Steve Rao

Steve S. Rao is a native of Charleston, West Virginia, and serves Of Counsel to State Federal Strategies. He advises technology companies on sales and business development strategy for state and local governments. He also works with companies offering artificial intelligence, data/analytics, contact tracing, managed services (contact centers) and cyber security services to state and local governments.

Rao served as Business Development Manager for Alphanumeric Systems from 2010-2020. He led new client acquisition in the pharmaceutical, life science, and state/local government sectors, focusing on managed services and innovation in AI and machine learning.

Steve is serving in his third term as an At Large Member of the Morrisville Town Council in Wake County, NC. He served as Mayor Pro Tem from 2015 – 2017.

Elected in 2011, Councilman Rao became first Asian American elected official in North Carolina and the Triangle region, and the first Asian American re-elected in 2013. He was re-elected on November 7, 2017, and sworn into his third term on December 12, 2017.

He serves as a Delegate to the Triangle J Council of Governments, co-chairs the Triangle J Smart Growth Committee, is an Ex Officio Board Member of the Morrisville Innovation Foundation, and leads the Smart City Initiatives for the Town of Morrisville. In 2017, Council Member Rao was named as a Member to the New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of Mayors and Business Leaders focused on achieving comprehensive immigration reform.

Rao serves as political commentator and radio host on Get with the Program with Gary Jones, a radio program which serves listeners across the Triangle, Chapel Hill, and Carborro. He also hosts Mirchi’s Leaders and Legends on Radio Mirchi, the Triangle Regions’ largest South Asian radio station.

He received a BA from Emory University in Political Science, where he played collegiate tennis. He also has received a Juris Doctor degree from West Virginia University College of Law. Rao currently resides in Morrisville with his wife Dr. Komal Parekh, and their children Sonia and Rayan.