Building Power Through Data: Roshni Nedungadi on Representation, Research, and Starting A Polling Firm

We’re back from hiatus with an incredible conversation featuring Roshni Nedungadi — co-founder, founding partner, and Chief Research Officer of HIT Strategies. Roshni is one of the sharpest minds in political research today, with a career built on elevating the voices of communities too often ignored in traditional polling: people of color, young voters, and low-propensity voters.

In this episode, we talk about how she found her path from Wisconsin politics to running her own firm in D.C., why representation in research matters, and what it means to build something new in a field that’s still overwhelmingly white and male. If you’ve ever questioned how change actually happens behind the scenes in politics — this is the episode for you. 00:01:00 – Meet Roshni: a polling expert and co-founder of HIT Strategies 00:03:00 – The 2008 election, student protests, and how political activism shaped her early career 00:08:00 – From legislative aide to data analyst: building technical skills through direct mail and targeting 00:12:00 – The power of representation: working for a Black-led firm and learning to take up space 00:14:00 – How she and co-founder Terrance Woodbury started HIT Strategies 00:15:00 – The 2016 election, youth voters, and the warning signs that went ignored 00:18:00 – Starting a firm as women and people of color in a predominantly white industry 00:20:00 – The role her mother played in modeling entrepreneurship and offering support 00:22:00 – Breaking into political consulting and navigating gatekeeping in the industry 00:23:30 – Building early momentum with the Steyer campaign and work on Black and Latinx voters 00:24:30 – Responding to the moment: 2020, George Floyd, and a demand for deeper polling 00:25:30 – Roshni’s current focus: polling young women, AAPI voters, and reproductive justice 00:26:30 – The gaps in AAPI polling — and why representation in data still matters 00:28:00 – What it means to scale while staying rooted in community 00:29:30 – Advice for BIPOC folks trying to break into politics, research, or entrepreneurship 00:33:00 – Final reflections on pushing the industry forward and showing up with authenticity Polling isn’t just about numbers — it’s about who gets seen, whose voice counts, and how decisions get made.

Roshni’s work challenges the old norms of political research by centering voters that traditional firms often overlook. This conversation is a masterclass in how to build power through data, strategy, and representation — and a must-listen for anyone curious about the future of politics.

Roshni is a founding partner and chief research officer of HIT Strategies. Roshni has led expansive, multi-phase research projects exploring how people across the United States feel about abortion access, gun control, mass incarceration, and other important issues on behalf of advocacy leaders such as Everytown for Gun Safety, NARAL, and Vera Institute for Justice.

Roshni’s research seeks to find nuance in how Americans, particularly BIPOC individuals and low-propensity voters, conceptualize these issues at a time where division and partisanship run rampant. Roshni’s research on behalf of HIT Strategies ultimately is meant to lift up the voices of marginalized communities in the United States, one of the fastest-growing and oft-ignored voting blocks in American politics.

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