Another Indian American to run for Congress

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With Dave Reichert’s recent retirement announcement, another Indian American woman is ready to take after him in Washington State’s 8th District and enter the Congressional realm.

Mona Das, 45, is the fourth Indian American to make a bid for public office, after Aruna Miller, Hiral Tipirneni and Anita Malik announced their bid earlier this year.

Das was born in the Indian state of Bihar and moved to the United States with her parents at the age of eight months.

Her father worked tirelessly to become a noted materials science engineer while her mother gave other Indian Americans tips and trick on how to live in the United States.

Das attended the University of Cincinnati and earned a BA in Psychology which helped her to excel in early roles within the tech industry, both internationally and domestically and in 1996, she moved to the Pacific Northwest, establishing the roots of her early career and business success.

In Portland, she enjoyed a successful career in the tech industry until 2004 when she launched MOXY Mortgage, a mortgage business focused on educating and empowering first-time homebuyers.

Her passion for helping people who were underserved by other home loan providers helped grow the company into a 50-state lender awarding the company with the Five-Star Mortgage Professional Award every year since the award’s inception.

In 2012, Das went back to school to earn an MBA in sustainable business from Pinchot University (now Presidio Graduate School) and continues to serve on the Board of Trustees there as she is head of one of the school’s leading fundraisers for educational programs and mentors next-generation sustainable business leaders.

Her belief in equality for all, including immigrants and women, has motivated her to hold leadership positions for organizations including: the Women’s Business Exchange, where she mentors and encourages small business owners and entrepreneurs in the Seattle-area; the Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future, where she worked as a member of a powerhouse board to promote and encourage women who are taking leadership positions in sustainable businesses; the Multnomah County Advisory Committee on Sustainability and Innovation, where she was appointed to the budget committee for the city of Portland and also served as vice-chair, leading the county’s charge on clean air and sustainability initiatives and A Social Ignition, where she helps direct a recidivism prevention startup with a mission to teach inmates the tools of entrepreneurship for a brighter future.

Das also attended the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University in 2015 and her experience there provoked her to run for office so that she could “champion the rights of all people” in a better and stronger way.

Das wants the people of Washington State’s 8th district’s voices to be heard in Congress and will focus on healthcare, economic development and sustaining the quality of life.