About Jaye Rao

CHILDHOOD CHARLOTTEAN

Jaye Rao grew up in Charlotte, NC. Rao attended Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Collinswood Elementary, Pineville Elementary, Carmel Middle School, and is a proud graduate of South Mecklenburg High School. Rao, a Stearns Catalytic Scholar, is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill with a BA Degree in political science and international relations. Rao attends Forest Hill Church. Rao is a volunteer Host of Let's Get Going helping unemployed people create video resumes, Member of the Mecklenburg Women's Clubs, former Assistant Finance Chairman of Mecklenburg Republican Party, Board Member of Access 21, Reader for the Blind, the Charlotte Readers Information Service, and former Area Governor of Toastmasters.

PUBLIC POLICY and POLITICAL EXPERIENCE

Jaye Rao has political experience at the Federal, State and Local levels. In 2004, Jaye Rao was the Republican Nominee for NC Secretary of State. Even though it was her first election, she received wide spread support garnering over 1.4 million votes against an entrenched incumbent. Rao served as an executive assistant to James C. Miller, III the former Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan at Citizens for a Sound Economy. Under her leadership as Finance Director, Rao raised thousands of dollars for Senator Richard Burr for his first campaign to U.S. Congress, Mayor Pat McCrory's Reelection Campaign and others. Rao set records and was awarded "the Largest Fundraiser in NC History" for a special event for Congressman Burr. In addition, Jaye Rao has worked with Washington Think Tanks including the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the Bill of Rights Institute. Locally, Rao worked with the American Heart Association.

BUSINESS EXPERIENCE

Jaye Rao worked with her sister to successfully operate a celebrity services firm handling marketing, public relations, corporate development, special events, and interior design for professional athletes and Hollywood entertainers. Jaye was asked to join the small business to bring her expertise in corporate development to help the company expand into new growth markets. Jaye's unique ability to understand the multi dimensional problems facing a small business was the cornerstone of the company's operations. With Jaye's efforts, the company organized many large special events handling conception to completion of the event, generating sponsorship dollars, aligning celebrities with the organization, vendor negotiations, and publicizing the activities. Examples include the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce's 10th Anniversary Excellence 2000 Awards held in the Nation's Capital. Jaye worked closely with many fortune 500 companies assisting in their marketing needs with special events. In addition, the company marketed the Charlotte Speed, premier women's soccer, in its launch season in Charlotte. Jaye was responsible for garnering the full support of the Charlotte community getting the region's political leaders and 16 corporate partners including Bank of America, BellSouth, Subway, and others to support the Charlotte Speed. Furthermore, the company recognized the importance of the furniture industry in NC. Jaye and her sister set up a division of the company providing interior design services to professional athletes around the country.