J. Ashwin Madia
FROM:
Minneapolis, MN.
HEROES:
My dad, Al Gore.
PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT:
Being a U.S. Marine.
SOMETHING YOU MIGHT TEACH AT THE SUMMIT:
How to build a political campaign.
SOMETHING YOU HOPE TO LEARN AT THE SUMMIT:
I hope to build lasting relationships with some of the exceptional people you've organized.
SOMETHING YOU ARE STRUGGLING WITH IN YOUR WORK:
I'm just starting a law firm now and working hard to get the business off the ground.
SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY:
Basketball, UFC, The Daily Show.
SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU ANGRY:
Intellectual dishonesty.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAMILY:
Father is a retired microbiologist, mother is a physical therapist, younger sister is an elementary education teacher, and younger brother is a medical student.
AN IDEA TO MAKE THE 30SUMMIT EVEN BETTER:
Make it an annual summit and rotate to different cities across the country.
BIOGRAPHY:
J. Ashwin Madia is the son of Indian immigrants. He went to the University of Minnesota and New York University School of Law. After law school, he joined the US Marine Corps and spent four years as an officer, including a tour in Iraq working with State Department, military, and Iraqi officials to help build the rule of law in Iraq. Madia worked as an attorney at a large firm in Minneapolis as an intellectual property litigator for a year after leaving the Marine Corps. In October 2007, he announced his candidacy for US Congress in his home district. Despite no experience, name recognition, or fundraising base, his grassroots campaign successfully won the Democratic nomination. Madia lost the general election, though he came closer than any Democrat in fifty years to flipping his district blue. Madia opened his own law firm, Madia Law, in April 2009.
