our Board Members and Officers
Arni Jacobson – Board Chair
Jacobson is the ultimate builder of faith-based organizations, Arni Jacobson as the first Chair of the Board of Directors.
The Wisconsin Faith & Freedom Coalition is thrilled to be led by Chairman Arni Jacobson, the former Chaplain of the Green Bay Packers who built the largest church in Wisconsin outside of the Milwaukee Metro area (see “Celebration Church”) since becoming Pastor of a couple of hundred attendees of then-Bayside Christian Fellowship. The incredible growth of the Church led other pastors around the country to ask Jacobson to guide their growth – resulting in many churches growing to thousands of attendees each Sunday.
Jacobson is a successful Pastor, Church planter, mentor and has authored books including, The Favor Factor: Living Life with God’s Advantage, 5 Keys to Reaching Your Family for Christ, and The High Cost or Resentment (the Journey to Freedom).
Jacobson is an Executive Board Member and the Director and Leadership and Church Expansion for Grace International in Houston. He is a national and international Church and business speaker. He is the co-founder of City Church in Salt Lake City. He served for many years on the Board of Church Growth International with Dr. David Yonegi Cho, Pastor of The Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea. His number one passion is to see lost people come to Christ and is known as a great soul-winner. More than anything, he loves his wife, children, and grandchildren and is a proud family man.
Bob Atwell – Board Member
A former member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and noted by BizTimes as one of Wisconsin’s most influential business leaders, Bob is the co-founder of Nicolet Bankshares, the biggest bank startup in state history at its founding, and has over 40 years of experience as a Wisconsin banker. He is a graduate of Beloit College and the Yale School of Management. Bob is also a Director of Ariens Company, Great Northern Corporation, and Relevant Radio, a national Catholic radio network with 209 Catholic-centered radio stations across the country.
Camille Solberg – Board Member
Wisconsin U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s former Central Regional Director and Minority Outreach Director, Camille is a Puerto Rico native, former bilingual journalist, and grassroots activist. Solberg served the Chairman’s Advisory Council for the American Latino Museum, in addition to having founded the Hispanic-American Council and served as Chair of Wisconsin Viva George W. Bush. She organized multiple heavily-attended Hispanic events for Scott Walker’s successful gubernatorial campaign as well as major events for Rawhide, the group formed by Bart Starr, Pro Football Hall of Fame member and former quarterback for Wisconsin’s legendary Green Bay Packers.
Solberg also served in the Trump White House, in the Trump Administration U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as in the Bush Administration.
John Pudner – President
John is an experienced campaign operative that has spent over 25 years running Republican political campaigns, including directing the campaign strategy of Republican Dave Brat’s historic primary upset of the-Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, becoming the only person in U.S. history to defeat a majority leader in a primary. In the same period, he also won 185 out of 202 local zoning referenda, as well as dozens of Planning Commission and Supervisor votes, preventing poorly-devised developments and protecting local communities from overreach.
He helped to lead in the creation of Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition to facilitate efforts toward increasing faith-based voter turnout and participation throughout Wisconsin – a cause he began as the lead on then-presidential candidate George W. Bush’s faith-based turnout effort in 16 battleground states and has remained passionate about since.
John also splits his time as President of Take Back Our Republic Action, a 501c3 whose main focus is on the rules that govern our elections in Wisconsin, has compiled a perfect record of five statewide referenda wins in five different states, and led a 2017 effort before the Federal Elections Commission in which Facebook was defeated, requiring the social media giant to disclose who pays for political ads on the platform.
Rev. Dr. Luke Farwell – Pastor Outreach Director
Luke is the Co-Pastor of First United Presbyterian Church in De Pere, Wisconsin. He holds a B.A. in History from Salisbury University, a Master of Divinity from Union Presbyterian Seminary, and a Doctorate in Theology from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Luke’s interests include the intersection of history, theology, government, and conservatism. He has spoken on conservatism at numerous forums and events, advocating it as the most humane and reasonable solution to our country’s political, social, and spiritual challenges. Luke is married to his best friend, Meggan, and loves spending time with his family.
Pastor Mari Ruh – Director of Operations
Mari is passionate about religion and politics. An ordained minister of Grace Assemblies of God with over 20 years of ministry experience, Mari has developed small group programs in multiple churches, growing leaders and fostering involvement opportunities for congregants. She has also served as an Executive Pastor and been involved in planting a church, a challenge she has enjoyed.
