Meet Nikhil

The son of Indian immigrants, Nikhil is a sociologist, educator, and policymaker who lives in Burlington.

Lauded by the New York Times for his “command of . . . federal, state, and local education laws, and social programs,” he brings deep policy expertise, progressive values, and a strong record of fighting for children, families, and public schools in Vermont.

Nikhil is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Vermont, where he conducts research on juvenile justice for his next book under contract with Harvard University Press. He has taught sociology at the University of Vermont, Wesleyan University, and New York University. 

Nikhil has influenced policy at the state and federal levels. He was one of the leaders of the coalition that opposed the passage of Act 73, the new education reform law. As a sociologist and member of Vermont School Workers United, he spoke at and helped organize more than a dozen town halls and rallies from Burlington to Westford to Hardwick.

In partnership with ACLU Vermont, Nikhil led a coalition of civil rights organizations and former officials from the Biden, Clinton, and Carter administrations to support and strengthen Vermont’s Raise the Age juvenile justice law that has shown clear success in rehabilitating youth and helping them desist from crime.

From 2021 to 2023, Nikhil served as senior policy advisor on education and children on the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

In 2024, he was elected by Vermont Democrats to serve as a national delegate for Kamala Harris to the Democratic National Convention.

Nikhil is the author of Live to See the Day: Coming of Age in American Poverty (Metropolitan/Macmillan), which was named A Best Book of 2023 by The New Yorker, won the Media for a Just Society Book Award, and was touted by the Washington Post: “the stories of these children will change the way you think about poverty.”

He earned his BA at Goddard College and MPhil and PhD at the University of Cambridge. He was also a Kathryn Davis Fellow for Peace at Middlebury College.

Nikhil is running as a Democratic/Progressive candidate and will seek the nominations of both parties. If elected, he will join the Senate Democratic Caucus.