State Rep. Padma Kuppa is serving her second term representing Michigan’s 41st House District. Throughout her life, Rep. Kuppa has sought to bring people together to solve problems. The first Indian immigrant and Hindu in the legislature, she is focused on serving the people of Troy and Clawson.
Kuppa serves on Local Government and Municipal Finance, Tax Policy, and Rules and Competitiveness committees. She has introduced legislation advocating for election reforms, earned paid sick leave, protecting Michigan’s water, and promoting polluter accountability. Rep. Kuppa is Historian for the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus and APA Caucus Co-Chair. In her first term, Rep. Kuppa was appointed to the Prescription Drug Task Force and the MiSTEM Council. She is President of the Troy Historical Society, a board member of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, and on South Asian American Voices for Impact’s Advisory Council.
Kuppa is a mechanical engineer (NITW alumna) with a career spanning higher education, automotive, financial and IT sectors. Kuppa was a PTA leader throughout her children’s K-12 education, co-founded the Troy-area Interfaith Group, and served as a Troy Planning Commissioner. Padma’s education in the US and India led to her core belief that quality public education is critical to a strong economy.

New York State Assembly Member Mamdani moved to NYC from Uganda when he was seven years old. Zohran ran for the State Assembly because he believes it’s time to guarantee housing to all New Yorkers as a right, regardless of ability to pay, and time to desegregate our schools, fully eliminate cash bail, ban solitary confinement, fund and fix the MTA, end workplace discrimination, and fight for social, racial, economic, and environmental justice for the many, not the few.
He previously worked as a housing counselor, helping immigrant families facing eviction to stay in the homes they worked their whole lives to earn.
Zohran attended Bronx Science for high school and graduated from Bowdoin College.

Aruna Miller, a Democrat, is a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates representing Legislative District 15 in Montgomery County. Miller ran for Congress in 2018 to represent Maryland’s 6th congressional district. Once sworn in, Miller will be the first South Asian woman elected lieutenant governor in the United States, and the first Asian American lieutenant governor and first immigrant to hold statewide office in Maryland and the second female lieutenant governor.
In 2013, Miller was one of ten Maryland lawmakers named to the Maryland Business Climate Work Group designed to make recommendations and develop long-term plans to streamline business regulations, encourage business innovation, and develop public-private partnerships to finance infrastructure. Miller encouraged strengthening economic and cultural development between Maryland and India and accompanied Governor Martin O’Malley on a trade mission to India in 2011, which resulted in nearly $60 million in business deals for the state of Maryland. Delegate Miller took a lead role in working with the Office of the Secretary of State and the Department of Economic Development to coordinate the Governor’s arrangements for his first stop to Hyderabad.
During her first term as a state delegate, Miller introduced one of the early Maryland bills for paid family leave.bIn her second term, while serving as chair of the Oversight of Personnel Subcommittee, Miller was the floor leader for multiple bills expanding collective bargaining for employees. Miller stood in opposition to excluding nail salon workers from being eligible to receive unemployment benefits.

New Jersey State Assembly Member (man) Mukherji represents the 33rd Legislative District (Hudson County) in the New Jersey Legislature. Raj sits on the Budget Committee, responsible for crafting the state budget (approximately $33 billion in FY 2015), as well as the Commerce and Economic Development and Labor Committees. He is the only South Asian legislator presently serving in the state, the only former Marine presently serving in the New Jersey General Assembly, and the first Indian-Bengali state legislator in the United States. He was named the Assembly’s “Humane Legislator of the Year” recipient for 2015 by the Humane Society and 2015 Legislator of the Year by the NJ Law Enforcement Police Officers Brotherhood. Assemblyman Mukherji was also named a 2015 honoree of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hudson County for championing the expansion of teens’ access to mental health services, and he received the 2015 Legislator Award from the NAACP for his civil rights advocacy.
Raj is a former Deputy Mayor of Jersey City and former Sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve. In the private sector, he is a lawyer and healthcare investor and was previously an information technology CEO. He had founded an Internet consulting and software development company while in middle school, grew it, and later sold it to a larger technology company to enlist in the Marines two weeks after 9/11 at age 17. He was also a founder and Managing Partner of a public affairs firm that he grew into the state’s third largest lawyer-lobbying firm.
Raj had enrolled in an early college program at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and eventually earned a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State University, an individualized Master of Liberal Arts focused on national security from the University of Pennsylvania, and a law degree (Juris Doctor), cum laude, from Seton Hall Law School, which he attended on a Chancellor’s Scholarship. He supported himself through high school, college, and grad school as an emancipated minor when economic circumstances forced his parents to return to their native country India.

