[4][5] He attended the Friends School of Baltimore[3] and Northwestern University and is an alumnus of the Improv Olympic Theatre.

[2] After college, Winer acted in television commercials for companies such as Budweiser, Nike and Dr Pepper.

Since then, Winer has directed episodes of TV shows such as Kath & Kim, Samantha Who?, Carpoolers, New Girl and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23.

In 2010, Winer won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement in Directing Comedy Series for Modern Family.

In 2012, he married Jackie Seiden in Palm Springs, California, in a service led by actor Adam Shapiro.