On November 8, 2008, after the Election, The New Republicans started as an open-minded blog on how the Republican party should “reinvent” itself while staying true to its core principles. After being cited by the Christian Science Monitor, ABC News and Politico.com, the blog gained popularity and attracted over 1,000 followers on social mediums like Twitter and Facebook. Today, founder Steven Lee and his team have started building a grassroots effort, one small step at a time, out of the electorate’s desire for pragmatism over partisanship. This grassroots effort is connecting people nationally and seeks to engage readers like you in an open-minded discussion of politics and policies.

Steven Lee is a law student at The University of Georgia School of Law. He chartered The University of Georgia Law Republicans during the historic 2008 elections. As its first elected President, he successfully led the effort to host Speaker Newt Gingrich and several Georgia gubernatorial candidates at UGA. Steven graduated with a B.A., summa cum laude, from St. John’s University in New York City.

Alison Langley is a law student at Georgia State University. She has been an active member of the Atlanta Young Republicans since 2006 and has previously served as Director of Social/Events, Executive Vice President, and Director of Ladies’ Affairs. She enjoys rollerblading, writing, and rooting for the Braves at Turner Field. She attends Christ the King church in Buckhead.

Mike Lesczinski is a Managing Partner at Meliora Strategies, a political campaign and communication strategies firm based in Albany, New York that provides consulting and communications to local level political candidates and grassroots advocacy campaigns. He graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in political science in 2004, and received a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University at Albany in 2008.

Jacqueline Giroir is a sophomore at Texas A&M University, majoring in political science. She completed her first year and a half of undergraduate work at the University of North Texas in the vocal jazz program. She has been active in College Republicans and in student government, serving as the Student Senate Representative for the College of Music. She spent several years in the Washington, D.C. area, during which time she worked on a U.S. Congressional campaign. In the recent presidential election, she was deployed by the GOP to Missouri to work with a small team on a GOTV effort. She is interested in exploring the synergy between music and politics.

Janelle Bonanno is currently a law student at New York Law School where she is the President of the Republican Law Student Association. Before attending NYLS, she graduated with a B.S. in Animal Biosciences from The Pennsylvania State University and was a member of the Penn State Equestrian Team.

Austin Baird is a journalism student at the University of Tennessee. He is minoring in Italian and World Business. Austin serves as a freelance reporter for various media groups in East Tennessee covering sports and state politics. After college, Austin plans to enroll in graduate school for international affairs or work as a correspondent in Washington D.C. or at an international bureau.

Diana Lawless is a native of Brooklyn, New York.  She is currently a first-year student at Vanderbilt Law School where she has helped re-start and is the Treasurer of the Law Republicans.  She is a 2008 graduate of Barnard College, Columbia University where she majored in political science and served as the Executive Director of the Columbia University College Republicans.

Elizabeth Capawana is a sophomore at the University of Georgia, majoring in English and minoring in Speech Communications. She is involved in Alternative Spring Break, Autism UGA, and Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. Her future ambitions include a potential Marine Corps Officer career and some freelance speech writing.