The Northern Virginia entrepreneur and educator is one of 15 Indian Americans running for Congress this year.
Indian American entrepreneur and educationist Deep Sran is one of the nearly dozen Democrats who have announced their candidacies for Virginia’s 10th congressional district.
The winner will take on Republican Barbara Comstock, who’s one of the more than two-dozen incumbents targeted by the Democrats for possible pick-up.
Sran, who founded and runs the Loudoun School for the Gifted, says on his website that he is focusing on education and pledged to “champion a national commitment to excellence in public education for all students and to improved higher education access and affordability.”
Sran is a strong candidate, according to an Indian American Democratic party insider. An unprecedented number of Indian Americans are running for Congress in the midterm elections. So far 15 from the community have announced their candidacies, in addition to the four incumbents in the US House of Representatives.
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“If voters elected representatives based on their CVs, Mr Sran would cakewalk into Congress,” The Economist wrote earlier this month.
The Democrat says Congress no longer works for the people and he wants to change it.
“As a small business owner, I would improve conditions for those who start and grow businesses that create economic opportunities in my district,” the 45-year-old says. “As the child of immigrants, I would push back against intolerance and hatred.”
Sran holds a degree in political science from the University of Maryland and attended law school at Georgetown University. He was previously a corporate attorney for large firms in Baltimore and Chicago. He left the legal practice do a Ph.D. in human development at the University of Maryland.
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On his website, the teacher and lawyer calls for fundamental political change, seeking to strengthen the economy, create more jobs, resolve transportation problems, protect the environment and ensure national security.
He also pledges to improve conditions for those who start and grow businesses that create economic opportunities and push back against intolerance and hatred.
“In a moment when politicians, corporations, and technological developments are stripping teachers of their autonomy, Deep founded and runs a school, Loudoun School for the Gifted, based on the premise that the adults who know their subjects and their students best should lead the way,” he says on his website. “By showing what is possible in his private school, Deep hopes to build the case for greater teacher autonomy where it is regularly under attack: in our public schools.”
Sran’s parents came to the United States from India more than 50 years ago. His father was a refugee during India’s partition. He was born and raised in the nearby Montgomery County, Maryland.
The candidate says his experience as an educator gave him insights into developing a better way to engage, inspire, and educate secondary students. He also co-founded Actively Learn, an educational technology company to develop reading technology to promote deeper learning in every classroom, including those in urban and rural schools without rich libraries for their students.