Meet Steve Rao
Steve Sandeep Rao is a native of Charleston, West Virginia, and served 14 years as an At-Large Council Member for the Town of Morrisville (2011–2025), including serving as Mayor Pro Tem from 2015 to 2017.
During his 14 years on the Morrisville Town Council, Steve became the longest-serving Asian American elected official in North Carolina. Elected in 2011, he was the first Indian American elected official in Wake County and the Triangle region. Throughout his tenure, he represented Morrisville on the Triangle J Council of Governments, co-chaired the Triangle J Smart Growth Committee, served as an Ex Officio Board Member of the Morrisville Innovation Foundation, and participated on the Triangle Martin Luther King Jr. Committee.
Among his notable economic development accomplishments was helping facilitate the redevelopment of the Morrisville Outlet Mall property into Stitch, a next-generation innovation campus designed to attract global life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical companies.
As Co-Chair of the Town’s Technology Subcommittee, Steve helped advance Morrisville’s Smart City and Open Data initiatives while collaborating with technology leaders including Microsoft, Cisco, and IBM on regional innovation strategies. He also championed plans for an Innovation District and technology incubator to strengthen Morrisville’s position as one of the Southeast’s premier destinations for technology and life sciences.
Steve championed initiatives that helped shape Morrisville into one of North Carolina’s leading innovation communities. He led efforts to establish the Town’s Entrepreneurship Program, expanded English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and worked closely with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and regional partners to secure more than $300 million in transportation investments for Morrisville.
Beyond municipal service, Steve has served on the boards of the New American Economy, a bipartisan coalition of business leaders and mayors focused on immigration policy, and the North Carolina Veterans Business Association.
Steve served as a Senior Business Development Executive at Alphanumeric Systems, a global technology company headquartered in Raleigh, from 2011 to 2020. He currently serves as Of Counsel and Senior Advisor to State Federal Strategies, where he advises technology companies on state and local government strategy, economic development, and public sector partnerships.
In 2020, Steve hosted John T. Chambers, former CEO of Cisco Systems and founder of JC2 Ventures, as the keynote speaker for Morrisville’s Virtual Startup Summit, connecting Triangle entrepreneurs and startup founders with one of the technology industry’s most influential leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Steve has also been a longtime public affairs commentator and media host, serving as host of “Leaders and Legends” podcast on Radio Nyra and as a political commentator on regional radio and television, including appearances on PBS North Carolina’s Black Issues Forum. His insights on technology, innovation, economic development, and public policy are regularly featured in WRAL TechWire, where he provides commentary on emerging trends shaping North Carolina’s technology economy.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Emory University, where he played collegiate tennis, and a Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University College of Law. Steve resides in Morrisville, North Carolina, with his wife, Dr. Komal Parekh, and their children, Sonia and Rayan.