Michigan State Representative Puri was elected on November 3, 2020. Whether it was while working with Barack Obama or as a community organizer, he has always put people first. His goal is to work as hard for Michigan’s future as his immigrant parents worked for him. That means continuing to serve his community by serving on the Board of Directors of local non-profits, being a fierce activist for local candidates and organizations, and being a voice for all communities across District 21.
Ranjeev’s career experience includes working as a business manager at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles since 2013. He wanted to work on helping solve complex business solutions which led him to his current role in automotive at the Big 3.
Ranjeev earned a master’s degree (MBA) from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago in 2014.

New York State Assembly Member Rajkumar was appointed as the Director of Immigration Affairs & Special Counsel for New York State in the age of Trump. Jenifer has led the Liberty Defense Project, a first-in-the-nation $31 million dollar state-led public-private project to assist immigrants in obtaining legal services. She also represented New York State in litigation before Administrative Law Judges. She served as an ethics officer, handling ethics matters for the State. She was a state-wide surrogate for the Governor on the State’s signature policy items. She currently serves on the Legal Advisory Council of Sanctuary for Families.
Jenifer worked as a lawyer in fighting corporate fraud and excess, and advocating for workers, women, and families in vulnerable situations. Later, she served at high levels of state government, appointed by the Governor of New York as a Special Counsel and as Director of Immigration Affairs for New York State. She is also a Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York (CUNY). She has spoken on public interest law and policy at Stanford Law School, CUNY Law School and Harvard Law School.
With early roots in public service and giving back, Jenifer graduated from Stanford Law School with distinction for her pro bono legal work on behalf of vulnerable individuals. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at the top of her class magna cum laude, phi beta kappa where she received the Alice Paul Award for exemplary service to women and families. The Queens Courier honored her as a 2017 “Rising Star” and the Queens Tribune awarded her its “Glass Ceiling Award” for being a path-breaking woman serving the Queens community. She was also part of the legal team of Velez v. Novartis, ranked by the United Nations as one of the top 10 cases in the world advancing women’s equality.

In 2006, Vermont State Senator runnning from Chittenden County, Ram got her start in politics when introducing Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama at Ira Allen Chapel in Burlington. Then Senator Barack Obama encouraged her to run for office, and two years later, they shared a ballot. And in 2006, she became the youngest legislator in the country. When Kesha was elected to the Vermont House of Representatives in 2008, she became the first person of color in history to represent Burlington. During her time in the legislature, she served on several committees, including Ways & Means; Housing & Military Affairs; and as Vice Chair of Natural Resources & Energy. She has passionately championed affordable homeownership, green job creation, paid family leave, expansion of early and higher education opportunities, criminal justice reform, and civil rights. She spearheaded tax relief to first-time homebuyers, worked to protect victims of domestic and sexual violence, and sought to ensure that Vermonters are not forced to choose between a paycheck and taking care of a sick child.
Kesha currently works as a consultant for towns, school districts, and organizations seeking to improve equity and inclusion in their organizations and policies. She also serves on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. Previously, she was the Civic Engagement Specialist for the City of Burlington, empowering residents to engage in city governance. She was also the Legal Advocacy Director for Steps to End Domestic Violence, where she supported victims of violence in the courtroom and throughout family and criminal legal proceedings. She has also proudly served as a preschool teacher at the Burlington Children’s Space.
Kesha attended the University of Vermont, where she was elected Student Body President and graduated with honors with degrees in Natural Resource Planning and Political Science.

