When I was 16, my dad had to fly to his home country of Korea to undergo life-saving surgery after being diagnosed with cancer. As a small business owner, he couldn’t afford the necessary care in the United States; it was actually easier and more affordable for him to travel across the globe than it was for him to get the surgery in the United States. No family should have to go through that.
That’s why you can rely on me to always fight for access to affordable, high-quality healthcare for all Virginians. I’m committed to tackling the healthcare challenges facing our state, including the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs and the inaccessibility of critical healthcare. In 2023, I successfully introduced and passed a bill to expand healthcare access for state employees who have adult children with developmental or intellectual disabilities. In 2024, I was proud to champion two bills to expand opportunities for folks with disabilities and their families, reinstating pandemic-era regulations that permitted parents to act as paid caregivers for their eligible children under the Home & Community Based Services Medicaid Waiver program and ensuring that inherited Social Security Disability Insurance income doesn’t disqualify financial eligibility for disabled adults under the Developmental Disability Waiver program. In 2025, I passed legislation to ensure that pregnant women are able to access quality, affordable prenatal care by establishing pregnancy as a qualifying life event for the purpose of purchasing health insurance on the open market.
I also passed Malcolm’s Law in 2025, which ensures that, anytime a patient is being treated in the Emergency Room for a suspected overdose and a drug test is being administered, that sample is also being tested for fentanyl. This is a bill that will save lives by ensuring that patients and their care teams have better data points and can make the best treatment plan for that patient.
There is much work to be done as we continue to fight for a more affordable healthcare system in Virginia. One measure that I have been proud to co-patron for several years—and that was vetoed in 2024 and again in 2025 by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin—is the creation of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, a commission to review and set the prices of exorbitantly expensive prescriptions and give oversight of pharmaceutical companies. I will continue to fight for more affordable and accessible healthcare for all Virginians.
I firmly believe that every person has the right to bodily autonomy. I have consistently voted to ensure that access to abortion care, reproductive healthcare, contraception, and other family planning services are protected in Virginia. After the Supreme Court rolled back nearly 50 years of precedent with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022, I recommitted myself to ensuring that all Virginians have access to high quality reproductive healthcare.
Policies that restrict reproductive rights and access disproportionately affect low-income women and women of color. Reproductive health care tends to be extremely time-sensitive. We are already seeing maternal mortality rates increase – even as the only state in the south with no new restrictions on abortion. The rates are much worse in the states that have enacted new restrictions. I will always be a fierce advocate for reproductive rights and bodily autonomy. I support the push for a constitutional amendment.
I will continue to fight to ensure every person is able to decide how and when to start a family, to make birth control affordable and accessible to all, and to end pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. I know how important it is that we are able to make our own decisions for our bodies and futures, and I won’t back down in fighting for reproductive rights.
Every child in the Commonwealth deserves a quality, world-class education. I am proud that during the 2024 General Assembly Session we were able to negotiate an historic $2.1 billion in additional funding for K-12 public education, as well as a 3% salary increase for teachers, a $72.1 million investment in support for our English language learners, and a historic $456 million general fund increase in funding to support early childhood care and education programs.
As Delegate, I will continue to champion universal pre-K as a crucial step in addressing educational disparities and ensuring that all our students begin their academic journeys on even footing. Education is an important equalizer in our society and early learning is a fundamental means by which we prepare our children for success. Continued support for and enhancement of our public education system – from physical school buildings to the wonderful teaching and support staff and more – will remain a central focus of my legislative agenda.
Fairfax County is grappling with a student meal debt nearing $1 million. This underscores the pressing need to address systemic issues within our education system, including food security for our students. As Delegate, I am committed to working collaboratively to find effective solutions that not only alleviate this debt burden but also ensure that every student in our Commonwealth has access to nutritious meals without the specter of debt hanging over them.
We must urgently enact comprehensive and sensible gun legislation to safeguard our communities. Far too often, the devastating consequences of gun violence have been met with deafening silence and politicians who push to dismantle vital common sense gun regulations.I will continue to uphold our existing gun safety laws and fight for additional measures to enhance the safety of our communities.
