NRCC Announces Senior Staff for the 2018 Cycle
NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers today announced the committee’s senior staff for the 2018 cycle.
“This is a team of experienced and skilled leaders who are wasting no time preparing for Election Day 2018,” said Stivers. “I have every confidence that this group will not only help us protect our historic House majority, but also promote a conservative governing agenda that will make the American people proud.”
John Rogers – Executive Director
Joe Pileggi- Political Director
Emma Nelson- Finance Director
Matt Gorman- Communications Director
Ted Peterson- Digital Director
Sean Philbin- Research Director
Jesse Walls- Member Services
Rob Jentgens- Chief Financial Officer
Chris Winkelman- General Counsel
Jeff McGowan- Strategy Director
Chris Del Beccaro- Policy Director
Micah Yousefi- Women’s Engagement Director
Alexi Donovan- Polling Director
George Griffin- IT Director
Megan Schenewerk- Operations Director
John Rogers, Executive Director: Rogers has been at the NRCC since 2011. He has served in three different capacities at the Committee: Regional Political Director, Deputy Political Director and Political Director. Over the past 15 years, John has worked full-time on eight campaigns and advised dozens of others on a local to national level. John has a B.A. in Marketing and Management from Siena College in New York. Originally from upstate New York, John now lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife, Sarah, and daughters, Grace and Claire.
Joe Pileggi, Political Director: Pileggi is a veteran political operative with experience in campaigns spanning across the country from Florida to Alaska. During the 2014 and 2016 election cycles, Joe served as a Regional Political Director at the NRCC. Prior to his time there, Joe was an associate at Axiom Strategies, a political consulting firm, He also managed and served as Senior Staff on U.S. Senate, gubernatorial, statewide ballot initiative and state legislative campaigns. A proud graduate of the University of the Florida, he is an avid Gator fan. Originally born in New York but raised in Florida, Joe now resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife and five children.
Emma Nelson, Finance Director: Most recently, Nelson worked as a Regional Finance Director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She began the 2016 cycle as Midwest Regional Finance Director for Right to Rise USA and later Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign. Emma has previously held fundraising roles at the RNC, Romney Victory and Yoder for Congress. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Emma is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Matt Gorman, Communications Director: A veteran of two presidential campaigns, Gorman was previously the Strategic Campaign Communications Director for the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), where he advised the world’s largest biotechnology organization on communications and rapid response. Gorman also recently served as rapid response director and national spokesman for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s 2016 campaign. From 2013 to 2015, he was the NRCC’s Rapid Response Director, advising candidates in some of the country’s most competitive races and helping Republicans win their largest House majority since 1928. Gorman also served as deputy rapid response director on Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign. A native of Torrington, Connecticut, Gorman graduated from Stonehill College and resides in Washington, DC.
Ted Peterson, Digital Director: In 2016, Peterson oversaw the NRCC Independent Expenditure’s $8 million digital media buy. Before that, Peterson held media buying and digital communications roles for a public affairs firm in Washington, DC and for the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He began his political career on Tommy Thompson’s 2012 senate race in Wisconsin after graduating from Sewanee.
Sean Philbin, Research Director: Philbin recently served as the research director and strategic communications advisor for the Senate Leadership Fund and American Crossroads for the 2016 cycle. In 2014, he served as deputy research director for the NRCC, which led Republicans to their largest House Majority since 1928. In that capacity, Philbin spearheaded the effort to integrate research and communications strategies for the Committee. Previously, as part of the NRCC’s 2012 Independent Expenditure unit, he assisted in the planning, development, strategy and execution of television and radio productions in competitive House races, as part of more than $65 million in political advertising. Also an attorney, Philbin previously worked as a committee staffer in the U.S. Senate.
Jesse Walls, Member Services: Walls, a native Ohioan, has been a long time staffer for NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers and most recently was his Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director with a focus on financial services issues. Prior to that he worked for former Senator George V. Voinovich and the Ohio State Senate. Walls received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science from The Ohio State University and is the proud father to his six-year old girl, Cheyenne.