Pennsylvania State Senator Saval was the first Asian American to be elected Democratic ward leader in Philadelphia. Nikil assumed office on December 1, 2020. His current term ends on November 30, 2024.
Nikil organized boycotts with UNITE HERE against luxury hotel developers to fight for the rights of housekeepers in 2009. In 2013, he won back jobs for 1,000 cafeteria workers and noontime aides who had been laid off because of Corbett’s budget cuts to the Philadelphia School District. In 2016, he was a leader in the Bernie Sanders campaign and he co-founded Reclaim Philadelphia. In 2018, he organized campaigns to fight for change in the Democratic Party and became elected as ward leader of the Second Ward. He was a co-editor of n+1, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and a contributing writer for The New Yorker, covering architecture and design. He still serves on the board of directors of n+1. He has also written a book called “Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace (2014)”.
Nikil graduated from Columbia College of Columbia University with a B.A. in 2005 and received a Ph.D. in English from Stanford University in 2014.

Washington State Representative Slatter represents the 48th Legislative District, which includes parts of Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland and all of Clyde Hill, Medina, Yarrow Point and Hunts Point. Vandana currently serves on three House committees: College & Workforce Development; Innovation, Technology & Economic Development; and Transportation (2nd Vice Chair). She is also Co-chair of the Science, Technology and Innovation Caucus, and serves on the Future of Work Task Force, the Electric Airplane Working Group, and the Sustainable Aviation Biofuels Work Group. She served on the Bellevue City Council in 2016 and represented the Council on the Eastside Transportation Partnership; King County EMS Advisory Task Force; Cascade Water Alliance; Environmental Services Commission, and was Youth Link Board Liaison.Her public service activities include advocacy for access to medicine, healthcare, and education. She currently serves on the UW Evans School Advisory Board. In 2007, she was appointed by Governor Gregoire to a four-year term on the Washington State Board of Pharmacy. She has also served on the boards of NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, the Children’s Institute for Learning Differences, the Overlake Hospital Foundation, and Farmer Frog.
Vandana worked for over 20 years as a clinical scientist in leading biotech/pharma companies Amgen, Genentech/Roche, UCB Pharma & Pharmacia/Pfizer. She also worked as a hospital pharmacist at Battle Creek Health Systems in Michigan.
Vandana received a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of British Columbia, Canada, a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Washington, and a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington. She is a licensed pharmacist in the State of Washington. At UBC, she earned a varsity athletic letter in the sport of fencing, was captain of the UBC women’s varsity fencing team and gold medalist at the BC Junior Women’s foil championships.

Arizona State Representative Shah is the first Indian-American elected to Arizona legislature.
Amish paid his own way through medical school, allowing him to build an independent and fulfilling career as an ER doctor. He has worked as a faculty member, educator, researcher, and even for the NFL. After medical school, he worked for LEK Consulting, LLC, an international strategy consulting firm. He founded the first Arizona Vegetarian Food Festival as a philanthropic endeavor to promote healthy eating and eliminate preventable disease. Now in its third year, it attracts thousands annually. He contributes to Sounds Academy and the Humane Society of the United States, organizations that focus on children’s exposure to the arts and the promotion of a kind society, as well as several other charities.
Amish attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.He graduated from the University of Arizona’s Sports Medicine fellowship, a Division I college program featuring a wide breadth of sports coverage. His research project and clinical focus were ultrasound-guided procedures and diagnostics. He is currently board certified in Emergency Medicine and Sports Medicine and practices throughout Arizona, treating adults and children. He graduated from Northwestern University Medical School as part of the Honors Program in Medical Education. He has also completed a Master’s in Public Health with a full Merit Scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley, followed by residency training in Emergency Medicine at New York City’s busiest Level I trauma center. He won the American Academy of Emergency Medicine’s National Resident Research Competition for his work in inventing a new method to provide care for the critically ill. He enjoys Crossfit, flying small airplanes, and adventurous travel. He speaks conversational Spanish and fluent Gujarati.

