Adi Sathi

Biography

Adi Sathi is a political strategist, public policy professional, military officer, and M.P.A. candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Since 2010, Adi has managed or advised numerous successful political campaigns and organizations during 10 election cycles in 28 states across America. Most recently, he served as an Advance Lead on the Donald J. Trump for President campaign in 2024 as well as Deputy Campaign Manager on the Adam Laxalt for U.S. Senate campaign in 2022. Adi has also previously held positions with the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Michigan Republican Party, and the Young Republican National Federation. In January 2025, he worked on the Presidential Inaugural Committee as the Advance Lead for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner during the 60th Inauguration of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

From 2025-2026, Adi served a Presidential Appointee and Special Advisor at the U.S. Department of War within the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Policy where he focused on East Asia security. He has also been a White House Advance Associate in both the Trump/Vance and Trump/Pence Administrations. From 2016-2017, Adi was an APAICS Legislative Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, who served as the President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate as well as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Adi’s work within the foreign policy and national security space has taken him to China, Japan, India, Taiwan, Israel, and France. In April 2018, Governor Rick Snyder appointed Adi to complete a four-year term as State Commissioner on the Michigan Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission. 

Adi received both his B.A. in Political Science and M.S.W. in Community Organization from the University of Michigan. While in graduate school, he spent a year with the American Red Cross in Detroit as a Community-Based Initiative Scholar. In June 2019, Adi was selected to the 65th Annual National Security Seminar program at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He is currently serving as an Infantry Officer in the Army National Guard after joining the military in July 2020 at the age of 30. Over the years, Adi has shared his passion for the sport of wrestling as a high school wrestling coach. In December 2020, he was honored to receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award at the Gold Level.

Articles, Publications, and Appearances

Video Interviews

• Final night of the Republican National Convention (CBC, August 27, 2020)

• First night of the Republican National Convention (CBC, August 24, 2020)

• Republican National Convention kicks off (CBC, August 24, 2020)

• Republican National Convention (BBC World News, August 24, 2020)

• Democratic Convention Day 3 (CBC, August 19, 2020)

• U.S. House votes to impeach Trump (CBC, December 20, 2019)

• Where Impeachment Goes From Here (CBC, November 22, 2019)

• Impeachment hearings (CBC, November 16, 2019)

• House passes impeachment rules (CBC, October 31, 2019)

• Whistleblower Complaint Alleges Trump Abused Power to Influence Elections (CBC, September 26, 2019)

In the News

• ‘A political awakening’: how south Asians could tilt key US elections (The Guardian, September 3, 2020)

• US election: All-out battle to woo Indian-American community (India Today, August 23, 2020)

• Twenty in their 20s (Crain’s Detroit Business, May 2, 2020)

• Trump campaign ads target a new audience: Indian Americans (Politico, February 27, 2020)

• At a rally like no other, Trump woos Indian American voters ahead of 2020 (Politico, September 22, 2019)

• Very Special People (Harvard Political Review, June 26, 2019)

• Why Trump Celebrated a Hindu Religious Holiday (Politico Magazine, October 31, 2017)

• Newsmax’s 30 Most Influential Republicans Under 30 (Newsmax, January 12, 2017)

• Why Millennial Issues Are Ignored in the Debates (Fox Business, November 10, 2015)