Rob Jentgens, Chief Financial Officer: Jentgens began as the NRCC’s Chief Financial Officer in 2013 and is responsible for maintaining the strong financial management and accountability for the committee. He has been working for the Republican Party for the past 11 years including CFO of the NRSC, the Deputy CFO for a presidential campaign and various positions in FEC Compliance and accounting. He earned a B.A. in History and Political Science from Indiana University (IU) and a MBA from University of Cincinnati and is an avid IU Basketball fan and works as part of the local IU alumni chapter as Treasurer.
Chris Winkelman, General Counsel: Winkelman previously served as NRCC Acting General Counsel in the 2015-2016 election cycle. Prior to joining the NRCC, he was a Senior Associate at the powerhouse DC election law firm Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky where he counseled candidates, committees, officeholders, and issue advocacy groups among other nonprofit organizations on campaign finance and election law matters. Before heading into private practice, Chris served as a judicial law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
Jeff McGowan, Strategy Director: McGowan will be returning as the Strategy Director of the NRCC for the 2018 cycle. His work with the committee over the past 3 cycles saw the creation and expansion of a data and analytics operation that has quickly become one of the cornerstones of how the NRCC views and understands the competitive House landscape. His previous experience includes overseeing the national data services operation for Americans for Prosperity, a cycle as a junior data and digital analyst for Targeted Victory, and time spent as a staffer at the RNC in the 2008 cycle—where split time between the Political and Strategy departments. McGowan cut his teeth on campaigns in his hometown of Las Vegas, NV and has been on the ground in 9 states in his 13 year tenure in campaign politics.
Chris Del Beccaro, Policy Director: Del Beccaro served most recently as the Legislative Director for Representative Dan Donovan. Prior to this role he worked for Representative Jeff Denham and managed Rep. Denham’s 2014 reelection campaign. Chris is originally from Seattle, Washington and attended Washington State University in Pullman where he received a B.A. in History, focusing on French history. Additionally Chris studied at the Catholic University of the West in Angers, France where he received a Diploma in French Studies. During his time on the Hill, Chris completed the Air Command and Staff College program and in 2011 was recognized as the National Legislative Proponent of the Year by the Association of the United States Navy (AUSN) for his work on veterans’ legislation.
Micah Yousefi, Women’s Engagement Director: Yousefi starts her third cycle at the NRCC where she is responsible for the growth and implementation of the Women’s Engagement Program. A two-prong program, this initiative entails female candidate recruitment and development and women voter engagement among our incumbent members. Prior to her time at the committee, Micah worked for Chairman Shuster, and served as an NGO Delegate on the 53rd UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Alexi Donovan, Polling Director: Donovan is a veteran of the NRCC having worked closely with the Executive Director while acting as the deputy in the Polling Department for the 2016 cycle. During that time, the NRCC Polling Department showed Republicans wining in 30-plus competitive House races by an average of eight points. Republicans ended up winning those district by nine points on average.
George Griffin, IT Director: Griffin is starting his eighth cycle as the IT Director at the NRCC where he oversees the computer and networking operations. Prior to his tenure at the NRCC he was the IT Director for Steve Forbes’ 2000 presidential campaign and the Director of Network Operations for the Republican National Committee. Griffin grew up in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. As the son of a father who was a political appointee for Presidents Ford and Reagan, and a mother who held elected office in Prince George’s County, Griffin has been involved in political campaigns at every level since he was a young boy. He currently resides in Virginia with his wife and two daughters.
Megan Schenewerk, Operations Director: Schenewerk oversees the operations and internal logistics for the committee. Megan has been with the NRCC since 2013 in multiple positions working her way up from the Front Desk to Operations Director for the 2018 cycle. She previously worked for the Oregon State Legislature and Representative Greg Walden before starting with the NRCC. She is a graduate of Corban University in Oregon with a B.S. in History and American Politics.