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Glenn Hodas
Glenn Hodas began his career in
politics and government at the Illinois State Capitol,
where he worked for State Senate President ‘Pate’ Philip
on the Senate Republican Staff.
Staffing the Senate Executive Committee,
Hodas was responsible for drafting and analyzing much
of the major legislation that was debated in Illinois
during the 1990’s.
His decade of service in the State
Senate involved another challenging role: he also acted
as the campaign manager of numerous state senate campaigns—all of which
were considered “Tier 1” targeted races.
In 2001, Hodas joined Lieutenant
Governor Corinne Wood’s
office as Chief of Staff, going on to manage her statewide
gubernatorial primary campaign. In the 2002 general election,
he was tapped to become Jim Ryan’s Deputy Campaign
Manager.
Since 2003, Hodas has run his own
consulting firm--Hodas & Associates—and
has assisted a number of clients with political campaigns,
issue advocacy efforts, and legislative needs.
Glenn graduated from Northwestern University, long renown
for its communication and political science program.
Joe Calomino
Joe Calomino began his career as a political strategist in the Illinois Secretary of State’s office where he served for eight years. During this time, Joe served as a regional campaign coordinator for the successful 1994 re-election campaign of Secretary of State George Ryan as well as Ryan’s successful 1998 gubernatorial election.
In 1999, he accepted a position with Lieutenant Governor Corinne Wood’s office, as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, a position he held for four years.
The 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary brought a new role for Calomino. During that heated contest he served as the Chicago Metropolitan Area Field Director for the lieutenant governor’s campaign. In that capacity, he supervised hundreds of staff, coordinators, and volunteers and spearheaded most of the campaign’s important voter-contact programs.
Calomino undertook new responsibilities in the 2002 general election. At the request of Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan, Calomino served as Upstate Field Director.
Immediately following the 2002 election cycle, Calomino was hired by the State Treasurer as a member of the economic development team, were he served for one year.
Of note, Calomino managed the town president campaign of first time candidate, Larry Dominick in the Town of Cicero. Calomino spearheaded a campaign that beat the incumbent machine for the first time in over 70 years. Dominick was quoted as saying, ‘They said it couldn’t be done -- and without Joe, I wouldn't be here today."
In the 2006 Republican gubernatorial primary, Calomino managed the campaign of first-time candidate Ron Gidwitz.
Most recently, Calomino was appointed State Director of the grassroots organization, Americans for Prosperity.
Calomino has strong contacts with the Illinois business community, the Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity as well as many Republican and Democrat members of the Illinois General Assembly.
Chris Ingram
Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications, a boutique project management, research, public relations, and media communications firm.
As the former chief of staff to United States Rep. Max Burns (R-GA) and Washington, D.C. press secretary to the late U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell (R-GA), Chris is well versed in the language of Capitol Hill. Chris also served on the staff of U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) in the congressman’s district office.
Chris is frequently requested to provide commentary and political analysis on television and radio news programs. He has appeared on a variety of programs including The O’Reilly Factor, Inside Politics, The Big Show, Newsstand, and Dayside, as well as other programs on CNN, BBC World News, Fox News Channel, C-SPAN, MSNBC and National Public Radio, among others. Chris is also called to provide colorful quotes and commentary for the print media. He has been featured or quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Miami Herald, Campaigns & Elections, PR Weekly and Roll Call.
An accomplished writer and editor, Chris headed the re-write of the Language of the 21st Century for Luntz Research. The book is a political communications manual for Republican candidates. Chris is a contributing columnist to the Washington Times, National Review Online, United Press International, FrontPage Florida and the non-partisan political website FreedomChannel.com. He has also ghost-written op-eds and speeches for numerous members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and Fortune 500 company executives.
Chris has worked for clients including: American Express, the Republican National Committee, the National Rifle Association, Mirage Resorts, and countless political candidates including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Chris also has extensive experience promoting brands for Procter and Gamble and Seagrams spirits and legislative issues for clients including the Employment Policies Institute, and the Nature Conservancy. Chris’ work on behalf of these clients has included “hits” in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and many other major newspapers, trade magazines, and journals. His work on behalf of Seagrams included promoting athletes at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Chris has extensive experience in politics, campaigns, public speaking and grassroots political organization. He has served in a number of political leadership roles including Republican State Committeeman, and as a Delegate to the 1996 Republican National Convention. In 1994, at the age of 23, Chris was elected the youngest county party chairman in Georgia GOP history. He has also served as a trainer or guest lecturer for the Republican National Committee, the Leadership Institute, the Close-up Foundation, the National League of Cities, the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the International Republican Institute, and the U.S. Department of State.
A native of Naples, Florida, Chris graduated from the Georgia Southern University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in history and a minor in political science. Chris is a member of Rotary International, the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, and is a volunteer for the OASIS Network, a children’s charity of Tampa. He and his wife Amy live in Tampa with their three daughters. |
