State Senator Niraj Antani is serving his first term in the Ohio Senate. He represents the 6th District, which covers most of Montgomery County. Having been first elected to the Ohio House at age 23, now age 29, he is the youngest currently serving member of the Senate. He is the first Indian American State Senator in Ohio history.
From 2014-2020, he served as the State Representative for the 42nd House District in the Ohio House of Representatives. He was the second Indian-American state elected official in Ohio history, and the first Indian-American Republican. While in the House, Antani served as Vice Chairman of the Rules and Reference Committee and as Vice Chairman of the Committee on Insurance, and as a member of the Committee on Health, Committee on Public Utilities, and Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee. During the Romney for President campaign in 2012, Antani worked for the Ohio State Director & Senior Adviser to the campaign. He has also worked for U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Washington, DC, as well as U.S. Congressman Mike Turner in his Dayton office.
Antani was named to Forbes Magazine’s list of the top “30 Under 30” people in the United States for Law & Politics in 2015. As well, the conservative media organization Newsmax named him the 2nd most influential Republican in the nation under age 30. In addition, in 2013 he was named to the “Top 30 Conservatives Under Age 30 in the United States” list by Red Alert Politics. Antani has received the Legislator of the Year Award by the AMVETS Department of Ohio for his work helping veterans, as well as the Friend of Community Colleges Award by the Ohio Association of Community College and the Distinguished Government Service Award by the Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools for his work for the betterment of higher education for the middle class. Antani received the 2018 “Making a Difference” award from the Miami Valley Down Syndrome Association for his work helping people with disabilities. He also was most recently awarded NFIB Ohio’s 2020 Guardian of Small Business Award, which is awarded annually to one member of the Ohio House and one member of the Ohio Senate. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University. Born and raised in Miami Township, Antani attended Miamisburg City Schools and is a graduate of Miamisburg High School.

Connecticut Representative Arora is the state representative for the General Assembly’s 151st District, which includes parts of the Cos Cob, Riverside, and other neighborhoods of Greenwich. Harry was re-elected to serve his first full two-year term in the Connecticut General Assembly, Nov. 3, 2020 after winning a Special Election in 2019. He is the ranking member of the Labor and Public Employees Committee and he also serves as a member of the legislature’s Energy & Technology and the Human Services Committees.
Harry has been a tireless advocate for good public policy. He is an active member of the Greenwich community and has advocated for and supported various local non profits including the YWCA, Boy & Girls Club of Greenwich, and Kids in Crisis.He is the founder of Alphastrat LLC, an investment firm, which seeks to identify and invest in opportunities arising from the energy transition. The firm specializes in researching and identifying liquid market opportunities arising from the move from fossils fuels to clean energy.
Harry has an electrical engineering degree, a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from University of Texas at Austin, and a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Harvard Kennedy School. Harry is a strong believer in education and considers himself to be a lifelong student.

Maryland House of Delegates member Barve was the first Indian American elected to serve in a state legislature in United States history. Kumar has represented Montgomery County in the Maryland House of Delegates since 1990. He is the Chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee. Recently he was named “Environmental Legislator of the Year” for his leadership in banning Fracking. He has been in legislative leadership for much of his career, serving as House Majority Leader from 2003-2014 and now as Chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee. As Majority Leader, he was the floor leader for the Democratic Party and a senior member of the fiscal leadership in the House. He helped guide policies that resulted in balanced budgets and the maintenance of the state’s Triple-A bond rating. He was a primary architect of Maryland’s 1993 landmark reform of health insurance and was the prime sponsor of a later law that allowed patients to use physicians outside of their HMO network. As Chairman of the Technology Subcommittee, Barve’s work led to the creation of Maryland’s highly successful Technology Development Corporation.
Kumar is also an accountant and serves as the Chief Financial Officer of an environmental management company in Rockville, Maryland.
Kumar attended Montgomery County Public Schools before graduating from Georgetown University. His wife serves as a Commissioner on the Maryland Workers Compensation Commission.

