At the December meeting of the Central Committee two new members were elected to serve until 2022.

Ryan Gniadek

Although he’s been active in local Republican politics for years Committeeman Gniadek was not eligible for election until this year. 

Our youngest member, Ryan became interested in politics in high school. His parents always voted, but were not otherwise politically involved.  He first became interested in politics in 2015, participating in 2016 as an intern for Amie Hoeber, candidate for Congress.  He was active in the Quince Orchard GOP group, and was awarded a Rising Star Award in 2017. 

Ryan enjoys hiking in his spare time, and has hiked sections of the Appalachian Trail.  He is a student at Virginia Tech majoring in Computer Science with a goal of software design.  Ryan’s technological talents are invaluable to Central Committee projects and programs, and he is also an important assistant to the State Republican  His calm demeanor and friendly enthusiasm are contagious. 

We are fortunate to have Ryan aboard!

Ruth Kirinda

Winston Churchill referred to Uganda as a fairy tale place. The English language and Christianity unite the many different ethnic groups in Uganda, a country about the size of Great Britain, located in East Central Africa. Swahili is the uniting language with Tanzania and Kenya to its east.The beautiful Lake Victoria is located in Uganda and is the source of the Nile River.There are glaciers, snowfields, and world-class hiking and mountaineering destinations in the Rwenzori Mountain Range.

Born in Uganda, Ruth came to the United States with her family in 1970; having miraculously survived Idi Amin's regime. She has been a U.S. Citizen for over 40 years. In 1999 Ruth relocated to Uganda to work with various international organizations. Fortunately for us, she returned to the U.S. in September, 2018. She became interested and involved in U.S. politics when she volunteered as a Civilian Liaison with the U.S. Embassy Kampala (from 2015-2018).

The last names of Ruth and her 17-year-old son, Chakamoi Daudi Abe, called Chaka are very musical. Chaka was born in New York.  Ruth loves to play tennis, is learning to play Golf, and her favorite books are: The Bible, The Danger of a Single Story (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie), 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen Covey).

Hers is a rich background in broad management and unique government relations achieved in over 15 years of social sector experience with governmental, multilateral, civil society organizations and private sector entities in the emerging markets. She has worked extensively with Heads of Mission, Development Partners, Government Line Ministries, and Public and Private Corporations; to ensure effective execution of communication and development programs. Ruth hopes to bring this experience of collaborating with key leaders, senior leadership, governance and external constituents for assisting the Central Committee.

Ruth also served as Senior Development Outreach and Communications Officer/Member of the Senior Management Team at USAID/Uganda-Program Policy Division. Through that experience she developed strong written and communications skills, with the ability to craft various communication materials (i.e. press releases, talking points); on behalf of the Central Committee. 

She has experience providing counsel to minority groups in an international setting; while coordinating with a range of humanitarian actors. She also has worked with a diverse array of individuals and organizations involved in disaster response/preparedness/mitigation and humanitarian assistance; including U.S. Government Agencies, international organizations, NGOs and other governments. This experience is relevant for dealing tactfully and equitably with people; to work collaboratively with a wide and diverse group of constituents.

Her diplomatic and project management skills, with the proven ability to work across teams, issues and boundaries are an asset. Her  work with people from diverse backgrounds with a results-oriented approach will be valuable to Central Committee efforts.  

The MCGOP Central Committee is comprised of 48 Members elected by Republican voters during the primary elections during gubernatorial elections. When vacancies occur during the term they are filled by vote of the current members.