The American Conservative Union muscles up with nine new board members

There’s new blood at the American Conservative Union, which has expanded its board of directors by nine; the distinguished population now includes a pollster, former lawmakers and strategically minded folk with an eye on key voter demographics.

“Each of our members come from different backgrounds but all have made significant contributions to the conservative movement,” said Al Cardenas, chairman of the group. “We’re pleased to have them join us as we celebrate 50 years and build the future of our organization.”

The board itself is led by First Vice Chairman Tom Winter, newly-elected Second Vice Chairman Matt Schlapp, Treasurer Becky Norton Dunlop, Secretary Jameson Campaigne and immediate past National Chairman David A. Keene.

And here are the nine new members:

Bob Beauprez, a former member of the House of Representatives, represented Colorado’s 7th Congressional District and served on the House Ways and Means Committee. Mr. Beauprez announced his candidacy for Governor of Colorado in March 2014.

Ron Christie, former Deputy Assistant to Vice President Cheney and Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Domestic Policy. He is also the founder and CEO of Christie Strategies, a communications and issue management firm.

Kellyanne Conway, founder and President of the polling company, inc./WomanTrend, a privately-held, woman-owned corporation founded in 1995. Ms. Conway is one of the most quoted and noted pollsters on the national scene.

Tom DeLay, former House Majority Leader and leading conservative, DeLay is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book “No Retreat, No Surrender: One American’s Fight.” DeLay is founder of First Principles, LLC, a political consulting firm.

Luis Fortuno, the former Governor of Puerto Rico. He is also a partner in the Washington office of Steptoe & Johnson, where he is a member of the Corporate, Securities & Finance Group and the Government Affairs and Public Policy Group.

Amy Noone Frederick, president of the 60 Plus Association which represents the interests of senior citizens nationally, with a focus on healthcare, energy and tax issues.

Anne Northup; represented Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives. In May 2013, Northup joined Bracewell and Giuliani’s Policy Resolution Group where she is senior principal in the Policy Resolution Group.

Ned Ryun, founder and CEO of Voter Gravity, a map and mobile-based voter contact technology that turns data into votes. A former writer for President George W. Bush and the son of former Olympic medalist and U.S. Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS), Mr. Ryun is also the founder and president of American Majority, a non-partisan political training institute that has trained nearly 29,000 liberty-minded leaders in the past six years.

Mark Stephens, has provided strategic messaging and organizational management to major campaigns and political organizations. He has advised the successful campaigns of Senator Jesse Helms, Senator John East, Senator Lauch Faircloth, Senator Elizabeth Dole, Senator Richard Burr and Senator Ron Johnson. Mr. Stephens has served as Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee as well as serving in an advisory capacity for numerous conservative and Republican organizations.