John Heubusch is an American political and private-sector executive and author. Between 2009 and 2023 John served as the Executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in Simi Valley, California, overseeing the legacy of the 40th President of the United States.
He is also the author two thrillers: The Shroud Conspiracy (2017) and The Second Coming (2018).
Prior to his role as Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, Mr. Heubusch’s career has spanned philanthropy, politics, public service, and the C-Suite of a Fortune 500. He served as the COO of Avalon Capital Group, Inc., a wholly owned private investment company with over $1 billion in assets and diverse interests in technology, energy, finance and entertainment. While at Avalon Capital, he also served as President of The Waitt Family Foundation where he oversaw the organization’s charitable programs. Before joining Avalon, Mr. Heubusch was the Chief Administrative Officer of Gateway, Inc., the Fortune 500 computer icon, responsible for managing its Strategy, Human Resources, Facilities, Legal and Government Relations departments.
John Heubusch also served as the first President of the Waitt Institute, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to historical discovery and scientific exploration. The Waitt Institute was founded and funded by Ted Waitt, the co-founder and marketing genius behind Gateway Computers.
In 2007, working with Waitt and a team of scientists and underwater exploration experts, he spearheaded the organization’s first deep sea expedition to solve one of the last great American mysteries: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart during her famed circumnavigation flight of the globe in 1937. Since then, successive efforts by many to locate Earhart and her airplane have failed The mystery remains. Working with the National Geographic Society, his efforts at the Waitt Institute also helped lead to the discovery, authentication and preservation of the famed lost Gospel of Judas, the ancient text deemed to be heretical and ordered destroyed by the early Christian Church. The Gospel purports to document the last conversations between Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ as well as the true rationale for history’s most famous betrayal. His involvement at the Waitt Institute also helped lead to National Geographic’s launching of the Genographic Project, the largest ever effort of its kind to chart the migratory history of mankind using DNA donated by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. The project is informing the world about our ancient migratory history.
In May of 2012, Heubusch was also instrumental in negotiating and retrieving a vial of President Reagan’s blood that was stolen from the George Washington University Hospital as Reagan fought for his life after the assassination attempt in March, 1981. The vial containing Reagan’s DNA was for sale by auction to unknown bidders willing to pay in the tens of thousands of dollars to obtain it. Heubusch succeeded in stopping the auction. The vial now remains safe in the Reagan Foundation’s hands.
Cited often by the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and dozens of other media outlets, he has also written for the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Investor’s Business Daily, Forbes, Real Clear Politics, the San Diego Union Tribune and other leading publications. Presently the Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, he oversees the foundation’s activities at the largest and most visited of the nation’s Presidential Libraries.
Previous to his work with Gateway, he was the Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) during the 1995-1996 election cycle. Under his leadership, two more seats were added to the Republican column in the Senate, bringing the number to 55.
Prior to his appointment to the NRSC, Mr. Heubusch served Elizabeth Dole as the Vice President of Communications for the American Red Cross, one of the largest non-profit humanitarian organizations in the world, from 1991-1994. In this capacity, he was accountable for all internal and external communication activities for the organization, including advertising, media relations, and public affairs.
During the Bush (41) Administration, Mr. Heubusch was Chief of Staff to Secretary of Labor Elizabeth Dole from 1989 to 1991. At the Labor Department, he served as a senior advisor to the Secretary, with responsibility for assisting in operations of the department.
Mr. Heubusch also worked on Capitol Hill and was on the staff of Representative Denny Smith (R-OR) from 1981-1988. He served as Chief of Staff to Representative Smith, Staff Director for the Congressional Military Reform Caucus, and Associate Staff Member of the Committee on the Budget. From 1980-1981, he was a Research Analyst with the Office of the Secretary, Department of the U.S. Air Force, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles, California.