She barely spoke English when she came to the U.S. 14 years ago. Now she’s the first millennial on City Council

When Dimple Ajmera came to the U.S. from India at 16 years old, she and her parents spoke very limited English.

Fourteen years later, she’s helping shape Charlotte and the east side of town as the newest member of the Charlotte City Council.

Ajmera, 30, is the first Asian-American, youngest woman and “first millennial” (it actually says that on the city’s website) to serve on Charlotte City Council. And she was our guest on this week’s episode of the CharlotteFive Podcast.

Ajmera’s family first settled in California, then moved across the country to Durham when she was in high school. They worked hard to learn English and at times her parents struggled to find work. But Ajmera eventually graduated from high school, got a degree from the University of Southern California and came to Charlotte after getting a job with TIAA.

Those experiences of coming to a new country and overcoming the language barrier helped shape the way she approached her previous work with Charlotte Housing Authority and how she represents District 5, which covers the extremely diverse east Charlotte area.

Ajmera was appointed to the City Council seat in January, replacing John Autry, who was elected to the N.C. House.

We talked to Ajmera about:

– Her journey to the U.S. and how she got involved with Charlotte politics.

– What it means to be the first Asian-American, youngest woman and the first millennial on the council, and what responsibility she feels in representing those groups.

– Why it’s important for other young people to get involved in local politics, and how we can help shape the city for decades to come.

– How she felt about President Donald Trump’s immigration and refugee executive orders, which came down soon after she joined the council.

– How she hopes development on the former Eastland Mall site in her district will reshape and re-energize east Charlotte.

– And whether she plans to run for reelection in the fall.

For even more on Ajmera, read this profile the Observer published back in February.

Also discussed on the podcast this week:

– We’ve moved out of the closet! We gush about our swanky new space just down the hall.

– The Charlotte Neighborhood Bracket, and how Plaza Midwood resident Sarah Crosland feels about her neighborhood being knocked out in the semifinals.

– Our favorite springtime activities in Charlotte.

– And Patio Season vs. Brunch Season. (Real hard-hitting stuff, here.)

The CharlotteFive Podcast — presented by The Charlotte Observer and powered by OrthoCarolina — is a weekly podcast that aims to get you Charlotte Smart, Fast with fun, interesting and useful news about the city. It’s hosted by Corey Inscoe and Sarah Crosland, and produced by Richard Brooke and 2Waves Media.

You can find The CharlotteFive Podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher — and now TuneIn, which means you can ask Alexa to play the CharlotteFive Podcast on your Amazon Echo. (It’s awesome.)

You can follow us on Twitter @Charlotte_Five, on Instagram @cltfive, and on Facebook, and you can shoot us an email to charlottefive@charlottefive.com.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 12:00 AM.