Nagpur-born Swati Dandekar, now a naturalized citizen of the USA, has announced that she will be campaigning to become a candidate of the Democratic Party for the Congressional district of Iowa.

Dandekar believes the foundation for success is an excellent education. She was brought up in Nagpur and went to the JN Tata Parsi School. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Nagpur University and a postgraduate diploma in dietetics from Bombay University. She reached Iowa in 1973 and has been there since.

After holding several public service posts, Dandekar became a legislator from Marion area in the Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009 and served in the Iowa Senate from 2009 to 2011. From 2011 until recently she served as a member of the Iowa Utilities Board. Over the years, Dandekar has become known for raising a voice for job creation and advocating advanced technology.

Dandekar is the fifth to announce a run for the Democrat 2014 nomination to run for the seat. She has made agriculture, advanced manufacturing, technology and renewable energy the main planks for her campaign.

“I am running for Congress because I truly understand the promise that the U.S. offers and I want to make sure that every Iowan is given the same opportunity that I had. I am a living testament that the American dream is alive,” she said.

Having chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, and discharging duties as vice chair of the Economic Development Budget subcommittee, Dandekar was elected president of National Foundation of Women Legislators in 2011. The same year she was appointed as Democratic member of the Iowa Utilities Board.

Until her resignation from the board she was a member of National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and served on the NARUC Committee on Tele-communications and the Committee on International Relations.

Swati and her husband, Arvind, reside in Marion, Iowa. They have two sons, Ajai with wife Allison, and Govind, his wife Shaneeda, and daughter Ayaana.

In public service

• Born in Nagpur in March 1951, Swati Dandekar attended JN Tata Parsi School.
• Graduated from Nagpur University.
• Holds PG diploma in dietetics from Bombay University.
• Emigrated to Iowa, USA in 1973.
• Represented Marion area in Iowa House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009.
• Iowa Senate member from 2009 to 2011, chaired Commerce Committee and vice chair or Economic Devpt Budget Committee.
• Elected president of National Foundation of Women Legislators in 2011.
• From 2011 until recently, was member of Iowa Utilities Board.

Source: The Times of India