In 2019, Mari took a more active role in politics by serving on the executive committee of her local county party. This experience highlighted the surprising number of Christians who do not vote, leading her to shift her focus to the non-profit education efforts of the Wisconsin Faith & Freedom Coalition. Mari is dedicated to using her experience to engage Christians in researching policy issues and encouraging voter participation.
Noel Wilkins – Communications Director
Nicknamed the “Swiss Army Knife”, Noel has delivered communications, grassroots, results-driven solutions in over a half-dozen states, and will aide in WIFFC’s efforts to inform Wisconsin’s over four million believers of the importance of voting and getting involved in their churches, neighborhoods, and communities.
He’s served in roles at nearly every campaign level, doing so as a Field Organizer for President Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign, leading a team of paid staff and over 200 volunteers to contact 100,000 voters by door and 250,000 by phone, as Rapid Response Director for Mike Gibbons for US Senate, providing critical campaign and opposition research and advisement, as Press Secretary for Tim Michels for Governor, managing press engagements, relations, outreach, and logistics, and as a campaign advisor for efforts ranging from Tom Arceneaux for Shreveport Mayor, helping to elect the city’s first Republican mayor in 20 years, to candidates for Board of Supervisors, State Representative, U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senate.
However, more than anything else, Noel is a devout Christian, a graduate from Cedarville University, a small Baptist college in southwestern Ohio, and has been a lifelong volunteer with Rev. Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child.
Joshua Naponiello – Field Organizer
Josh joined originally as an intern in 2016, and has set up key meetings in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois, and recruited hundreds of members via phone calls to conservative activists throughout the country. From there he completed his studies as a Political Science honors student at Wisconsin Eau Claire. In between projects for TBOR Action, Josh managed teams of volunteers and digital ads for Vanguard Field Strategies from 2017 to 2020 – building the foundation for the organization to knock on more than 3 million doors in one year to win over voters and get candidates on the ballot via petition drives. He has served as both campaign manager and political director on various campaigns, and as Regional Director for the Wisconsin Republican Party organized President John Pudner’s first speech after moving to the state.
He ran statewide pro-life efforts for the Pennsylvania Family Institute, oversaw door knocking in 2022 including in Nevada for now Governor Joe Lombardo, the only of 28 challengers to defeat a sitting Governor that year. In that race he recruited and supervised dozens of door-to-door canvassers in Reno and throughout the northern part of the district, handling vetting and background checks, hiring and letting canvassers at the first indication of fake data or for not reaching productivity goals. He then took a position with the Indiana House Republicans for the 2023 Legislative Session, which concluded in April 2023, and then returned to work on phone efforts and other grassroots for Take Back Our Republic Action in May 2023.
Alex Cucchiaro – Door Canvassing Leader, MKE Area
Never shying away from a tough challenge, Alex first knocked on doors for a Sheriff’s candidate at the age of 10, two years younger than John Pudner’s first door knocking. Winning conservative races in liberal areas was crucial for the Broward County, Florida native born to a legal immigrant police officer and a stay at home mother.
His first management position came in a race against Debbie Wasserman Schultz, where he was promoted from office manager to campaign manager. His organizational skills on that race drew attention and he was made a Field Organizer to help Rick Scott for Senate and Ron DeSantis for Governor. In 2020, his team achieved an award for having the most calls of any team in the STATE of Florida.
He is also the founder and President of the Republican Club of Sunrise Florida, which had the youngest and most diverse cabinet in Broward.
Spencer LaVerde – Canvassing Team Leader, Southeast
The Corporation shall be operated exclusively for charitable and educational purposes within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as now in effect or as may hereafter by amended (“the Code”), including, but not limited to, charitable, religious and educational activities to inform, equip, and mobilize people of faith and like-minded individuals to be effective citizens of the State of Wisconsin, including encouraging principles that strengthen families, promote time-honored values, protect the dignity of life and marriage, lower the tax burden on small business and families, and require government to tighten its belt and live within its means. The Corporation shall also engage in and support other charitable, social, and educational initiatives as the Board may determine from time to time, consistent with and in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
Wisconsin Faith and Freedom Coalition
MAILING ADDRESS
1100 W Wells Street Suite 1406
Milwaukee, WI 53233
(404) 606-3163
jpudner@wisconsinffc.com
