RNC Spotlights State Senator, State Representative, Director of Health Policy, and Utah Attorney General

RNC Announces Four New Rising Stars 

WASHINGTON – Today at the RNC Winter Meeting in San Diego, California, Chairman Reince Priebus and Co-Chairman Sharon Day added four new individuals to the RNC Rising Stars program.

These additions make up the fifth group of Rising Stars since the RNC launched the program in 2013. Each of these new voices in the party are given a national platform to promote their diverse perspectives. The group of four are showcased on GOP.com.

Chairman Priebus and Co-Chairman Day announced the next four Rising Stars and joined them in a panel discussion in San Diego.  

·         Anitere Flores, Florida State Senator District 37

·         Conrad James, New Mexico State Representative District 24

·         Hadley Heath Manning, Director of Health Policy at Independent Women’s Forum

·         Sean Reyes, Utah Attorney General

“These four individuals are a fantastic addition to our Rising Stars program,” said Chairman Priebus. “I am thrilled to work with Anitere, Conrad, Hadley, and Sean and I look forward to hearing their unique perspectives as they continue to do great things for the Republican Party.”

“I am excited to welcome another outstanding group of RNC Rising Stars,” said Co-Chairman Day. “These impressive individuals represent the great diversity in our party and I am grateful for all of their hard work.”

Click here to view the Rising Stars webpage.

Biographies of the New RNC Rising Stars:

Anitere Flores, @Anitere_Flores

Senator Anitere Flores represents Senate District 37, which includes Sweetwater, Westchester, Kendall, Country Walk and portions of Southwest Miami-Dade County. She graduated with a BA in Political Science and International Relations from Florida International University, and then received a J.D. from the University Of Florida Levin College Of Law. After law school, Senator Flores was hired by the Florida House of Representatives to work on the Education Council, and later worked for Governor Jeb Bush as his Education Policy Chief.

Senator Flores served in the Florida House from 2004-2010, serving as Deputy Majority Leader, Chair of the PreK-12 Appropriations Committee, and Chair of the PreK-12 Policy Committee. Prior to being elected a State Representative, she spent two years advocating for university students in her district as Director of State Relations for Florida International University.

As a member of the Florida Senate, Senator Flores is the Chair of the Fiscal Policy Committee, and sits on the Appropriations Committee, Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice, Ethics and Elections Committee, Finance and Tax Committee, Health Policy Committee, and Regulated Industries Committee.

Senator Flores also serves on various national and community boards.  She is a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, and the Board of Spectrum Programs, Inc. She has also recently been elected as the Chair of the Miami-Dade Legislative Delegation.

Senator Flores is President of Doral College, a recently established accelerated college program.

Senator Flores is married to Dustin Anderson of Sarasota, Florida. Together they have two sons, Máximo Monte and Lucas Ignacio Anderson.

Conrad James

Representative Conrad James was born and raised in Ohio in a family that stressed education and hard work. Conrad graduated from Walnut Ridge High School and then completed his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame. He then received his master’s and doctorate degrees from Cornell University in applied and engineering physics.

Since 2002, he has worked as a research engineer developing microsystem-based sensors and devices. From 2011 to 2012, Conrad represented House District 24 in the 50th New Mexico Legislature, serving on the House Appropriations & Finance and the Voters & Elections Committees. In 2013, Conrad was appointed to the University of New Mexico Board of Regents where he served on the Finance & Facilities Committee and the Health Sciences Center Board. In 2014, he became Vice President of the Board, and in that same year he was successfully re-elected to the state legislature.

Conrad and his wife Natasha are raising three children in Albuquerque where they attend City Church of Albuquerque.

Hadley Heath Manning, @HadleyHeath

Hadley Heath Manning is director of health policy at the Independent Women's Forum, managing all of IWF’s health policy programs. She has worked at IWF since 2010.

Hadley appears frequently in radio and TV outlets across the country, including Fox Business' Cavuto on Business, Stossel Show, Fox News’ Hannity, Your World with Neil Cavuto, and PBS's To the Contrary among others.  Her work has been featured in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, POLITICO, Roll Call, Real Clear Policy, the Tampa Tribune, National Review Online, Daily Caller and Townhall.com.

She was a 2012-2013 National Review Institute Washington Fellow and was named to Red Alert Politics “30 Under 30” list in 2013.

Hadley graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead-Cain Scholar with a bachelor's degree in economics and journalism.

She was recently married now lives with her husband in Denver, Colorado.

Sean Reyes, @SeanReyesAG

Sean Reyes is the 21st Attorney General for Utah and was first appointed in December of 2013. Reyes is Hispanic, Asian and Polynesian, and the first ethnic minority statewide elected official in Utah history. He has been lauded by legislators from both sides of aisle for his work ethic and legal acumen, and won praise from Utah Governor Gary Herbert and his cabinet for increased excellence and transparency in the Attorney General's office.

Reyes was re-elected this November by one of the widest margins among officeholders nationwide and in a short time, has become a well-respected leader among his peers, serving on the governing body of RAGA (Republican AGs), in leadership for CWAG (Western AGs) and on key committees for NAAG (National AGs).

He helped lead litigation on key issues nationally, including lawsuits challenging federal overreach in such areas as the environment, gun rights, marriage and, most recently, he helped organize 23 states joining with Texas to challenge the constitutionality of President Obama’s executive action on immigration. He has served on key state and federal commissions, including a national Congressional Commission regarding Hispanic issues and lent his expertise in the law, business and politics to national and international media outlets

In 2008, Reyes was named first-ever “National Outstanding Young Lawyer” by the ABA (bestowed on one out of millions of lawyers annually).  He was the Utah Young Lawyer of the Year as a Partner at the State’s largest law firm where he spent fifteen years litigating blockbuster cases in federal courts across the nation.  Later, he was General Counsel for a tech company and a partner in a venture fund.

Reyes graduated summa cum laude from BYU and with honors from Berkeley Law.  A former collegiate athlete and MMA fighter, he and his wife, Saysha, are the proud parents of six.

The Rising Stars program has now featured a total of 22 individuals, including those recognized at previous meetings:

Summer 2013:

·         Karin Agness, Founder and President of the Network of enlightened Women (NeW), and Senior Fellow at Independent Women's Forum

·         Scott G. Erickson, Heritage Foundation Writer and San Jose Police Officer

·         Marilinda Garcia, New Hampshire State Representative

·         T.W. Shannon, Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives

Winter 2014:

·         Chelsi P. Henry, Cabinet Aide to the Chief Financial Officer of Florida

·         Alison Howard, Conservative Activist

·         Alex Smith, National Chair of the College Republican National Committee

·         Kimberly Yee, Arizona State Senator

·         Monica Youngblood, New Mexico State Representative

Spring 2014:

·         Amber Barno, Army Veteran, Military Advisory at Concerned Veterans for America, and Senior Fellow at Independent Women's Forum

·         Veronica Muzquiz Edwards, Founder and CEO of InGenesis

·         Lee Jackson, Republican Youth Activist and Member of the RSU 34 Board of Directors

·         Clarice Navarro, Colorado State Representative

·         Mike Pantelides, Mayor of Annapolis

Summer 2014:

·         Will Hurd, United States Representative (TX-23)

·         BJ Pak, Georgia State Representative

·         Amanda Padson, West Virginia State Representative

·         Evelyn Sanguinetti, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois