Emma Waters

Emma Waters is a Senior Policy Analyst in the Center for Technology and the Human Person at The Heritage Foundation. Her work focuses on family, biotechnology, and reproductive medicine. She is the author of Lead Like Jael: Seven Timeless Principles for Today’s Women of Faith (Regnery Faith, 2026) and the author of the forthcoming book Rethinking Fertility: The Package Deal of Marriage, Sex, and Procreation (Crossway Publishing). Emma is a monthly contributor with World Magazine, and the host of the podcast Rethinking Fertility.

Mrs. Waters received The Hill’s inaugural 2026 “Top 50 Women Shaping Policy” award and in 2025 co-published “A Future for the Family: A New Technology Agenda for the Right” statement at First Things.

Prior to this, Mrs. Waters was a Visiting Fellow with Independent Women’s Forum and the Coalitions Manager of American Moment where she periodically cohosted their podcast, Moment of Truth. In 2021, she won the American Enterprise Institutes’ Young Scholars Award where she wrote and published an in-depth paper on child support policy in the state of Tennessee, including qualitative interviews with 25 nonresident fathers.

Her work and words may be found in First Things, New York Times, Washington Post, Fox News, Newsweek, World Magazine, RealClear Policy, RealClear Health, The Federalist, the Institute for Family Studies, The Gospel Coalition, Problematic Women podcast, The American Conservative, The American Mind, The Daily Signal, and more.

She graduated valedictorian at Lee University with a B.S. in Political Science and a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy at The Catholic University of America. She resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters. You can find her on Instagram @emlwaters_ and X @emlwaters.