Michael S. Steele was elected Chairman of the Republican National Committee on January 30, 2009. As Chairman Mr. Steele is setting a new direction for the Republican Party - actively engaging Americans in their local communities and empowering state and local Republican organizations to do the same.
A self-described "Lincoln Republican," Mr. Steele earned a place in history in 2003 when he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, becoming the first African-American elected to statewide office in the state.
An expert on political strategy and election reform, he most recently served as Chairman of GOPAC, and also held posts on the National Federal Election Reform Commission and the NAACP Blue Ribbon Commission on Election Reform.
Mr. Steele's experiences as a successful elected conservative African-American Republican and his engaging speaking style have launched him into national prominence. His first major exposure was during an appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention. Since then, President George W. Bush selected Steele to be part of the U.S. delegation to the investiture of Pope Benedict XVI, and a member of the Presidential Delegation to the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VIII in Tanzania.
Mr. Steele's ability as a communicator and political analyst have been showcased through his roles as a contributor on the Fox News Channel and regular host of the Salem Radio Network's nationally syndicated Morning in America Show. Additionally, Mr. Steele is an entertaining and eloquent guest on cable political talk shows such as HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher and Comedy Central's The Colbert Report.
A corporate finance attorney, Mr. Steele founded his own company, The Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm. His writings on law, business and politics have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, Politico.com, Townhall.com, and The Journal of International Security Affairs, among others.
Born in 1958 at Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George's County, Maryland, Mr. Steele was raised in Washington, DC. He spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St. Augustine in preparation for the priesthood, but, ultimately, chose a career in law instead. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1991.
Jan Larimer was elected Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee on January 30, 2009, after running on a platform of bolstering the Party’s grassroots and use of technology to recruit, train and elect candidates at every level.
As Co-Chairman, Larimer works closely with Chairman Michael Steele, National Committee Members, elected officials, and state party organizations to strengthen and manage the Party’s grassroots network. Specifically, the Co-Chairman oversees the Republican Party’s Member Services division and the RNC’s Women’s Program. She is building a strong program designed to recruit, register, train and sustain a strong base of women activists and candidates to build the Republican Party, portray the GOP as the automatic option for female voters and win elections.
Larimer has been politically active for more than 30 years. She has recruited countless successful candidates for local, statewide and national offices; chaired the RNC Site-Selection Committee and co-chaired the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia; serves on the RNC Executive Committee; and is National Committeewoman for her home state of Wyoming, a position she has held since 1988. Additionally, Larimer nominated Dick Cheney to the office of Vice President of the United States at both the 2000 and 2004 Republican National Conventions.
Larimer serves on various boards and commissions, including the Wyoming Higher Educational Authority, the University of Wyoming College of Health Services Advisory Committee and the James Madison Book Awards Advisory Council. She was appointed twice by the governor to the Wyoming Community College Commission where she served for eight years.
Larimer and her husband, Jack, live in Jackson Hole, WY. They have two adult children, Amy and Doug.
Elected in January 2007, Randall “Randy" Pullen is serving his first term as chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. A CPA and businessman by trade, Randy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in both the business and political communities to the job as chairman.
Prior to becoming chairman, Randy served as the National Committeeman from Arizona on the Republican National Committee from 2004 to 2007. He was a candidate for Mayor of the city of Phoenix in both 1999 and 2003, campaigning on a platform of fighting crime, reducing city spending and reforming immigration policies. He co-chaired the Finance Committee for the Arizona Republican Party in 2000.
Randy continues to have a successful business career that began in 1972 with his founding of Charleston Marina and Shipbuilding with his father and brother. In less than five years, the Pullen family grew Charleston Marina and Shipbuilding into the largest sport fishing company in southern Oregon. In 1988 Pullen went on to become a partner in the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche. There, Randy became the firm’s expert on real estate and related banking issues throughout the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In 1992, Randy became President of ILX, Inc., a publicly traded resort management company headquartered in Phoenix. Within two-years, under Randy’s leadership, ILX increased its revenue from $5 million to over $20 million in sales. Randy then went on to found Pullen & Company, a successful accounting and consulting practice specializing in complex financial issues for both litigation and bankruptcy cases.
A business innovator, Randy is the founder and president of Wage Watch, Inc. Since 1999, Wage Watch has been a premier Internet based compensation and benefit survey firm serving Fortune 1000 companies. Wage Watch has over 5,000 subscribing companies representing over 1.5 million employees nationwide.
A true believer in giving back to the community, Randy has served on numerous non-profit boards and foundations. From 2000 to 2003, Randy served as a director and as president of the Rosie’s House Music Academy. In 2001, he was a co-founder of the annual Student Entrepreneur Competition with the Arizona State University College of Engineering. He has been a member of the Phoenix Community Alliance, Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Technology Council, and the Social Venture Partners, a private sector investment group that invests in startup not-for-profit charities.
A graduate of Arizona State University with a Masters of Business Administration, Randy resides in Phoenix with his wife, Katherine.
Commissioner Sharon Day of Fort Lauderdale was appointed to the Commission in 2008 by Governor Charlie Crist. Sharon is a retired executive with marketing, group health insurance and re-insurance experience. She is an entrepreneur that has built and sold numerous businesses and is a strong supporter of small business.
Commissioner Day serves on the Broward County Housing Authority as Chairman of the Commission and is Broward County’s State Committeewoman and Florida’s Republican National Committeewoman.
In 2006, Sharon was elected to be one of the eight individuals that selected the location of the 2008 Republican National Convention. Sharon was also appointed by RNC Chairman Duncan to act as Florida’s representative on the 2008 Convention Committee on Arrangements and was selected to be Chairman of the 2008 Republican Convention’s Special Events.
In 2000, with election reform being one of the important issues for Governor Jeb Bush and the State of Florida, Sharon was appointed to serve on the Committee for Election Reform for the State of Florida by Governor Bush.
Sharon is married to Larry, has two sons and is blessed with three beautiful grandchildren.
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