Pia Dandiya

Pia Dandiya's son now attends the Montessori school her mother started when Dandiya was a child.¹ Her mother, Bharati “Bubli” Dandiya, opened Turtle River Montessori in Jupiter in 1995, inspired by daughters Pia and Sonia.² Dandiya grew up in Palm Beach County with parents who had immigrated from India.³

Her own education took her to Harvard for a government degree and Boston University for a master's in education.⁴ She began teaching middle school mathematics in Boston through Teach For America, then taught at New York's Excellence Boys Charter School and helped train other teachers.⁴ At 28, she became founding principal of Democracy Prep Endurance High School in Harlem.⁴

Dandiya was appointed to the 2020 to 2021 White House Fellows class, with a placement at the Department of Education.⁴ Her subsequent work included the Domestic Policy Council and public sector initiatives at Apple, where she worked with governments on education, healthcare and other services.³ That gives her a professional record spanning classroom teaching, running a school, federal policy work and helping public agencies use technology.⁵

Her campaign calls for universal preschool, abortion rights, protections for Social Security and Medicaid, and training that prepares workers for jobs affected by artificial intelligence.³ She also says reducing everyday costs and corporate influence in Washington would be priorities.³ Dandiya faces Republican Casey Askar on November 3 for an open seat in a district newly configured in 2026.⁶