This Gen Z candidate is leaving the tech world to run for office in Georgia. Here’s why

Fast Company’s new cover story focuses on a growing cohort: the young Americans taking a career gamble on politics. These bold individuals—including Nate Douglas, Allie Phillips, Ashwin Ramaswami, and Anna Thomas—are smart, politically engaged, and restless for change. They are following their convictions despite the risks to their bank accounts and personal safety. And they’ve got help.

David Hogg—the activist who drew national attention following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida—joined forces last year with campaign operative Kevin Lata to launch Leaders We Deserve, a nonprofit dedicated to helping young progressive candidates win office, predominantly at the state level.

Fast Company spoke with four of the rising political forces that Leaders We Deserve is backing—Nate Douglas, Allie Phillips, Ashwin Ramaswami, and Anna Thomas—about their career choices, the work of campaigning and governing, and what keeps them moving forward.

Here’s what you need to know about Ashwin Ramaswami, a 25-year-old candidate in Georgia.

Office Running ForGeorgia State Senate, District 48

Election DateNovember 5

Expected Government Salary$22,000–$23,000

Previous JobIT specialist at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Education Stanford University, BS in computer science; Georgetown Law

Career He Thought He’d Have“I always knew I wanted to do service.”

Impetus for Running“We have an $11 billion budget surplus in Georgia, and we still can’t pay our teachers a fair wage. We have underfunded healthcare systems. We are not dealing with AI and technology how we should be. And my state senator literally got criminally indicted with Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election results.”

Favorite Part of the WorkdayTalking with people. “You start to incorporate more people’s experiences, and then you can be a better decision-maker yourself.”

Least Favorite Part of the Workday“Sometimes you have to miss some personal obligations.”

Number of Staffers5 or 6

Most Rewarding Thing That’s Happened“I was talking to someone who’s Indian American who wanted to run for office. Her parents were like, ‘Don’t . . . it’s too dangerous.’ Then one day her parents were like, ‘We see this guy Ashwin on the news did it, so I guess you can too.'”

Scariest Thing That’s Happened“I’ve been hearing that some folks have been talking about me at the State Capitol, like, ‘We are going to take this kid down.’ I find it a bit amusing.”

Biggest Misconception People Have about Elected Public Office “That most of the work is done in the Capitol through writing bills. A lot is actually more behind the scenes, talking to constituents, [going] to all of the community events.”