I was born and raised in Durham, North Carolina where I attended Hillandale Elementary and Durham School of the Arts. I’d say my formative years here in NC were shaped by a few rockstar educators at DSA and the entrepreneurs and tinkerers who worked at and frequented Cocoa Cinnamon where I worked my senior year and early into college.
I headed to Florida to obtain my Bachelor’s in Anthropology and minor in Middle East North African Studies at Eckerd College. In 2016, I took a leave of absence from Eckerd to serve as a Field Organizer in Pinellas County for the Florida Democratic Party/Hillary For America. After graduation, I served as a Regional Field Director for a Florida gubernatorial candidate before moving to Raleigh to finish out the 2018 cycle. As the Special Project Director for the NC Democratic Party’s Break the Majority campaign, I led the statewide peer-to-peer texting program.
Following the 2018 general election I enrolled in Project Shift, a software engineering fellowship here in Durham. My transition to tech was largely influenced by my belief that we cannot rely on electoral politics as our only avenue for societal change. I’m still earning my chops as a Frontend Developer at a web agency downtown, but my goal is to create technology that is informed, accessible, and used in the interest of the public good. I'm spending my free time listening, watching, reading, unlearning, and learning about anti-racism, abolition, and reparations; technology is helping me to do so.
My temporary return to campaigns was inspired by our candidate herself. Anjali stood out at our alma mater, Eckerd College, for her dedication to STEM community education, her intersectional servant leadership, and her unwavering drive to excel. I have no doubts about her exceptionalism as it relates to both her intentions in running for this position (they’re solid) and her efficacy in creating the change she wishes to see for our community once elected as Durham County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor.