about in a history book. This is a story that shows why my parents love America. It explains their love of civil society, their love of freedom and liberty. This is in my blood.”

We know you will enjoy meeting this accomplished young woman whose story reminds us all of the costs and value of liberty. She’s a great storyteller with a great story!