Who is Vali Chandrasekaran?

Quick facts

• Born: 1981 (age 45)
• Known for: Writer and producer on Modern Family, 30 Rock, My Name Is Earl, American Born Chinese, The Santa Clauses, The Four Seasons; consulting producer on Nobody Wants This; on-screen as himself in The Office
• Education: Harvard University (undergraduate); editor of the Harvard Lampoon, the college's storied humor magazine whose alumni pipeline into Hollywood is well documented
• Early career: Management consultant, Boston Consulting Group, Los Angeles
• Family: Married to Nithya Raman in 2010; twin children (a son and a daughter, age 10), living in Silver Lake, Los Angeles
• Books: The Ridiculous Race (2008), co-written with Steve Hely
• Union: Writers Guild of America West
• Emmy: Emmy-nominated

His story

Chandrasekaran is the son of Indian immigrants who grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, and from an early age he had a clear destination in mind. He and Nithya Raman met in 1999 when they were both undergraduates at Harvard University. He chose Harvard partly because he read in a college guidebook that students who worked at the Harvard Lampoon often went on to careers in Hollywood, and he became an editor there. The two broke up in college, got back together after graduation, and married in 2010.

Chandrasekaran began his professional career outside entertainment, working as a consultant for Boston Consulting Group in Los Angeles, writing spec scripts in his spare time. That landed him an agent and his first TV job. That helped him get an agent and begin his career as a writer on My Name is Earl.

What he built in Hollywood

He worked with Alec Baldwin as a writer and producer on NBC's 30 Rock, and his other TV credits include My Name Is Earl, Trophy Wife, Modern Family and Mixology. He went on to serve as a writer and executive producer on Modern Family, one of the most watched comedies in American television history. More recently, Chandrasekaran is an Indian American writer and producer on the American Born Chinese series on Disney+, where he wrote the second episode of the series. His full credit list also includes The Santa Clauses, The Four Seasons and a consulting producer role on Nobody Wants This.

In 2006, his script Jump for Joy was nominated for a Writers Guild Award. In a memorable turn on-screen, he played the role of "Vali Chandrasekaran" on the NBC hit comedy The Office.

Away from the screen, Steve Hely, a TV writer who worked with Chandrasekaran on the Harvard Lampoon and on 30 Rock, described him as someone who "loves people" and is "a great booster of L.A." The two co-wrote The Ridiculous Race (2008), a nonfiction account of each of them traveling around the world in opposite directions, without airplanes, to see who could get back to Los Angeles first.

The first gentleman question

Chandrasekaran has no official role in Nithya Raman's campaign and does not solicit donations on her behalf. His industry connections have nonetheless brought Hollywood's comedy-writing world into her donor base, with 30 Rock showrunner Tina Fey among those who contributed to the primary. Raman has described him as an essential reality check: "He takes away my blinders and reminds me what the city is looking for."

Chandrasekaran believes his occupation would lead Raman to care even more about Hollywood than past mayors. He has spoken openly about the industry's production exodus from Los Angeles and what it means for working writers: "For like 18 years I made a living working in Los Angeles, shooting in Los Angeles, raising my family in Los Angeles, and very recently I've had to start leaving town for production."

His books

• The Ridiculous Race (2008, co-written with Steve Hely): a nonfiction race around the world in opposite directions, without flying, with bragging rights and a bottle of Scotch as the prize.