Kesha Ram Hinsdale (born August 2, 1986) is an American activist and politician who serves as a member of the

Vermont Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

. She served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2009 to 2016, representing the Chittenden 6-4 District (numbered Chittenden 3-4 before 2012), which encompasses the Hill Section of Burlington and the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

. In her early career, Ram was the youngest member of the House of Representatives and the youngest state legislator in the country. She is the youngest Indian American to ever serve in state elected office. In 2016, Ram finished third in the Democratic primary for

lieutenant governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

. In 2020, Ram finished second in the Democratic primary race for the six at-large State Senate seats from Chittenden County. In the November general election, she was one of five Democrats elected to the State Senate, along with one Progressive. She is a great-great-granddaughter of Sir

Ganga Ram Rai Bahadur Sir Ganga Ram (born Ganga Ram Agarwal; 13 April 1851 – 10 July 1927) was an Indian civil engineer and architect. His extensive contributions to the urban fabric of Lahore, then in colonial India and now in modern Pakistan, cau ...

Early life and education

Born to a Jewish mother and Hindu father, Ram grew up in Los Angeles, California, where her parents ran an Irish pub. Sir

, her great-great-grandfather, was a supervising engineer and philanthropist in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

and her aunt is Shreela Flather, a life peer in the British House of Lords. She graduated from

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to SaMoHi, is located in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Boulevard. It is a part o ...

in 2004. After graduating, she moved from California to Vermont to attend the

, where she graduated ''magna cum laude'' in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in natural resource planning and a Bachelor of Arts in political science. She was awarded a

Truman Scholarship The Harry S. Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for public service leadership. It is a federally funded scholarship granted to U.S. undergraduate students for demonstrated leadership potential, academic ...

. While at the University of Vermont she served as student body president. Her first elected position was as Student Council President in fifth grade. Ram earned a Master of Public Administration from the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

in 2018.

Career

She has served as the legal director for Women Helping Battered Women (now known as Steps to End Domestic Violence). Much of her work has centered on advocacy for

people of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

and

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

in Vermont. She served as the public engagement specialist for the Burlington Community and Economic Development Office (CEDO) and interim director for Organizational Development at the Center for Whole Communities. She is a board member of the Center for Whole Communities, Emerge Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and the Vermont Natural Resources Council.

Vermont Legislature

Elected to the state House of Representatives at age 22 to represent the University District and Hill Section of Burlington, she represented the district from 2009 to 2016. She served as Clerk of the House General, Housing, and Affairs Committee from 2009 to 2011. She served as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee from 2011 to 2015. She served as the Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee from 2015 to 2016. She led efforts to establish

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pre ...

tribal recognition, to create driver's privilege cards available to undocumented immigrants, to criminalize revenge porn and stalking, to establish energy siting standards, and to expand first-time homeownership tax credits. On October 11, 2015, Ram announced her candidacy for

. The incumbent, Republican

Phil Scott Philip Brian Scott (born August 4, 1958) is an American politician, businessman and stock car racer who has served as the 82nd governor of Vermont since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected governor in the 2016 general electi ...

, had earlier announced that he would run for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. On October 26, 2015, Ram held a campaign kickoff in Burlington that was attended by many House colleagues and former Governor Madeleine Kunin. She was endorsed by U.S. Representatives

Ami Bera Amerish Babulal "Ami" Bera (; born March 2, 1965) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, his district encompasses most of Sacramento's eastern and southern s ...

and Annie McLane Kuster, as well as Democracy for America. She came in third in the primary, behind House Speaker

Shap Smith Shapleigh "Shap" Smith, Jr. (born December 16, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 92nd Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives. In August 2015 Smith announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor ...

and the winner, Senator David Zuckerman. In 2020, Ram ran for the

. In the primary, she finished second in the contest for the six at-large seats from Chittenden County. In the November general election, she finished third, and was one of five Democrats elected to the State Senate, along with one Progressive. In 2022, Ram won reelection to the Vermont Senate.

2022 U.S. House of Representatives campaign

In January 2022, Ram Hinsdale announced her intention to run for the Democratic nomination in the

2022 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont The 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Vermont will be held on November 8, 2022, to elect the U.S. representative from . The election will coincide with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the Un ...

, competing for the seat vacated by

Peter Welch Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician who is a United States senator-elect from Vermont, and the current U.S. representative for since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a major figure i ...

. However, in May 2022, she withdrew from the race and instead endorsed

Becca Balint Rebecca A. "Becca" Balint (born May 4, 1968) is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont's at-large congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party. She served as a member of ...

, the

president pro tempore of the Vermont Senate The President ''pro tempore'' of the Vermont Senate presides over the Senate of the U.S. state of Vermont in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor. The President ''pro tempore'' also sets the policy priorities and legislative agenda for the Senat ...

Personal life

In August 2021, Kesha Ram married Jacob Hinsdale.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ram, Kesha 1986 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians 2020 United States presidential electors American politicians of Indian descent California politicians of Indian descent Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Harvard Kennedy School alumni Jewish American state legislators in Vermont Living people Democratic Party members of the Vermont House of Representatives People from Santa Monica, California Politicians from Los Angeles University of Vermont alumni Democratic Party Vermont state senators Women state legislators in Vermont