As Usha Vance increasingly steps into the public eye alongside her husband, US Vice President JD Vance, she is making headlines not just for her poised presence at official events, but also for the deeply resonating story she represents — that of a first-generation Indian-American woman rising to one of the highest social positions in the United States.
From state dinners to diplomatic visits, including a recent official trip to India, Usha has become a visible part of the Vance administration, even as she continues to avoid the spotlight wherever possible.
But behind her high-profile role is a deeply rooted family story — one shaped by immigration, education, and quiet excellence. That same story includes a sister who has chosen a very different path, yet one equally impressive: Shreya Chilukuri, a top engineer working on some of the most advanced technologies in the world today.
Usha Vance (maiden name: Usha Chilukuri) was born and raised in the working-class suburbs of San Diego, California. Her parents, Radhakrishna “Krish” Chilukuri and Dr. Lakshmi Chilukuri, emigrated from India to the United States in the late 1970s. The family traces its roots to Vadduru village in Andhra Pradesh, India, though they later moved to Chennai when Usha’s grandfather, Ramasastry Chilukuri, became one of the founding physics professors at IIT Madras, as per Reuters.
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Her father, Krish, is a mechanical engineer who has taught at San Diego State University, while her mother, Lakshmi, is a respected molecular biologist who currently serves as the Provost of Sixth College at UC San Diego. Usha once shared that she was raised in a Hindu household, adding, “My parents are Hindu and that is one of the things that made them such good parents, that made them really good people.”
While Usha now stands at the heart of political life, her younger sister, Shreya Chilukuri, has taken a different route, making waves in the world of engineering and defence without ever stepping in front of a camera.
A 2012 graduate of Duke University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Shreya combined her technical acumen with a passion for the humanities, studying classical civilisations alongside advanced propulsion technologies.
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As per reports, after college, she worked at companies like Cordis Engineering and Lude 32, where she helped design components for consumer products from GoPro to Fitbit. However, her most significant career chapter came during her five-year tenure at Raytheon Missiles & Defence. There, she led missile development programs, achieved multi-million-dollar contract milestones, and served as Deputy Hardware Lead for a major U.S. Navy project.
Since 2022, Shreya has worked at ASML, one of the world’s foremost semiconductor technology companies.
