Raul “Danny” Vargas is an award-winning noted business, community, and board leader, accomplished media commentator, and marketing/public relations/public affairs professional. He was named “101 Most Influential Latinos” in America each year from 2020-2022 by Latino Leaders Magazine and among the “Most Influential People in D.C.” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2022 & 2023. Raised poor in New York City, he has created opportunities, overcome challenges, and beaten the odds all his life. He has made a mark not only in business but in the community as well. Danny is a proud US Air Force intelligence veteran, serving seven years on active duty in important national security missions and later in similar roles with Raytheon.

 

Danny is the Founder/President of VARCom Solutions, a nationally recognized, marketing, public relations, and professional services firm. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Friends of the National Museum of the American Latino, having led a national, bipartisan, successful effort to pass the authorization bill in Congress. He is Founder/Chairman/CEO of the American Latino Veterans Association, a non-profit serving Latino veterans and telling the stories of their contributions since 1776. He is the Chairman of the Virginia Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights. He also is Chairman of the GO Northern Virginia economic development initiative and is the immediate past Chairman of Leadership Fairfax

 

A successful businessman, Danny was an executive at AOL, France Telecom, and Global One leading multinational sales and marketing efforts in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. He was Chairman of the Virginia Board of Workforce Development (a gubernatorial appointment), served as Chairman of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce (the first Latino to chair a mainstream chamber in Virginia history) and spent several years on the board of the Northern Virginia Chamber. He serves on the Bank of Charles Town advisory board and completed a Stanford University business scaling program focused on Latino entrepreneurs.

 

Active in politics and the community, as a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in 2015, he was endorsed by the Washington Post where they called him “one of the region’s more impressive first-time candidates in recent memory.”

 

He was appointed to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission and a commission promoting economic opportunity for the underserved. He has served on the boards of various nonprofits including Virginia FREE.

 

Vargas is a regular media commentator in both English and Spanish, appearing on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Univision, Telemundo, and more and has penned op-eds for Wall Street Journal, NBC, etc.

 

Danny has long advocated for commonsense solutions for a variety of causes—workforce development, veterans support, energy, economic development, health IT, immigration reform, transportation and more. A sought-after public speaker, Vargas is committed to keeping his community and our nation vibrant, thriving, and strong.