Originally from Watauga County, North Carolina, Michael Whatley serves as the Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and the General Counsel for the Republican National Committee. 

Prior to his service with the Republican Party, Chairman Whatley served as a federal law clerk, senior official in the George W. Bush Administration and as the Chief of Staff for US Senator Elizabeth Dole, R-NC.  He also served as a Senior Advisor to the Bush-Cheney Campaign, Florida Recount and Transition Teams, as well as the Trump-Pence Campaign and Transition Teams. 

Whatley earned a History degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Masters in Religion from Wake Forest University before graduating from the University of Notre Dame with both a law degree and Masters in Theology.

Ron Kaufman is a Senior Advisor in the Public Policy and Regulation practice at Dentons. He focuses on providing government affairs services to public and private sector clients nationwide.

Mr. Kaufman is a highly experienced political strategist who has served as a senior advisor to US Presidents, Governors, Members of Congress, and a host of elected and appointed officials at every level of government. After having helped lay the political foundation for his successful 1988 presidential campaign, Mr. Kaufman served in the Administration of President George H.W. Bush, initially as White House Personnel Director and then as Assistant to the President and the White House Political Director. Previously, Mr. Kaufman served President Ronald Reagan as Regional and then National Political Director of the Republican National Committee.

Most recently, Mr. Kaufman served as a senior advisor to Governor Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign. In addition to his distinguished public service career, Mr. Kaufman has served as chairman of a leading multidisciplinary government affairs firm in Washington, DC.

Mr. Kaufman currently serves as Treasurer of the Republican National Committee and the elected Republican National Committeeman for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.,as well as a member of the Rules Committee, Executive Committee, and Chaired the 2020 RNC Convention Site Selection Committee. He is also active with the Republican Governors Association, where he has served as the Co-Chair of the Finance Committee.

Ron is the proud father to daughter Carly and husband Richard, two grandchildren Orin and Paul, and daughter Katie and husband Will, and their three, Gravin, Summer and Eljah.