Sarasota County | Leadership Institute Get Out The Vote Training!

Mr. Arnakis oversees divisions which provide political education and consultation to senior government officials, public policy leaders and influencers. His background includes serving as senior staff to multiple Presidential and Congressional campaigns. Additionally, Mr. Arnakis has consulting experience with multiple grassroots driven organizations.

Mr. Arnakis has provided assistance to NGO's, international political leadership and senior government leaders from nearly three dozen countries. Highlights include: Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Denmark, East Timor, Great Britain, Honduras, India, Iraq, Italy, Mongolia, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Peru, and Serbia. Most recently Robert worked with the Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Raised in Lake Tahoe, CA, Robert attended Biola University where he majored in sociology and political science. Robert is married and resides in Springfield, Virginia.

Charlie O’Neill is the Grassroots Programs Coordinator for the Leadership Institute. He has spent over a decade working in politics, public policy, and communications. Prior to working at the Leadership Institute, he worked as Deputy Executive Director at the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. He also has served as a Legislative Liaison in Governor Tom Corbett’s Administration in two agencies, served as a staffer in PA State Senate, and managed campaigns from School Board to Congress across Pennsylvania.

Had it not been for a shared love of baseball, Charlie’s career may have taken a different trajectory. In 2009, he landed an interview to be a Congressional Intern while attending Catholic University in Washington DC, in the office of the late Congressman Howard Coble. He made a lifelong friend discussing baseball, and a hatred of the Washington Nationals, with the Congressman’s Orioles fan chief of staff. As a Phillies fan, born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, his accent did not fit in, but his work ethic did. After several years in the office, through networking on the Hill, he started working for the Republican Governor’s Association until 2012 when he returned home to Pennsylvania.  

When not volunteering for the local county committee, where he has held Committeeman, and Vice-Chair positions, Charlie and his wife Kelly enjoy hiking, relaxing in the back yard, and spending time with family at the Jersey Shore along with their son and miniature Australian Shepherd, Ted.