Virginia House of Delegates member Subramanyam represents District 87. Suhas has served on Capitol Hill as a health care and veterans policy aide, where he worked to expand and improve health care access to millions of Americans and drafted legislation to increase job opportunities and funding for veterans. He has also clerked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, where he helped re-introduce the DREAM Act and worked on criminal justice reforms.
Suhas was a technology and regulatory attorney and was also named a White House technology policy advisor to President Obama. He led a task force on technology policy that President Obama charged with addressing some of the country’s most challenging technology issues. He also helped save taxpayers money by working on projects to make government processes and services more efficient using technology. After leaving the White House, he started his own consulting firm based in Loudoun County to advise companies and nonprofits on technology, government regulations, and economic empowerment. He has served as a volunteer EMT/Firefighter and was appointed to the Loudoun Health Council, where he works to address some of the most pressing health care issues in Northern Virginia. For his professional accomplishments and work in the community, Suhas was named to the Loudoun Times-Mirror’s 40 Under 40. He is also a volunteer member of the Loudoun Medical Reserve Corps as part of the medical swabbing team that helps test people for COVID-19.
Suhas attended Tulane University in New Orleans. His community service work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina during that time propelled him into a life of community service. He has also earned a law degree with honors at Northwestern University School of Law, volunteering at the Center for Wrongful Convictions. There, he was part of the legal team that freed a man who had spent 21 years in prison for a crime he had not committed.

Nabeela Syed represents the 51st District in the Illinois State House of Representatives. Syed is the youngest candidate to win this election. As a Palatine native, Nabeela is an advocate for the issues most important to her district, including healthcare, education, taxes, and equal rights.
Nabeela has been an active voice for her community, especially those who are underserved and underrepresented in government institutions. Most recently, she served as the Campaign Manager for current Township High School District 211 School Board Member Tim Mc Gowan — a campaign that emphasized the values of accountability, community, and equity in our schools.
Professionally, Nabeela has worked with a variety of organizations, including EMILY’s List, to raise money to elect Democrats to Congress. Currently, Nabeela works for a non-profit in digital strategy supporting a variety of their civic engagement efforts including voter mobilization, ending sexual assault on college campuses, and promoting gender equity.

Senator Kevin Thomas was elected in 2018 to represent the 6th District in Nassau County, becoming the first Indian-American in New York history to serve in the State Senate. He currently serves as Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee and sits on the Banks, Finance, Health, Internet & Technology, Judiciary, and Local Government Committees. In the Senate, Kevin has successfully championed legislation to protect consumers’ private information from exploitation, expand economic opportunities for Long Island families, and combat the growing student loan debt crisis.
Kevin served as an attorney and civic leader who spent his career fighting for families across New York State. As an appointee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to the New York State Advisory Committee, he works tirelessly to advance civil rights and expand opportunities for all New Yorkers. As Chairman of the Consumer Protection Committee, he has been the driving force behind several groundbreaking efforts to strengthen consumer protections and safeguards, including the New York Privacy Act, which aims to make New York the national leader in consumer data protection
Kevin’s public service is rooted in his belief that all New Yorkers should have the opportunity to pursue the American dream, further their education, participate in our economy, and shape our democracy. Kevin is honored to fight for these opportunities each and every day in the New York State Senate.

Senator Villivalam is honored to be an effective, proactive, and progressive voice for the people of the 8th District. He has and will continue to be focused on issues such as income equality, reducing gun violence, providing a quality education to children regardless of the zip code they reside in, and advancing immigrant, LGBTQ, and women’s rights. Additionally, he is incredibly proud to be the first Asian American elected to the Illinois State Senate and the first Indian American elected to the Illinois General Assembly. He is currently the Chair of the Transportation Committee and also sits on the Energy and Public Utilities, Health Care Access and Availability, Human Rights, Licensed Activities and Pensions Committees.
Prior to being sworn into the Illinois General Assembly, Senator Villivalam spent four years advocating on behalf of home care for seniors and people with disabilities, child care for working families, Medicaid for those in need. Senator Villivalam also worked at the federal level of government for U.S. Congressman Brad Schneider as his Outreach Director. In this role, he was responsible for outreach on a variety of policy issues and had duties that ranged from signing people up for the Affordable Care Act to organizing Job Fairs.
Senator Villivalam serves his community in other roles that include being a past President of the Indo-American Democratic Organization (IADO) and previous Director on the Board of Gun Violence Prevention PAC.