Kesha Ram Hinsdale is a Democratic state senator representing the Chittenden-Southeast District in the Vermont Senate. Born on August 2, 1986, she is the first woman of color to serve in the Vermont State Senate and currently serves as Senate Majority Leader. Notable achievements include being the youngest member of the Vermont House of Representatives and the youngest state legislator in the country at the start of her career, as well as the youngest Indian American to serve in state elected office. She chairs the Senate Economic Development, Housing & General Affairs Committee, serves on the Senate Finance Committee and Joint Justice Oversight Committee, and has championed environmental justice, leading efforts to pass Vermont’s first Environmental Justice policy in 2022 and receiving a 2022 Environmental Merit Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. Other key legislative efforts include establishing Abenaki tribal recognition, creating driver's privilege cards for undocumented immigrants, criminalizing revenge porn and stalking, setting energy siting standards, and expanding first-time homeownership tax credits. She lives in Shelburne, Vermont, with her husband Jacob Hinsdale and their child.

Education and Political Experience

• Education: BS in Natural Resource Planning and BA in Political Science from the University of Vermont ; Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government .
• Political Experience: Served in the Vermont House of Representatives for Chittenden District 6-4 from 2009 to 2016, as the youngest member; Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee ; served on House General, Housing & Military Affairs, and Ways & Means Committees. Elected to Vermont Senate in 2022 , reelected in 2022; elected Senate Majority Leader in 2024.
• Other Roles: Teaches Structural Inequality and Environmental Justice at Vermont Law & Graduate School; co-chair of Vermont Attorney General’s Immigration Task Force; board member of Emerge Vermont, Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Regenerative Food Network, and Vermont Natural Resources Council.