I staunchly support a ban on assault weapons, recognizing the grave threat they pose to public safety. I was proud to co-patron HB2 in 2024. Mandatory background checks on all gun sales are a necessary step to ensure that firearms don’t fall into the wrong hands, and we are in desperate need of strong safe storage laws. Additionally, I firmly endorse a ban on ghost guns, which are insidious 3D-printed plastic firearms lacking serial numbers, rendering them undetectable by metal detectors and posing an alarming security risk. I also support strengthening red flag laws, or extreme risk protection orders, to temporarily remove firearms from the possession of those who pose a significant risk to themselves or others. We absolutely must do more to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers – I was dismayed when the Governor vetoed a bill that I co-patroned that would have closed the “boyfriend loophole.” I will continue to work with my colleagues to get this done.
Additionally, we must engage students in these conversations and validate their experiences, as they have grown up with the very real fear of school shootings hanging over their heads. Their voices and perspectives are invaluable as we work collectively to address this pressing issue and create safer communities for all.
I am committed to championing the implementation of paid sick leave for all Virginians. It is essential that we ensure working individuals have the assurance of paid sick days and the ability to take paid time off when caring for a family member. This not only bolsters our families and local communities but also strengthens our economy and safeguards public health.
Too often, families have to make difficult choices in order to support and provide for their families. People are forced to choose between paying medical bills or paying for groceries; forced to choose between working for a paycheck or staying at home to care for a child. This is unacceptable.
In addition, I will keep fighting for Universal Pre-K and affordable childcare in Virginia because we need to prioritize early childhood education. Universal Pre-K enables parents and guardians to get back into the workforce more quickly. When we support working families, that means supporting good paying jobs, public education, affordable healthcare, and everything in between.
Across Virginia, workers should have the right to engage in collective bargaining, and I will continue to advocate for localities to authorize collective bargaining agreements with public employees. As the daughter of an SEIU home care worker, my commitment to upholding the dignity and addressing the needs of domestic and home care workers is deeply personal.
I wholeheartedly endorse Project Labor Agreements (PLAs), which strengthen regulations governing workplace health and safety while fostering equal employment opportunities and maintaining labor standards. I am equally supportive of expanding apprenticeship training opportunities, especially at community colleges, to equip our workforce with high-level skills, thereby enabling employers to enhance retention rates.
Furthermore, I support legislation that will repeal Virginia’s outdated and anti-organizing “Right to Work” provisions. Empowering workers with a voice on the job has a ripple effect, elevating the well-being of everyone and contributing to the cultivation of a more robust and equitable economy for all Virginians.
Anti-AAPI rhetoric and violence have been on the rise in recent years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis and xenophobic language used by some elected officials. As an Asian-American, these attacks are heartbreaking and infuriating. Now, more than ever, it is crucial that our community is not only heard but also visible and represented at the decision-making table. I am committed to ensuring the protection of our AAPI communities, and while I am the first Korean American woman member of the House of Delegates, I will most certainly not be the last.
I’m proud to Chair the Virginia Asian American Pacific Islander Caucus and to work alongside my colleagues to advance legislation that increases resources for language access, investments in AAPI small businesses, ending AAPI hate, and other priorities to lift up the AAPI community.
I have also been proud to advance legislation to celebrate AAPI heritage and culture in Virginia by designating November 22 as Kimchi Day and April 15 as Nepali American Heritage Day!
I have been proud to champion legislation on behalf of the Town of Herndon, notably a bill in 2024 to permit localities to enact a historic district tax credit for the maintenance & repair of historic buildings. I have introduced legislation on behalf of the Town and on behalf of our friends and neighbors on a range of other issues, too – from traffic studies to speed cameras.
I am opposed to the development of a casino in our community. I believe that communities should be involved in decisions that will impact their day-to-day lives, and the message from our neighbors has been loud and clear. I stand with the Reston Association Board of Directors, the Reston Citizens Association, and the 2,900+ individuals who are united against the development of a casino in Reston and Tysons.
