James “Jay” Heimbach leads the team which develops and manages stakeholder relations, partnerships, and overall communications across our institution. Jay’s role is to provide strategic guidance on the development of advocacy and communications strategies that clearly communicate the impact of the Bank’s work; inform, persuade, and influence public opinion on priority global development issues; and build support for the World Bank and its mission among key stakeholders.
Jay, a U.S. national, is formerly a Principal at the Tiber Creek Group, a government relations firm. He has worked in in both the non-profit and private sectors as well as government. Jay served as the Special Representative of the World Bank to North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel, where he worked closely with senior leadership in managing relationships with key donor governments.
Prior to his tenure at the World Bank, he was the Senior Director for North American Government Affairs for the ONE Campaign, a global advocacy organization focused on ending extreme poverty. In the Senate, Jay served as Chief of Staff to Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio. He worked as a Special Assistant to the President in the Obama administration, focusing on energy, environmental, agricultural, and manufacturing issues in the US Senate. He also served President Clinton in the Office of Legislative Affairs and as Senior Policy Advisor for the White House Deputy Chief of Staff.
Jay holds a B.A. from Colby College, and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.
