Padma Kuppa was born on August 10,1965 and was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from the 41st House District, which encompasses the cities of Troy and Clawson, from 2019 to 2022.
26 Facts About Padma Kuppa
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Padma Kuppa was the first Asian immigrant and Hindu to serve in the Michigan Legislature.
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Padma Kuppa has served as President of the Troy Historical Society, which oversees the Troy Historic Village, and is a founding member of the Troy-area Interfaith Group.
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In 2022, Padma Kuppa unsuccessfully ran for the Michigan Senate in the new 9th Senate District following the decennial redistricting process.
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Padma Kuppa was born on August 10,1965, in Bhilai, India.
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Padma Kuppa's mother went back to school and eventually earned a PhD in biology from Stony Brook and was a post-doctoral fellow at MIT and Georgetown University.
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Padma Kuppa was the first woman to earn a degree in mechanical engineering from the university.
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In 1988, Padma Kuppa returned to the United States to attend graduate school at Stony Brook University, her parents' alma mater, as a foreign student.
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Padma Kuppa is a founding member of the Troy-area Interfaith Group, as well as the local Bharatiya Temple's Outreach Committee.
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Padma Kuppa has served as a board member and advisory board member of the Women's Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in Detroit.
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Padma Kuppa became board president of the Troy Historical Society, which oversees the Troy Historic Village, in October 2018.
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Padma Kuppa worked with Chrysler as a mechanical engineer and project manager for over five years.
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Padma Kuppa later worked as a business analyst at Ally Financial.
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Padma Kuppa served on the City of Troy's Planning Commission from 2015 to 2018, having been appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council.
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Padma Kuppa was later elected to serve on the city's Zoning Board of Appeals from 2017 to 2018.
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In 2018, Padma Kuppa was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives.
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Padma Kuppa assumed office in 2019 for the 100th Michigan Legislature, representing House District 41, which encompasses the cities of Troy and Clawson.
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Padma Kuppa's predecessor, term-limited Republican Martin Howrylak, attended her swearing-in ceremony.
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Padma Kuppa was selected to serve on the Energy Committee and the Local Government and Municipal Finance Committee.
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In 2020, Padma Kuppa won re-election against Republican Andrew Sosnoski in the general election.
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Padma Kuppa earned 55.04 percent of the vote to Sosnoski's 44.96 percent.
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Padma Kuppa was selected to serve as an alternate member for the Michigan Legislative Council.
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In 2021, Padma Kuppa received the Michigan United Cerebral Palsy Public Policy Award for her work with the disability and business communities.
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In 2022, Padma Kuppa unsuccessfully ran for the Michigan Senate in the new 9th Senate District following the decennial redistricting process.
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Padma Kuppa is Hindu and a member of the Bharatiya Temple of Metropolitan Detroit.
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Padma Kuppa is multi-lingual and speaks English, Hindi, and Telugu; the latter of which is the most spoken minority language in the district that Kuppa represents.