Most recently, Mr. Heintz was founding president of Dēmos: A Network for Ideas & Action, a public policy research and advocacy organization working to enhance the vitality of American democracy and promote more broadly shared prosperity. Prior to founding Dēmos, Mr. Heintz served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the EastWest Institute (EWI), where he worked on issues of economic reform, civil society development, and international security. Based in Prague, Czech Republic, from 1990 through 1997, Mr. Heintz worked extensively throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States. Mr. Heintz devoted the first 15 years of his career to politics and government service in the State of Connecticut, where he served as commissioner of economic development (1988–1990) and commissioner of social welfare (1983–1988). In 1988, he helped draft and secure passage by Congress of "The Family Support Act," the first major effort to reform the nation's welfare system. He has published articles in The International Herald Tribune, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal Europe, and several books and journals. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale University.

Mr. Heintz currently serves on the boards of Dēmos, the EastWest Institute, the Asian Cultural Council, and the Rockefeller Archives Center. He also chairs the Independent Sector board of directors and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2009, 2010, and 2011 the Nonprofit Times named Mr. Heintz one of the 50 most influential leaders of the nonprofit sector.