Meet the Candidate

Irene is a longtime community organizer and activist who currently serves in the Virginia House of Delegates. The daughter of Korean immigrants, her family instilled in her the values of service, hard work, and integrity. She learned early on that the promise of America, which families like hers sacrificed so much to pursue, wasn’t always a promise as much as it was a possibility–one you had to fight for.

Irene’s family story is similar to many in Fairfax County. Her dad was a small business owner who worked long hours to make ends meet. She was fortunate to attend a state school on a scholarship and paid her way through college by waiting tables on weekends.

When Irene’s father got seriously sick, it had a devastating impact on the whole family. After spending months in and out of the hospital and racking up thousands of dollars in medical debt, her father ended up flying back to Korea to get the life-saving surgery he needed. But it shouldn’t be easier and more affordable to fly halfway around the world to get the health care you need.

That experience drove home that “business as usual” doesn’t work for families like hers, or for so many other families in Virginia. So she decided to challenge the system and ran for the House of Delegates in 2021. And she won, defeating an incumbent in the process and over the next four years, Irene has been successful in delivering real results for working Virginians. She passed Malcolm’s Law–legislation that requires hospitals to test for fentanyl during drug screenings, going toe-to-toe against the hospital lobby to get it done. She also passed legislation making pregnancy a qualifying life event so people can actually get health insurance when they need it most, taking on the insurance industry to make it happen. And when utility companies were cutting off people’s power during heat waves and public health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic, she fought the powerful energy industry and won, passing legislation to stop them from disconnecting the most vulnerable residents.

Irene’s entire career has been dedicated to defending our democracy and shaping the government to be more responsive to and reflective of the people. Now, she’s running for Congress because this moment demands real generational change.

My door is always open to you.

Irene Shin