Mary Jo Larsen Arndt (Lombard)
     Founder
     Chairman Emeritus

Mary Jo Arndt combines a successful business career with political volunteerism.  She is a knowledgeable leader with experience at the precinct, township, county, state and national levels and a proven track record of successful and innovative new program initiatives to diversify and strengthen the Republican Party in Illinois and throughout the nation.  She served as a member of the Republican National Committee for Illinois from 1988-2008.  She was elected to the RNC Executive Committee representing the Midwestern Region from 2005-2008. She was the Chairman for Illinois Women for McCain campaign and was a member of the McCain National Hispanic Outreach Team.  In 2005, she joined a delegation of ten RNC members, headed by Co-Chairman JoAnn Davidson on a trip to Taiwan to celebrate their national holiday. She just completed six years on the Board of Directors of American Women for International Understanding and is a member and advisor of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois. She is a member of the Xilin Asian Association Board of Directors. 

She is Past President of the National Federation of Republican Women, a grassroots network of over 100,000 members organized in 2000 local chapters throughout the United States, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. She is also a past president of the Illinois Federation of Republican Women. She was twice elected by the Primary voters of the 6^th Congressional District as their State Central committeeman, both in 1982 and 1986.  In August 2008 she was elected Vice Chair Emeritus of the Illinois Republican State Committee.

A pioneer in efforts to increase opportunities for women in politics, government and education, Mary Jo actively works to expand the party’s base by bringing a diverse group of women into the political system.  In 1989, with strong support from the late Lee Atwater, she founded the Illinois Republican Women’s Roundtable, which successfully broadens the Party’s reach into new communities of women.  During his term she served as a member of the RNC Small Business Advisory Committee.

Through the Roundtable, Mary Jo established the Illinois Lincoln Excellence in Public Service Series. This program, endorsed by the RNC, annually awards ten to fifteen fellowships to women to study government and politics.  The goal is to increase the number of Republican women in national and state government and party decision-making positions. Her fondest dream is that qualified Republican women indeed will have a seat at the table.

Mary Jo understands firsthand the importance of grassroots involvement.  She is serving her eighteenth term as a DuPage County, Illinois Precinct Committeeman.  Mary Jo managed the first door-to-door voter blitz in Illinois that was the model for the national Republican program.  She also initiated the Surrogate Speakers Program for George Bush in 1988, the forerunner of the successful “Women Who Win” program.

 As a member of the Illinois Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, Mary Jo served on the Working Group on Balancing Work and Family, which explored issues such as child care, elder care and pension reform.  President Reagan appointed Mary Jo to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows, and she was reappointed by President Bush. She represented President Bush as an observer of the Romanian Elections in May 1990.  Her government service also includes a U.S. Senate confirmed appointment to the National Advisory Council on Women’s Educational Programs during the Reagan Administration, where she served as chairman of the Women’s Educational Equity Act Committee and membership on the Advisory Committee to the Illinois State Superintendent of Schools.  She also served, by appointment of the Governor, on the Illinois Commission for the Celebration of the 75^th Anniversary of the 19^th Amendment.

Today’s Chicago Woman has twice named Mary Jo a “Power Personality”- a woman making a difference in Chicagoland’s business and social environment. She served as a member of the U.S. Small Business Administration National Advisory Council 2001-2007.  The Foundation for Women’s Resources selected Mary Jo as one of 100 women to participate in Leadership America. She was a member of the National Board of Directors of Leadership America from 2001 through 2006, a national not-for-profit leadership organization that recognizes, educates and connects accomplished and diverse women to increase their individual and collective impact globally.    She is a member of the Advisory Board of Leadership Illinois and Save the Patient.  The Gallup Organization selected Mary Jo as a “Visionary Leader for the 21^st Century” and awarded her a full scholarship to the Gallup Leadership Institute. A graduate of Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Education, Mary Jo is a former teacher and newspaper columnist and today is the managing partner and hospital administrator of the Lombard Veterinary Hospital with her husband Dr. Paul W. Arndt and daughter, Dr. Georgianne Arndt Ludwig. Mary Jo considers her best achievements their three daughters, Dr. Kristi Arndt, D.V.M., Ed.M., Ph.D.; Kerri Arndt Roselli, M.P.A.; and Dr. Georgianne Arndt Ludwig, D.V.M. and four grandchildren.

 Mary Jo Arndt has truly been a pioneer in efforts to increase opportunities for women in politics, government and education.  As a Republican activist, she brings her dedication, ‘power personality’ and vision to build and strengthen the Republican Party by reaching out to new generations of leaders.