By Amindha de Alwis

Rohini Lakshmi Kosoglu, Chief of Staff to United States Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, is a second-generation Sri Lankan-American born in New Jersey.

Kosoglu’s parents, Dr. Wijeyadevendram Ravindran and Shobhana Ravindran, hail from Jaffna and emigrated to the United States soon after the 1980s riots begun in Sri Lanka.

Kosoglu holds a B.A. in English with Honours from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University.

Dr. Ravindran, Kosoglu’s father, is a former Thomian cricketer who later graduated from the Medical School of the University of Colombo Medical Faculty in 1974.

Dr. Ravindran represented his College in the Royal-Thomian Big Match of 1969 at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo.

A medium-pace bowler, Ravindran bowled first-change for the Thomians.

P. L. D. Kariyawasam captained S. Thomas’ College in that year while E. C. L. Lieversz skippered the Royalists who emerged victorious by 87 runs.

Kosoglu previously served as senior aid to Democratic Senators, Michael Bennet and Debbie Stabenow before joining Kamala Harris in her US Senate Office as a senior advisor in 2017.

By 2018 she had ascended to Harris’ Chief of Staff, directing the Senator’s legislative strategy and leadership on several key committees.

Her appointment made her the only Asian-American serving as a US Senator’s Chief of Staff.

Kosoglu currently resides in the Washington D.C. area with her husband and three sons.