Eshika Kaul

About Eshika Kaul

Born and raised in New Jersey, Eshika Kaul is the daughter of Kashmiri immigrants from India. Growing up, Eshika connected with her heritage through Indian classical dance, learning Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Mohiniyattam. She has performed across the United States, including at charity events, Madison Square Garden, and the Prudential Center. Deeply influenced by her family’s enduring hope of returning to Kashmir despite the ongoing violence, she is dedicated to approaching politics with optimism and a relentless pursuit of progress. 

Eshika is passionate about leveraging economic and tax policy to reduce inequality and uplift families. She graduated summa cum laude from Wellesley College with a double major in economics and peace and justice studies. At Wellesley, she was a leader in civic engagement, expanding service opportunities for students by establishing partnerships with local nonprofits. Her commitment to creating a positive change earned her the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, one of the nation's most prestigious public service-oriented awards.

Eshika’s interest in tax policy began when she worked alongside lawyers, accountants, and law students at the Harvard Legal Services Center Federal Tax Clinic to advocate for low-income taxpayers with IRS controversies. At the clinic, Eshika personally leveraged her tax certification to secure tens of thousands of dollars in benefits for under-resourced clients, including formerly incarcerated individuals and intimate partner violence survivors. After witnessing single mothers lose the tax rights of their children to abusive former partners, Eshika worked with the tax clinic to create the Single Mothers Project, which was aimed at reclaiming these rights without having to retraumatize survivors through repeated interactions with abusers. These service experiences fueled her academic interests, culminating in her economics thesis, “More Money, More Meals? The Effect of the Child Tax Credit on Child Food Insecurity,” for which she received the Natalie Bolton Thesis Prize for Economic Policy.

After graduating, Eshika worked nationally on economic and tax policy at the White House, the Congressional Budget Office, and the United States Department of Treasury. For her lifelong dedication to advocating for others, Eshika recently received the Upstander Award from the global non-profit Facing History and Ourselves.