Leadership
The exectutive leadership for the ILRNHA is as follows.
To learn more about the local sub chapter in your area, visit the Chapters page.
President
Rafael Rivadeneira
rafael.rivadeneira@ilrnha.org
Rafael has been called a "fresh, diverse face and strong Conservative voice” as well as, the “ZAP the IL GOP’s cardio system needs” (Illinois Review ). While the “zap” may be his own doing, Rafael credits his Cuban-born mother and father for his face and his voice. When his parents fled Castro’s Communist Cuba in the late 1960s, they escaped with no money, no jobs and no certainty. They left poverty, tyranny and oppression of Communist Cuba for the hope of freedom and opportunity in America. When their son was born a few years after they arrived, they instilled in him a deep gratitude and admiration for that same freedom and opportunity afforded in this country.
Rafael grew up in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. He attended St. Ignatius Grammar School in Rogers Park and went onto Loyola Academy in Wilmette. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Finance.
At age 23, Rafael and a friend founded a money management firm. They ran the highly successful company together for over 10 years. Today, Rafael is president of Epiphany Portfolios, an off-shoot of that firm. Epiphany Portfolios specializes in low, flat-fee based passive money management for individuals, not-for-profits, foundations and other organizations seeking sound, prudent investments.
A lifelong Republican, Rafael has been active in politics since 2000, Rafael is president of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois (RNHA), as well as the immediate past president of the DuPage County chapter of the RNHA. An elected precinct committeeman in York Township, he is actively involved in the York Township Republican Committeemen’s Organization, the DuPage Young Republicans and the Illinois Republican Party.
Rafael is an official surrogate speaker for the Republican Party and reaches large segments of various communities as a regular contributor on Telemundo, several appearances on Univision, and on such shows as PBS’ “The Professors.” Rafael also takes place in various debates and panels across Illinois.
Vice President
John Guevara
john.guevara@ilrnha.org
John Guevara was born in Chicago. John Guevara graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Political Science in 2001. He and his wife Cira were married on October 6th, 2001. John was active in local politics and became Chairman of RNHA Winnebago Co. chapter in 2009, and was elected to the Winnebago County Board November 2nd, 2010.
He looks forward to helping the RNHA IL bridge the gap between the Republican Party and the Hispanic community as we work together to return prosperity to and expand conservatism in the great state of Illinois.
2nd Vice President
Olga Pereira
olga.pereira@ilrnha.org
Treasurer
Jose Jorge
jose.jorge@ilrnha.org
Assistant Treasurer
Kevin Schoonmaker
kevin.schoonmaker@ilrnha.org
Secretary
Penny Falcon
penny.falcon@ilrnha.org
Assistant Secretary
Martina Pereira
martina.pereira@ilrnha.org
National Committeeman
G.G. Garcia
g.g.garcia@ilrnha.org
Mr. Garcia has a varied professional career in government and business and as a political consultant. A graduate of Texas Community Development Institute at North Harris Montgomery Community College, Houston, Texas, he attended Georgetown University in Washington D.C. 1960-1963. In 1963-64, he did yeoman's work for the Draft Goldwater Comittee before the candidate agree to run for President of the United States.
He served in the Nixon White House as an associate Director of the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for the Spanish Speaking. Prior to that, he was acting City Manager for the City of Mercedes. He ran for the Texas State Senate in 1972.
Mr. Garcia has spent over 50 years in various assignments, including being the number-two man in the campaign that gave Texas its first Republican Governor in 104 years. He was a senior staff assistant to the governor for U.S. Mexico relations and traveled extensively in Mexico meeting with high-level government officials
and representing the Governor and the people of the State of Texas.
He was a Regional Director for the Legal Services Corporation for the Rocky Mountain Region and an assistant to the director of MAC, the monitotring, auditing, and compliance section of the Legal Services Corporation.
He is the Chairman of the Credentials and Membership Committee of RNHA-IL and the new National Committeeman.
National Committeewoman
Gloria Campos
gloria.campos@ilrnha.org
Gloria Campos was born on September 23, 1957, in Leon, Nicaragua, where she grew up. She attended college in Bogotá, Colombia, from 1975 thru 1978, pursuing a degree in Psychology. Due to a political unrest that lead to a civil war in her native country and the triumph of the guerilla Sandinista in July 1979, Campos went into exile with her newborn son. First they went to Guatemala, then to Mexico where she was reunited with her husband, Ramon, who was finishing his college degree in Monterrey. They lived in Mexico for seven years. In July 1986 the Campos family obtained political asylum status and came to the U.S. where they were reunited with the rest of their family.
In 1995 Campos became a naturalized U.S. citizen and has been involved in the political process ever since.
“For so many years I was a woman without a country,” Campos said, “and the sense of belonging to this great nation exalted a great sense of pride when I first exercised one of my rights as a U.S. citizen, and that was my right to cast a vote. From then on it has become my personal crusade to get Latinos active in the political process of this country.”
In 1999 Campos became active with the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) and quickly developed the Southern Illinois chapter of this organization and became its chairman. In 2001 her involvement became greater when she was elected National Committeewoman for this organization. At the national level, she was elected Midwest Representative and reelected successfully at the National Convention in Houston, Texas, in 2003 and in Washington, D.C., in 2005. As a Midwest Representative, Campos was responsible for the formation of the chapters in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.
In 2004 she was elected as a Delegate for the Illinois 12th Congressional District for the Republican Convention in New York City. In April 2005, during the Illinois primaries, Campos was elected Precinct Committeeman. In 2008 Campos was an Alternate Delegate at Large to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, MN.
At the present time she is the National Committeewoman for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois, National Vice Chair of the Latino National Republican Coalition, a PAC dedicated to education and campaign training for candidates and the Hispanic leadership around the nation; 2nd Vice chair of Jackson County Republican Party, IL Federation of Republican Women, Jackson County Booster Club, member of St. Francis Xavier Hispanic Ministry in Carbondale and St. Andrew Church in Murphysboro, IL. Campos is active in Murphysboro with many community events. She is past President of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois, served as a Board member of the University of Illinois Extension, Jackson County and Southern Illinois Soccer Club.
Campos has been married to Ramon since 1978, and they live in Murphysboro. They have four children, Ben, Ramon Jr, Diego and Isabella; two daughters-in-law, Allison and Jennifer, and three grandchildren, Charlie, Noah and Ava. They also have their beloved rescued pets, Chucha the dog and Gata (Pootter) the cat. She and Ramon own a small business, Happy House Cleaning Services, which they have operated together since 1988.
Advisor to the RNHA IL
Mary Jo Arndt
maryjo.arndt@ilrnha.org
Mary Jo Arndt’s life has been a whirlwind of political activism. She’s headed the state and national women’s GOP organizations. She spearheaded the formation of the GOP women’s think-tank, the Illinois Roundtable. She established the Illinois Lincoln Series, a state organization that prepares women for successful political careers. And two US presidents named her to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows.
Her history includes 20 years as a Republican National Committeewoman for Illinois, sitting on the Midwestern Region of the RNC Executive Committee for three years, acting as an advisor to the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois, and chairing the Illinois Women for McCain campaign.
Arndt’s activist role reaches beyond the political arena. The former teacher and newspaper columnist today is managing partner and hospital administrator of Lombard Veterinary Hospital. She’s served on the US Small Business Administration National Advisory Council and the National Board of Directors of Leadership America. She also was named to Illinois Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women. Her numerous other state and federal appointments led to Today’s Chicago Woman twice recognizing her as a “Power Personality” for her role in shaping Chicagoland’s business and social environment.
