Heather is the founder and executive director of the Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap Initiative, a national network of more than 400 nonprofit, philanthropic, public and private sector leaders working to advance policy and practical solutions that build wealth for low-income women, women of color, LGBTQ women and other economically vulnerable women. She is also founder and principal of Asset Building Strategies, a consulting firm that supports leaders from the nonprofit, philanthropic, public and private sector to develop strategies that help low-wealth individuals and families build financial assets.

Heather served as the chief consultant to the PolicyLink financial security team, from 2010 to 2017.  In the spring of 2016, she was a visiting professor at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, co-leading a graduate-level course on tackling inequality through equitable development.  From 2013-2015, she was the founding director of the Tax Alliance for Economic Mobility, a national coalition advancing equitable tax policy. Other clients have included the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Aspen Institute, Asset Funders Network, Levi Strauss Foundation, National Conference of State Legislatures, Neighborhood Funders Group, New America Foundation, Prosperity Now, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and others.  Heather earned a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.