Vasudha Desikan is a fellow at Open Markets Institute. Her work explores the relationship between venture capital, democracy, and working communities in California.  

Vasudha comes from a long history of campaigning and advocacy in racial and worker justice movements. She spent over a decade at SEIU, AFSCME and LIUNA fighting against corporate and financial exploitation of workers. As the Policy Director at United for Respect, Vasudha helped retail workers draft and introduce the first federal bill to rein in private equity firms. She later channeled her experience in labor and financial justice to lead campaigns to confirm progressive heads of federal regulatory agencies under the Biden administration. She has written for various publications including Teen Vogue, Truthout and Ms. Magazine.  

Vasudha received her master’s in international peace and conflict resolution from American University in Washington D.C.  

She currently lives in San Francisco and is a California maximalist.