1. Recommendation for Pranav Swaminathan:
My name is Ro Khanna, and Pranav Swaminathan was an integral part of my 2014 congressional
campaign in California’s 17th District. I am happy to write a recommendation letter for Pranav,
who worked in the Fremont campaign office for 1 ½ years, from May 2013 – November 2014.
During this time, Pranav made outstanding contributions to the campaign.
When Pranav joined us in May 2013, he did not have any prior experience working for a
campaign. But, he steadily exceeded our expectations as he completed new and challenging
responsibilities at a professional level.
Pranav is articulate and has appreciable people and persuasive skills. I have seen these skills in
play when he canvassed with me door to door on numerous occasions. His in-depth knowledge
of the campaign, his dedication to its platforms, and his persuasive skills made him one of the
preferred canvass captains in Fremont, CA in the summer of 2014. As a result, on many
weekends over the summer, he was asked by my regional vote director to launch as many as six
shifts a day (12 hrs. per day) and train prospective interns.
Pranav works hard and is tenacious. These qualities made it easy for the campaign leaders to
promote Pranav to Neighborhood Team Leader in September 2014. He led a team of 30 fellows,
many of whom were his peers. In this leadership position, Pranav demonstrated professionalism
and outstanding organizational skills; he met all of his weekly goals and communicated clearly in
campaign meetings. He coordinated team meetings and conference calls. He recruited new
fellows every week. He rallied his team when morale was low after a canvass. His upbeat
demeanor and can do attitude is infectious. At one of the meetings for prospective fellows, he
impressed the campaign staff with his speech on the positives of the campaign. His mock
presentation on how to educate and convince prospective voters was also deeply appreciated.
My campaign was unique because it was one of the first in the country to recruit high school
students. My vision was for high school students to get exposed to politics and the workings of a
campaign. Pranav exemplified the ideal fellow, participating earnestly in canvassing, phone
banking, organizing events, and learning new technology (Voter Access Network – VAN and
Get Out the Vote - GOTV).
To sum it up, Pranav’s positive demeanor, zest to learn, tenacity, people skills, organizational
skills, and ability to work in a team and lead it, make him a valuable asset to any institution.
Sincerely,
Ro Khanna (rokhanna1@gmail.com)