Vargas and Rodriguez Bios

DEMOCRAT

Estuardo Rodriguez is a frequent commentator on television and is principal at the Raben Group, a consulting firm . He is a fluent Spanish speaker . A commentator and consultant on Democratic and Hispanic issues, Estuardo V. Rodriguez, Jr. counsels Raben Group clients on media and communications strategies targeted to Hispanic communities. Estuardo has appeared on CNN, CNN en Español, Univision’s Despierta America, national and local Univision and Telemundo. He also serves the U.S. Department of State as an independent political analyst in Latin America, most recently in Colombia and Bolivia. Estuardo has many years of experience with media, message development and government affairs. Prior to joining The Raben Group, he consulted on media marketing and political relations campaigns. His projects included promoting a national diabetes education and awareness initiative for GlaxoSmithKline. The effort brought national exposure to the campaign through national television programs on Telemundo, more than 50 Spanish language newspapers, and several national and top market Spanish language radio programs and networks. Estuardo began his law career at the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, where he worked as an attorney under Secretary Henry Cisneros and later Secretary Andrew Cuomo. Raised in Washington, DC, Estuardo received his Bachelor of Arts in political science and philosophy from Barry International Catholic University in Miami, Florida, and his J.D. from St. John's University School of Law in New York City. Estuardo is a co-founder and former president of the Hispanic Lobbyists Association (HLA) and a member of the Hispanic Bar Association of D.C. (HBA-DC). . He is fluent in Spanish.

REPUBLICAN

Danny Vargas is the Executive Director of the National Republican Hispanic Assembly. He is active in politics at various levels and is a fluent Spanish speaker .

Danny Vargas has created opportunities, overcome challenges and beaten the odds all his life. As founder and president of VARCom Solutions, a D.C. area-based marketing and public relations firm, he has made a mark not only in business but in the community as well. In July of 2007 he became chairman of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce, making him the first Hispanic to chair a mainstream chamber of commerce in the history of Virginia, and probably the mid-Atlantic region. Mr. Vargas was also recently elected the national chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly.

Mr. Vargas also served as an executive at AOL. First as VP of Global Sales for Voice Services, where he developed new channel and wholesale relationships with a wide variety of organizations—from popular online properties, to telecom service providers, to major membership organizations and much more. Later as VP of Latin America, he built the strategy for the corporation’s re-entry into the market from Mexico to Argentina. At a time of transformation for AOL, his ability to think strategically and act tactically was a valuable asset.

Previously, Danny was VP of Sales and Marketing for the Americas for France Telecom’s carrier division. The division had no prior presence in the U.S., so he developed and executed the company’s U.S. market penetration plan and led the organization to reach a $100 million annual run rate within eight months of launch, while at the same time continuing to grow the business in Latin America. Danny joined France Telecom after six years at Global One where as Director of Corporate and Carrier sales for the Americas Region he generated over $140 million in revenue in 1999.

Before joining Global One, Vargas worked for a subsidiary of Raytheon Corporation where he played a key role in expanding their business in the areas of training, operations and intelligence analysis support to the federal government. Danny served seven years in the U.S. Air Force, including five years as Operations Manager and Intelligence Analyst in the Republic of Panama where he also supervised airborne reconnaissance missions routinely reporting on matters of national security to key decision makers and national authorities, including the White House.

Danny’s personal story is equally compelling. Raised poor in New York City, in a broken home, he struggled and was determined to rise out of poverty and the slums of the inner city. Today he serves on the boards of various non-profit groups and speaks to students at various levels to encourage them to stay in school and work hard to succeed. As the first person in his family to earn a degree, he is proud to give back to his community. He is married with two young sons, is fluent in Spanish and is active in politics at the local, state, national and international levels.