About
Catherine Gunsalus is the director of state advocacy at Heritage Action for America, the advocacy arm of the Heritage Foundation. A prominent opponent of ESG investing, she frequently writes opinion pieces, testifies against ESG and other socially-minded legislation, lobbies on behalf of Heritage Action, and coordinates PR strategy with other anti-ESG advocates. She is a registered lobbyist in 18 states, according to NPR, and regularly appears on conservative platforms such as Just the News to amplify anti-ESG talking points.
At ALEC’s 50th annual meeting in July 2023, Gunsalus led a workshop with Will Hild and Richard Belzer to “educate [legislators] on how to identify and avoid politically motivated investing strategies to help keep the promises made to retirees and taxpayers.”
In its January 2022 press release announcing her appointment as state advocacy director, Heritage Action referred to Gunsalus as “a longtime political heavyweight in the state of Kansas,” where she has lived for the past decade-plus and served as assistant secretary of state and chief of staff for the former legislative speaker pro tem. She also readily speaks out against reproductive rights.
Actions
- Co-moderated the “Stopping ESG (aka Conscientious Capitalism)” workshop at ALEC’s 50th annual meeting with Will Hild and Richard Belzer (7/26/23)
- Wrote an op-ed for the Washington Examiner in which she argued that conservatives are winning the “war” against “woke capitalism” and ESG investing (6/16/23)