Ash Kalra
VTA Board Member

San José City Council Member Ash Kalra serves on the VTA Board of Directors representing City Group 1 (City of San José), being appointed in 2009.   He is also a member of the Transit Planning and Operations Committee.

Member Kalra is a member of the San José City Council representing Council District 2 (South San José).  He was first elected to the San José City Council in 2008.

Prior public and civic service includes serving on San José Planning Commission, where he also served a year as chairperson.  Member Kalra also taught as a part-time instructor at San José State University and remains a professor at Lincoln Law School of San José.   He has served on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations, including the Santa Clara County Bar Association, Asian Law Alliance, South Asian Bar Association and Fresh Lifelines for Youth.   He is a member of the San José Rotary Club, through which he volunteers with Habitat for Humanity.  Member Kalra’s neighborhood involvement has included serving on the Santa Teresa Foothills Neighborhood Association Board and spearheading the formation of the Hayes Neighborhood Association.  He currently serves on the Board of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County and Sacred Heart Community Service.

Member Kalra is a long-term resident of Santa Clara County, having lived in San José for over 30 years.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a law degree from Georgetown University.  He worked as an attorney for the Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office representing indigent clients in Drug Court prior to being elected to the San José City Council.