Indiana Republican Party Announces Members Of Third Cohort Of Diversity Leadership Series Class

Two people from Hamilton County have been included by the Indiana Republican Party to be part of a nationally recognized seminar and leadership training program, the Indiana Republican Diversity Leadership Series. The two are Seni Gonzalez Barron and Chaka Coleman.

Barron is the CEO of Seni LLC, co-founder of The Halo App, and strategy director at Aventus Group. She was born in Ciudad Delicias, Chihuahua, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. in April 1998 not knowing how to speak English. Seni applied herself to learn the American culture, all while adapting to it. She is what many would call a serial entrepreneur. Her first entrepreneurial experience was owning a western-style clothing store from 2001 to 2009. She then decided to re-enter the corporate world, and in 2014, took a leap of faith. Barron’s relentless passion for business is reflective in her business accolades. In 2014, she followed her passion for entrepreneurship and helping other by opening the Mexican restaurant Paco’s Taqueria with only herself and one cook profiting $80 a day. Today, Paco’s Taqueria proudly employs more than 60 employees where they help team members to become leaders. Paco’s Taquerias generates well over seven figures with a vision of becoming a nationwide, casual Mexican fast food restaurant while remaining authentic.

Coleman represents clients on regulatory and legislative matters before the state legislature as a lobbyist. Leveraging over a decade of diverse public and private sector experience, she is able to navigate legislative interests to protect the value of the organizations she represents. Her advocacy includes the development of a complimentary government affairs strategy that contemplates both market and non-market environments. Prior to joining Paganelli Law Group, Coleman worked for the city of Fishers and the Marion Superior Court. She spent her early career at FedEx, where she worked closely with key stakeholders to overcome the regulatory obstacles her import clients faced. She graduated from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in business management from Indiana Wesleyan University. During law school, was a clerk at the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. Additionally, she was a co-fellow in the IU McKinney Program on Law and State Government, where she researched ways state governments could address gun laws and gun violence while simultaneously protecting Second Amendment rights. Coleman said she enjoys living in Hamilton County with her family, where she serves on the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Human Relations and volunteered her time serving as a member of the Carmel Rotary. She has also served on the board of the Indianapolis Bar Association and is currently a member of their Commission on Racial Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.

The program provides the preparation and necessary resources to increase the civic engagement of minority Republicans throughout the state and bring them into leadership positions.

“Each year our program has welcomed a group of Hoosiers that are driven to make a real difference in their communities, and this year is certainly no different,” stated Kyle Hupfer, chairman of the Indiana Republican Party. “With some participants already running for local office and others getting involved in the party in other ways, I’m excited to see how this cohort will engage with the program and use it to help them develop into strong, effective leaders.”

The first session of the class will be held this week with sessions running monthly through late this year; those sessions will be followed by a trip to Washington, D.C. Class sessions will cover topics including civic engagement, campaign management, communication, and all levels of government. The IRDLS continues the Indiana Republican Party’s ongoing work to develop authentic relationships within minority communities across the state. Hupfer announced this commitment during his remarks at the 2018 Indiana Republican Party State Convention before hiring Whitley Yates as the party’s director of diversity and engagement in 2019.

“Today’s announcement shows that this program wasn’t just a flash in the pan,” stated Yates. “As a party, we’re truly dedicated to this program’s mission and to the success of its participants. I’m thankful to be in this position to once again help empower and equip underrepresented Republicans to effect meaningful change in communities across the state.”

BREAKOUT BOX

The cohort of 16 Hoosiers represents a wide range of backgrounds and includes entrepreneurs, ministers, lobbyists, financial advisors and more from communities across Indiana.

Seni Gonzalez Barron (Hamilton)

Chaka Coleman (Hamilton)

Abimbola Adeniyi (Marion)

Ayodeji Babaleye (Hendricks)

Maya Angelou Brown (Lake)

Angel Cisneros (Lake)

Chaka Coleman (Hamilton)

Evelyne Duge (Johnson)

Emily Edwards (Lake)

Lisa Foreman (Marion)

Muheto Jackson (Marion)

Tracy Justice (Hendricks)

Ronald Morrell, Jr. (Grant)

Elie Muzungu (Marion)

Van Sui (Marion)

Vaughn Taylor (Hendricks)

Pau Thupha Thang (Allen)