Meet Shay
WHERE SHAY COMES FROM
Born in Cleveland Ohio, Shay was raised in Cleveland's east suburbs with his sisters and brother by Eddie and Norma Hawkins, Pastor and First Lady of Good Shepherd Baptist Church. Shay's parents modeled Christian charity and emphasized the duty to personally demonstrate love to ones neighbors. In addition to his family, Shay was blessed with Church members, coaches, and teachers, that developed his mind, nurtured his talents, and built his character as he grew into an adult. Shay later earned his undergraduate degree in economics from The Ohio State University, his MBA from Columbia Business School as a Credit Suisse First Boston Fellow, and his JD from the Moritz College of Law at OSU.
Prior to serving as a Tax and Trade Counsel on Capitol Hill, Shay spent five years as an investment banker with an international firm, and later worked as a field organizer for an organization that advance the principles of entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and personal responsibility in Ohio's Latino community.Today, Shay serves and President of the Opportunity Funds Association, a 501c6 dedicated to bringing investment capital into America's most distressed communities.
A THRIVING CAREER
Shay Hawkins is President of the Opportunity Funds Association and serves as Deputy Director for Opportunity Zones for AFPI’s Center for Opportunity Now & Center for American Prosperity. Shay previously served as the Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure and the senior tax and economic policy advisor to Senator Tim Scott, a Senate Finance Committee Member.
Shay served as Senator Scott’s lead policy advisor throughout the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). During the legislative process, Shay was the driving force behind the Opportunity Zones provision working with House and Senate Conferees, the White House, and other key stakeholders to ensure its inclusion in the final package. Since enactment, Shay has worked with Treasury to develop implementing regulations for Opportunity Zones that will rapidly deploy capital into distressed urban and rural communities. Shay got his start on Capitol Hill as Legislative Fellow to Representative Jim Renacci, (OH-16) where he was part of a team of tax attorneys that developed a comprehensive tax reform plan.
Shay has testified before the Senate Finance Committee, The House Ways & Means Committee, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the House Oversight Committee, and the Select Committee on the Economy, on matters pertaining to international tax, energy policy, infrastructure, pensions, and Opportunity Zones. He has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Morning Consult, The Hill, the Columbus Dispatch and the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits.
Shay serves as an independent director for a NASDAQ traded company. Prior to coming to Capitol Hill, Shay spent five years as an investment banker at what is now a division of Canaccord Genuity. While with CG Results, Shay focused on sell-side Mergers and Acquisitions for firms in the Technology, Media, and Telecoms sector.
A native of Cleveland Ohio, Shay started his career as a broker in the online division of what is now Credit Suisse. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from The Ohio State University, his MBA from Columbia Business School as a Credit Suisse First Boston Fellow, and his JD from the Moritz College of Law at OSU