father – an accountant and musician – could no longer work as a result of his health but could not afford health coverage without employment. Labeled a "wunderkind" by the media, Mukherji was previously the CEO of an Internet consulting and software development company that he founded while in the sixth grade. Mukherji later sold the company to a federal contractor to enlist in the Marines two weeks after the September 11 attacks at age 17, where he served as a reservist in military intelligence. The young entrepreneur withdrew from high school at 15 to enroll in an early college program at Bard College at Simon's Rock, eventually earning his bachelor's degree from Thomas A. Edison State University. He also holds a masters from the University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Seton Hall Law School, and he has performed on Broadway and in motion pictures, as a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Mukherji cofounded and led as CEO companies that achieved an aggregate half billion dollars in enterprise value, spanning healthcare, information technology, medical cannabis, and real estate. At 19, he had cofounded a public affairs firm that he grew into the state's third largest lawyer-lobbying firm, reportedly through his ties to New Jersey Democratic establishments and the Obama administration. In 2011, he was named an annual "Legends" honoree by the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce. Prior public service At 24, Mukherji was appointed by the Mayor of Jersey City and confirmed by the City Council to replace Lori Serrano (who had been removed and was later charged with corruption) as the youngest Commissioner and Chairman to ever serve on the Jersey City Housing Authority, the state's second largest public housing authority and a $70 million agency serving over 16,000 residents and over 6,700 households. During Mukherji's tenure, the JCHA was applauded by HUD for attaining the highest score for Section 8 management among similar agencies in the state. The agency was also showered with federal grants and aid from the Obama administration, which dispatched then-U.S. Secretary of HUD Shaun Donovan to Jersey City on multiple occasions to announce tens of millions in competitive federal grants the agency had won. At 27, Mukherji was tapped to fill a vacancy as Deputy Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey, the state's second largest city with a $500 million operating budget. According to The Jersey Journal, while