Countryside Corporation (construction, real estate development, franchise operator)
Raji K. Brar is chief operating officer and co-owner of Countryside Corporation, a real estate acquisition, construction and retail development firm that has been in business for more than 30 years and now employs more than 500 people throughout the Central Valley.
Brar is a first-generation Sikh American whose parents immigrated from Punjab, India, and began their life in the United States working in the fields as farmworkers.
Brar earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in health care administration from California State University, Bakersfield. Upon graduation, Brar worked as a chemist and in the health care industry before joining her family in owning Countryside Corporation.
In 2006, Brar became the first Sikh woman ever elected to a municipal government seat in California when she joined the Arvin City Council. As a result of this historic achievement, she was named a Woman of the Year by the California State Senate.
Brar is a four-time gubernatorial appointee and has served on the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors since April 2023. She serves on the California State University Board of Trustees, Cal State Bakersfield Foundation, and Kern High School District Foundation, as well as the KERO 23 Community Advisory Board and the advisory board of Kern Venture Group.
Brar is co-founder of the Bakersfield Sikh Women’s Association, which serves the community through health, wellness and educational programs.