Swati Dandekar

Swati A. Dandekar (born March 6, 1951) is a former Iowa state legislator and former U.S. Executive Director at the Asian Development Bank. She is a Democratic member of the Iowa Utilities Board, awaiting Senate confirmation in 2012. Previously, she was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives for the 36th District from 2003 to 2009 and a member of the Iowa Senate for the 18th District from 2009 to 2011. She received her B.S. degree in Biology and Chemistry from Nagpur University and a graduate diploma in dietetics from University of Mumbai. As of 2011 Dandekar serves as the Chair (formerly President) of the National Foundation for Women Legislators and as a board member of the Iowa Math and Science Coalition, the Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation, and the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted & Talented. Dandekar previously served on the Iowa Association of School Boards, and as a board member of the Women in Public Policy (Iowa Charter), and the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy. On July 23, 2013 Dandekar announced that she would be running for the U.S. Congress from the 1st congressional district; she lost in the primary to former state house speaker Pat Murphy, who himself lost to Rod Blum.