Ron Nehring is a veteran conservative leader who served until just recently as the Chairman of the California Republican Party, responsible for the direction and management of the largest state Republican Party in the nation. The acuity and focus he brings to this role is the result of over twenty years of domestic and foreign policy and political experience serving public policy, political, non-profit, and government organizations. Chris Wilson, CEO of Wilson Research Strategies, describes Ron as “a solid political strategist” and "one of the best state chairmen I have ever worked with.” Longtime Republican commentator Bill Saracino describes Ron has having “exactly the right mix of realism and an understanding of the importance of ideas and idealism in politics.” The Daily Caller’s Caroline May describes Ron’s leadership style as “behind much of his party’s enthusiasm” in the Golden State. Under his leadership, the California Republican Party raised over $73 million, permanently retired over $4 million in debt, and instituted a wide array of professional management and financial reforms. As leader of a key state Republican Party, Ron’s insight has been frequently sought by national and international media, such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Fox News, CNN, MS-NBC, C-SPAN, and the BBC, among others. He is a contributor to several of America's leading online news outlets, including BigGovernment.com and RedCounty.com. As Chairman of the Republican National Committee’s State Chairmen’s Committee, Ron transformed the committee into an important force for the sharing of ideas and best practices among the nation’s state Republican leaders. Prior to his election to positions of leadership in the California Republican Party, Ron served as Chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County (2001 - 2007), one of America's largest counties with a population exceeding more than a dozen states. During his chairmanship, fundraising increased more than twenty-fold, support for local candidates surged, and the party pioneered the largest ongoing Republican voter turnout program in California. He inherited a committee long in debt, and through a combination of strong fundraising and solid financial management, left it with large cash reserves and no debt. Ron applied his policy expertise and experience as a victim of the 2003 Cedar Fire, the most destructive wildfire in the history of the United States, as a member of the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection (2005 – 2006), a post to which he was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is a strong advocate for charter schools, school choice, and providing parents with options and alternatives in education. As a member of the Grossmont Union High School District Board of Trustees (2004 – 2006), Ron proposed a bold plan for transforming all of the district’s 11 high schools into charter schools managed by boards elected by parents of the children attending each school. He is a 2010 graduate of the FBI's Citizens Academy program in San Diego. To support the cause of advancing democracy around the world, Ron has taught communications, governance, and management to leaders in Iraq, Bosnia, Serbia, the West Bank, Haiti, Egypt, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom.