Rakesh Sharma has lived with his family in Fremont for 17 years, and currently serves on the Planning Commission. Rakesh is a product of public education with doctorate degree in Clinical Biochemistry from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.
In 1977, Rakesh and his wife, Ranjana (a Family Physician) left for Japan where he worked at the Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine and Biology in Hiroshima. In 1979, he came to United States to work at University of Texas, Dallas. He lived in Texas for about one and a half years and then moved to California to work at Stanford Medical School and University for about 18 years. His last full time job in the academic field was at a Caribbean Medical school as the Chairman, and Associate Professor of Clinical Biochemistry. Now, he is self employed.
Beyond his career as an educator, Rakesh has his roots deeply planted in his community. He has spent countless hours delivering meals to the hungry through the Meals on Wheels program. Rakesh understands that the homeless population cannot be ignored, which is why he has worked tirelessly to raise thousands of dollars for the Tri-City Homeless Coalition. His mission to work tirelessly to improve our community goes beyond supporting charitable organizations. Rakesh is also a hard working public servant, being appointed to the Planning Commission in 2002. Rakesh’s tenure on the Planning Commission has given the commission a refreshing and independent perspective on many pressing issues, Measure T and the Pacific Commons retail center, to name a few.
In addition to helping the community and the city, Rakesh has been very active as a volunteer on campaigns that he felt would bring a fresh voice to local and state government. The decision to move from a largely behind the scenes role to the forefront was based on Rakesh’s hope to involve the community in the decision making process. Rakesh wants to bring City Hall to the people because as a resident he understands the importance of.