North Carolina State Senator Whip Chaudhuri is a member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 15. Jay assumed office on January 1, 2019. His current term ends on December 31, 2020. He ran for re-election to the North Carolina State Senate to represent District 15. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020. As a State Senator representing District 15 (Raleigh, Cary, and Garner), he has led the fight on funding class sizes from kindergarten to third grade. He also led the fight on reducing gun violence in our schools. During his term, he played the lead role in recruiting a global information technology company to establish an Innovation Hub that will create 2,000 new jobs and pay $72,000 a year, above the Wake County median salary. That recruitment was one of the largest job announcements in the state this past decade.
Jay has been Special Counsel to Attorney General Roy Cooper and helped lead an investigation by all 50 Attorneys General that resulted in a landmark agreement with the two leading social networking sites, MySpace and Facebook, to better protect children from Internet predators. For his efforts, the National Association of Attorneys General honored him with the Marvin Award. Also, as General Counsel & Senior Policy Advisory to State Treasurer Janet Cowell, he helped recover almost $100 million back to the pension and escheat funds. He also led the effort to establish the first ever Innovation Fund, a $230 million fund dedicated to support and invest in businesses with significant operations in North Carolina.
Jay graduated from Davidson College, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and North Carolina Central University School of Law with honors.

New York State Senator Cooney represents District 56 and got his start working on Capitol Hill for the late U.S. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and has gone on to work for two New York Governors and the Mayor of Rochester. With a deep commitment to creating the Rochester of tomorrow, Jeremy is passionate about investing in quality public schools, affordable housing, universal health care, reducing our carbon footprint and helping families find pathways out of poverty.
After losing his mother to dementia and brain cancer, Jeremy has devoted his career to serving the community that helped raise him—from the YMCA to all levels of government.
Jeremy graduated from the Rochester City School District, and went on to graduate with honors in public policy from Hobart College and then obtain a law degree from Albany Law School. He was named “Forty Under 40” by the Rochester Business Journal and is a proud Eagle Scout. He was born in an Indian orphanage and adopted by a courageous single-mother and grew up in the South Wedge neighborhood of the City of Rochester. He was raised in an Irish family and has inherited a strong sense of family, faith, and the famous upstate accent.

Mona Das was born to Indian parents who immigrated to America’s rust belt with only $6 in their pockets, yet full of hope about building a better life for their family. Mona came to the United States when she was eight months old and spent her childhood moving around due to her father’s job, living in eight states and three countries. She finally settled down in Kent, where she currently lives, and is extremely proud to call the 47th legislative district home.
For 15 years, Mona operated her own mortgage business, MOXY Money. Now, she works full time as a legislator. She has centered her career around sustainable development, equal access to housing, and empowering marginalized voices.
Mona graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and earned an MBA in sustainable business from Pinchot University. She also attended the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University.

Manka Dhingra is Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor and behavioral health expert to her roles as chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. Dhingra was first elected to the Senate by the constituents of the 45th Legislative District in November 2017, the first Sikh legislator elected in the nation. Since then, she has sponsored and passed legislation addressing a wide range of issues, including: curbing domestic violence and sexual assault, preventing firearm violence, providing property tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities, prosecuting financial fraud, and reforming the criminal justice system with an evidence-based approach. She has also helped pass legislation and funding to transform the Washington State behavioral health system, reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response. Dhingra continues to serve as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Outside the courtroom, Dhingra is a community leader and anti-domestic violence advocate. She co-founded Chaya, an organization that assists South Asian survivors of domestic violence and led the organization’s work toward ending systemic violence through education and prevention.

