Biography
Varun Nikore has served as founding Executive Director of the AAPI Victory Alliance, a national AAPI 501c4 organization, since its inception in 2017. He is responsible for managing the staff of consultants, spearheading political and legislative strategy, and strategic planning as well as the leading the organization’s newly launched AAPI Think Tank.
Mr. Nikore currently serves on the Board of Emerging Voters and RiseAAPI. He also serves on the National Steering Committee of The Pipeline Fund and the Development Committee of the of the Arlington Free Clinic. Mr. Nikore has served as Senior Vice President-International for TriPolus, a facilitator of international business based in London. In this capacity, he advised numerous service industry and manufacturing clients engaged in international business development and industrial participation activities, with a special focus on India and other emerging markets.
Mr. Nikore previously served as COO of Tobiko Strategies, a communications and political strategy firm, incorporating cutting-edge social media and technology. In this role, Mr. Nikore assisted numerous non-governmental organizations, political entities, corporations and public officials around the world in communicating with the public and influencing public policy. Mr. Nikore was Director of Supplier Management at the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) where he assisted hundreds of aerospace and defense suppliers and senior executives in achieving their industry objectives.
In 1999, Mr. Nikore was appointed by President Bill Clinton as Special Assistant to the U.S. Department of Education where managed the day-to-day responsibilities of the Distance Education Demonstration Program and served as liaison for eight major educational technology program initiatives.
Mr. Nikore was appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe to the Boards of the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority and the Virginia Offshore Wind Development Authority from 2015-2017. Mr. Nikore also served on the Board of the Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia after having served as past President of the organization. Mr. Nikore holds a Bachelor’s degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Aviation Business Administration and a Master’s Degree from George Mason University in International Commerce and Policy.
Articles, Publications, and Appearances
Op-eds
- Asian voters could decide the Virginia governor’s election. And many other races. (NBC THINK, November 2, 2021)
- The Coming Asian American Century (Democracy Docket, August 4, 2021)
- Building the Political Voice of the AAPI Voting Community (Morning Consult, June 6, 2017)
On TV
- San Francisco AAPI community rallies, calling out banks supporting gun manufacturers (ABC Bay Area, April 17, 2023)
- The violence and rise in gun ownership in the AAPI community (KQED Newsroom, January 27, 2023)
- Local AAPI leaders discuss impact of Monterey Park shooting (FOX Bay Area, January 24, 2023)
- Short staff and under-resourced’: Lack of AAPI community aid makes coping harder, advocate says (MSNBC American Voices, January 22, 2023)
- How Democrats can win over AAPI voters in the midterms (The Young Turks, October 12, 2022)
- The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes across the U.S. (The Young Turks, March 23, 2022)
- Tracking anti-Asian hate crimes in the U.S. (CBS News, March 26, 2022)
- Republicans Stonewalling of Biden Nominees Could Spark Backlash Among AAPI Voters (Peacock Zerlina, October 7, 2021)
- Andrew Yang’s run for Mayor of New York City (The Young Turks, June 8, 2021)
In the News
- 2023 surge in mass shootings inspires new wave of activists to fight (Washington Post, May 19, 2023)
- In-depth: Gun lobbyists target Asian Americans amid spike in anti-Asian hate crimes (NextShark, May 18, 2023)
- The AAPI community’s political power is growing. Now it wants to tackle gun violence (San Francisco Chronicle, April 15, 2023)
- Nikki Haley’s campaign opened with an appeal to race. Some Indian Americans say it won’t work. (NBC News, February 15, 2023)
- From ballroom dancing to bloodshed, the older AAPI community grapples with gun control (19th News, January 27, 2023)
- Asian American groups push for federal action on guns following California mass shootings (The Hill, January 25, 2023)
- We need to stop talking about the race of the Monterey Park shooting suspect (Insider, January 24, 2023)
- Monterey Park Shooting Updates: Names of Two Victims Released, Motive Remains Unclear (Newsweek, January 23, 2023)
- California has the country’s strongest gun laws. They didn’t prevent the Monterey Park shooting. (NBC News, January 23, 2023)
- Asian American voters could help decide the Senate runoff in Georgia, experts say (NBC News, December 2, 2022)
- Asian Americans have some of the highest levels of support for abortion rights — and it’s driving them to vote (NBC News, November 5, 2022)
- Asian Americans are buying guns in record numbers. What’s caused this surge? (The Guardian, August 16, 2022)
- Inside the battle for Asian-American votes (The Economist, June 20, 2022)
- Primary elections recap: San Francisco voters recall DA; LA mayor’s race headed to runoff (USA Today, June 8, 2022)
- Why immigration and the border are taking a backseat in Tuesday’s primary races (USA Today, June 5, 2022)
- House lawmakers advance an effort to create a national Asian Pacific American museum (CNN, June 27, 2022)
- House unanimously passes Asian American and Pacific Islander museum bill (NBC Asian America, April 27, 2022)
- Dems fear for democracy. Their big donors aren’t funding one of it’s main election groups. (Politico, February 22, 2022)
- Democrats urged to engage diverse Asian American community (Bloomberg, February 7, 2022)
- Conservatives target Biden pick for New York district court (The Hill, December 1, 2021)
- Wu, Pureval mayoral wins mark milestone for Asian Americans (AP News, November 2, 2021)
- No AAPI women have ever been elected to the New Jersey statehouse. That’s expected to change this year (19th, October 26, 2021)
- Asian Americans eager to talk voting rights with President Biden (The Hill, August 5, 2021)
- Voting rights push reinvigorates as House Dems tee up new bill next week (POLITICO, July 30, 2021)
- Lack of data on diverse electorate tests pollsters, politicians (Roll Call, June 4, 2021)
- Democratic AAPI PAC endorses McAuliffe in Virginia governor’s race (The Hill, June 30, 2021)
- Don’t Sleep on Asian American Voters (The Atlantic, May 20, 2021)