Varsha Sarveshwar is Deputy Director for Policy at the California Energy Commission's Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, a new watchdog division within the CEC focucsed on preventing price-gouging and protecting Californians from gasoline price spikes and other forms of industry misconduct or market manipulation. A Rhodes Scholar who earned a master's in Public Policy and an MSc in Public Policy Research from the University of Oxford, Varsha previously worked as an Assistant Deputy Cabinet Secretary in the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Her first year in the Governor’s Office was supported by UC Berkeley’s John Gardner Public Service Fellowship. Varsha graduated from UC Berkeley in 2020 with a B.A. in political science. She received the 2020 Political Science Departmental Citation, the Travers Scholarship in Ethics and Politics, and the Chancellor’s Award for Public Service. She was also a recipient of IGS’s Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research in 2020. During her senior year, she was president of the UC Student Association.
Thesis: Leaders or Caretakers: Examining the Impacts of Ideological Diversity on California’s Legislative Leaders
Major(s): Political Science
Minor(s): History, Public Policy