Manju Ganeriwala serves as Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. She was first appointed as State Treasurer by Governor Kaine in 2009 and reappointed by Governors McDonnell, McAuliffe, and Northam. She oversees the investment of public funds, issuance of bonds, management of state debt, and provision of banking services. Ganeriwala is chair of the Virginia Treasury Board and serves on numerous boards including the Port Authority, Housing, and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.
Prior to her appointment as Treasurer, she served as Deputy Secretary of Finance in Governor Kaine’s Administration. Ganeriwala’s service to the Commonwealth includes her leadership roles as the Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Medical Assistance Services and Associate Director for the Department of Planning and Budget.
Ganeriwala holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Bombay and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She is the 2009 recipient of the YWCA’s Outstanding Woman Award in Government and is a 2013 Toll Fellow. In the March 2014 issue of the Governing Magazine, Ganeriwala was featured as one of 25 women chosen nationwide for the inaugural Women in Government Leadership program. She is also a past president of the National Association of State Treasurers and recipient of numerous other professional awards.

New Jersey State Senator Gopal serves the 11th Legislative District. Vin serves as Senate Majority Conference Leader and Chairman of the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee and as a member of the Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee. He is currently the youngest member and the first Indian-American to be elected into the NJ State Senate.
Vin is a small-business owner, having built his business from the ground up, now with 14 employees. Vin is also the Founder and President of a 501c(3) organization dedicated to helping Monmouth County charities and individuals in need. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the then-Monmouth County Chamber of Commerce, and also served as President of the Hazlet Township Business Owners Association. He is also a past Board of Trustees Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County. Vin spent many years as a volunteer first responder, serving as an EMT and certified CPR Instructor.
Vin holds a Masters in Public Administration from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University.

Senator Hashmi’s approach to public service is guided by the principles of integrity, social justice and ethics in government. She is dedicated to making government work for all citizens. Ghazala is the first Muslim-American to serve in the Virginia State Senate.
She served both as a professor of English and as the Founding Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at Reynolds Community College.
Ghazala earned a BA in English from Georgia Southern University and a Ph.D. in American literature from Emory University.

California State Assemblymember Kalra was first elected to the California Legislature in 2016, representing the 27th District, which encompasses approximately half of San Jose and includes all of downtown. In 2020, Ash was re-elected to his third term. He is the Chair of the State Assembly Labor and Employment Committee and also currently serves as a member on the Housing and Community Development, Judiciary, Transportation, and Water, Parks, Wildlife committees. He has established himself as a leader on issues ranging from criminal justice reform to the environment, as well as health care sustainability, housing affordability, growing our transportation infrastructure, and expanding economic opportunity to all Californians.
Ash previously served as a San José City Councilmember for eight years and was a deputy public defender in Santa Clara County for 11 years prior to the City Council.
Ash is the first Indian-American to serve in the California Legislature in state history.

In 2018, Nima Kulkarni became the first Indian immigrant to be elected in the history of the Kentucky Legislature. She has also managed her own immigration law practice since 2010, helping others achieve the American Dream. Nima has dedicated her time as a public servant to helping the most vulnerable Kentuckians. She has been able to stop harmful anti-immigrant legislation, as well as gain bipartisan support for a historic bill that would ensure a fair and equitable judicial process for all Kentuckians.
In 2019, Nima was asked to serve as the only Democratic legislator on the Public Assistance Reform Taskforce. She was the first legislator from Kentucky to be invited to join the 2019 Asian American Leadership Delegation program to Japan, one of just six (6) legislators asked to participate from across the country. She was also honored to be the first woman from Kentucky named as a New Deal Leader, a national group of rising state and local elected leaders who are pro-growth progressives. Nima was named as one of a handful of Louisville leaders to serve on the Mayor’s Civilian Review Board Working Group, to achieve greater transparency, accountability, and trust between the community and law enforcement in the wake of Breonna Taylor’s death. She is working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to craft comprehensive police reform legislation for Kentucky.
Nima serves on the House Standing Committees on Judiciary, Economic Development, and Banking & Insurance committees. She is a member of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus, and is the Kentucky State Lead for the National Council of Environmental Legislators.