Austin VanDerHeyden

Austin VanDerHeyden is the Director of Municipal Affairs for the Goldwater Institute. He works on issues including homelessness, government spending and accountability, property rights, housing, and many other issues that municipalities face across Arizona. He works with cities, towns, and counties to find solutions that protect taxpayers and promote a limited and transparent government.

Austin has been heavily involved in policy related to ‘the Zone’ in Phoenix, which was at one time the largest homeless encampment in the country. He frequently appears on radio and TV for both local and national outlets discussing the work that he does at the Institute, and issues that local governments are dealing with both in Arizona and across the country.

Prior to joining Goldwater, Austin worked in policy as a lobbyist in his home state of Minnesota and conducted research on school boards and school districts throughout the nation.

Austin holds a bachelor’s degree from Crown College in Minnesota and a master’s degree in political science from Liberty University. He currently lives in Phoenix with his wife, two sons, and two dogs.