MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR April 21, 2022
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council ofthe District of Columbia
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
142; D.C. Official Code 1-523.01), and pursuant to section 305 of the Fiscal Year 2002 Budget
Support Act of 2001, effective October 3, 2001 (D.C. Law 14-28; D.C. Official Code 2-1374), I am
pleased to nominate the following person:
Ms. Krishna Ghodiwala
Half Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(Ward 6)
for appointment as a public voting member of the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander
Community Development, filling a vacant seat, for a term to end April 17, 2025.
Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Councils earliest considerationofthis nomination for confirmation. Please do
not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayors Office of Talent and Appointments,
should the Council require additional information,
Sincerely,
juriel Rowser
Chairman Phil Mendelson
at the request ofthe Mayor
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To confirm the appointment of Krishna Ghodiwala to the Commission on Asian and Pacific
Islander Community Development.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Community
Development Krishna Ghodiwala Confirmation Resolution of 2022.
Sec. 2. The Council ofthe District of Columbia confirms the appointment of:
Ms. Krishna Ghodiwala
HalfStreet, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(Ward 6)
as a public voting memberofthe Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Community
Development, established by section 305ofthe Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Support Act of 2001,
29 effective October 3, 2001 (D.C. Law 14-28; D.C. Official Code 2-1374), filling a vacant seat,
30 for a term to end April 17, 2025.
31 Sec. 3. The Council ofthe District of Columbia shall transmit a copyofthis resolution,
32 upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Office of the Mayor.
33 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
Krishna Ghodiwala
IE EN
Text Surge| Co-Founder, Co-CEO Washington, DC| Feb. 2020 - Present
> First-oFits-kind, 100% minority-owned full service P2P texting firm serving Democratic campaigns and
organizations in both English and Spanisb.
> Employed >500 independent contractors through 2020 Election, paying employees a $15/hour wage
> Sent 160+ million text messages &raised $1 million for over 125clients, creating a record-breakingfirstyear of
business fora civic tech startup to exceed revenue goal by 600%
> Notable clients include Vote America, Survey 160, Black 2 The Future PAC, Susan Wild for Congress, & others.
irstGen Strategies| Principal Washington, DC | July 2019 - Present
> Oversaw political research, outreach, and mobilization strategies for client base that range from civic tech startups to
a pre-IPO consumer tech company. Notable clients include MobilizeAmerica.
> Consulted client on product developmentofin-house SMS too! that successfully launched on Capitol Hill
Hustle |Senior Client Success Manager Washington, DC| Mar. 2018 ~ Jan. 2019
> Successfully managed the onboarding, retention, and expansionof 21 State Democratic Party accounts and over 600
campaign sub-accounts, resulting in a 55% increase in revenue within 90 daysofthe 2018 midterm elections.
> Developed P2P texting resources to scale hundreds of political clients quickly and effectively. Notably, designed and
distributed the Hustle TOTV Planning Guide, which was distributed to all political clients nationwide.
>Served as theClient Success teams PR liaison, contributing client storiesto The New York Times, Forbes, and Wired.
Executive Office ofMayor Muriel Bowser| Partners hips Director & Public Information Officer
Washington, DC Mar, 2015 ~ Mar. 2018
> As PIO, managing Office's internal communications, including content distribution for media outlets.
> As Partnerships Director, managing the planning, execution, and recruitment of various events and initiatives; key
success includes the launch and implementation of the WorkSmart Salary Negotiation Program in partnership with the
American Association of University Women, which offers free salary negotiation classes to all DC women,
> Establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships with both local and national nonprofits, advocacy groups, and
community organizations to support MOWPY's initiatives and events. Oversaw 40+ partnerships.
American Directions Group | Business Development Manager Washington, DG | Mar. 2014- Mar. 2015
> Consulted clients on data targeting and segmenting, direct voter contact, and legislative outreach. Provided grassraots
outreach trainingsfor campaigns on integrated campaign strategies that combined digital and grassroots best practices.
John Connelly for Mayor | Deputy Field Director Boston, MA | Mar. 2013 - Nov. 2013,
> Organized 8 communities and conducted volunteer recruitment & voter contact.
Obama for America| Field Organizer Asheville, NC| June 2012 - Nov. 2012
> Managed 1 rural community team & 1 university campus team; oversaw 250+ volunteers & 1 Early Vote Organizer.
EDUCATION
University of Toronto, ON | 2008 - 2012 Honours B.A. in English Literature and Political Science.
Womens Campaign School at Yale University New Haven, CT | 2013 Diploma in Campaign Management and Strategy.
PERSONAL
Languages| Hlindi (Native Spoken). Gujarati (Native Spoken). Urdu (Fluent Spoken). Spanish (Intermediate).
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Executive Office of the Mayor - Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Krishna Ghodiwala
Krishna Ghodiwala is a political professional with over ten years
of experience in managing outreach and communications
programs across diverse communities. She is currently the Co-
Founder and Co-CEOofText Surge, a 100% minority owned full-
service texting firm serving Democratic campaigns and
organizations in both English and Spanish. Through her career,
she worked for Obama's reelection campaign in North Carolina,
the 2013 Boston Mayoral race, and Mayor Muriel Bowsers
Administration in Washington, DC. In her role in Mayor Bowsers
administration, Krishna oversaw womens outreach and advocacy
in the District, launching a numberofnotable programs, including
salary negotiation classes, a professional development series, and expanded the administrations
partnership portfolio with womens organizations to include over 50 local and national
organizations. She also partnered with the Mayors Office on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs to
organize the first annual Diwali in the District event to improve engagement efforts with Indian
American residents.
After working in the Bowser Administration, Ms. Ghodiwala continued her career at Hustle as
their Senior Client Success Manager, during the 2018 Midterm Cycle, where she guided 21 State
Democratic Parties and hundreds of campaigns up and down the ballot to implement large scale
distributed texting operations. Some of her notable clients included: Stacey Abrams for Governor
(GA), Andrew Gillum for Governor (FL), Tim Kaine for Senate (VA), Gavin Newsom for
Governor (CA), Jared Polis for Governor (CO). Krishna is currently the Co-founder and Co-CEO
of Text Surge, a first of its kind SMS consulting firm that helps Democratic campaigns and
organizations fundraise and mobilize voters through P2P texting. Since the launch ofText Surge
in early 2020, the firm has gone on to raise over $1 million and send over
210million text messages
for Democrats, while employing over 500 contractors who eameda living wage.
A Ward 8 resident, Ms. Ghodiwala holds her Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and
Political Science from the University of Toronto.
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GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
Executive Office ofMayor Muriel Bowser
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WE ARE
WASHINGTON
|
Office ofthe General Counsel to the Mayor
To: Ronan Gulstone, Steve Walker
Fro Betsy Cavendish
Date: April 6, 2022
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of Resolution nominating Niranjan Adhikari, Jennifer
Anderson, Krishna Ghodiwala, Jeffrey Le, Artisha Naidu, and Mike Park to the
Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Community Development
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above-referenced Resolution and
found it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not
hesitate to call me at 202-724-7681.
Elizabeth Cavendish
The oa A. WilsonBuilding 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW > Suile30) > Washingion, DIC. 20008 > Offs (B02) 721-7681