Climate change and environmental degradation are hurting Virginians every day. The General Assembly must do more to address the urgency of climate change. I support moving toward a 100% net renewable energy standard for electricity production, reducing mobility carbon pollution by making roads more accessible to bikers and pedestrians, continuing to increase affordable transit access, and electrifying our public fleets. Keeping Virginia green means we must renew Virginia’s commitment to the Clean Cars Act and Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
It is paramount that we prioritize climate justice. Climate change disproportionately impacts the most vulnerable members of our communities, making it imperative for us to strive to protect everyone from the adverse effects of environmental harm. I firmly believe that clean and affordable access to public water is a fundamental right. During the pandemic, when national and state health officials were emphasizing the importance of frequent handwashing and sanitization, some families in Virginia had their water service disconnected due to overdue utility bills. That was unacceptable. I worked with others to pull together a resourceful coalition of organizations to quickly restore water service and resolve the issue. We were finally able to get this done in 2024 when Virginia joined 43 other states to codify protections from utility disconnections during cold snaps, and we became a leader in utility disconnection protections during extreme heat. I am committed to continuing to advocate for ratepayer fairness and transparency in reconnection battles as well as efforts to stop utility companies from defraying costs onto ratepayers.
The current energy affordability crisis is being compounded by harmful federal policy decisions that will inevitably shift costs to Virginia ratepayers and state taxpayers. The recent gutting of LIHEAP funding will force states to backfill energy assistance programs, placing additional strain on Virginia’s budget while families lose critical support for utility bills. Similarly, HR1’s elimination of tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects will drive up long-term energy costs for all ratepayers by removing federal incentives that have helped moderate electricity prices.
In 2025, I sponsored legislation to direct the State Corporation Commission to determine whether new customer classifications might be warranted for Phase I and Phase II utilities. I believe that the creation of a new customer class would better protect residential and small business customers from subsidizing large load users, which should absolutely not be the case. Given that data center growth is driving the overwhelming majority – if not essentially all – of Virginia’s new energy demand, ensuring these facilities, as well as other large load users coming online, bear their fair share for infrastructure costs through extended service commitments is both reasonable and financially prudent.
For many years, I have been a part of the fight to expand voting rights in Virginia. I have advocated for an accessible absentee voting option for all, repealing photo ID requirements, pre-paid postage on mail ballots, and automatic as well as same-day voter registration. I support the automatic restoration of voting rights to returning citizens.
In 2024, I was proud to champion two elections initiatives that were signed into law. The first requires posted notifications when a polling location has changed or closed down. The other protects election officials and elections workers by granting them eligibility to opt into the protected voters list, affording some level of protection from targeting and harassment to the hardworking administrators and staff who run our elections.
We know that Big Money is flooding our politics and creating a system in which elected officials are more accountable to special interests than they are to constituents. In 2023 and again in 2024 I introduced legislation that would bolster the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council with a view to increasing transparency, accountability and oversight of our campaign finance systems. I am hopeful that we will be able to make some progress on this in future sessions.
I take great pride in being an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community and am unwavering in my commitment to fighting for full and equal rights for all. It is essential that every individual feels safe and protected within the Commonwealth, and that we champion diversity and inclusivity—celebrating the rich tapestry of identities within our community and fostering a society where everyone thrives.
Virginia still has work to do to fully secure the safety and well-being of our LGBTQIA+ community, especially in light of the recent attacks on transgender and nonbinary youth. In 2024, we finally updated provisions in the Code of Virginia to recognize same sex marriage, but we still need to repeal the Marshall-Newman amendment in Virginia which prohibits gay marriage in spite of the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.
And, we absolutely must show up and stand up for our youth. We must combat the harassment that students often encounter in schools based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Mandating anti-bullying training is essential. I am deeply committed to creating safe, inclusive, and affirming learning environments for all our students.
During my time in the Virginia House of Delegates, protecting victims of sexual violence has become one of my top priorities. In 2024, two of my bills addressing this issue were signed into law. The first expands the statute of limitations for victims of nonconsensual creation of personal images, and it establishes a penalty and statute of limitations for the nonconsensual distribution of personal images. The second requires that all public institutions of higher education in Virginia either staff their on-campus health clinic with a forensic nurse or enter into a memorandum of understanding with a local health clinic staffed with a forensic nurse for the purpose of administering recovery kits and providing trauma-informed care to victims of sexual assault.
What I discovered in this process is that there is a significant staffing shortage as it relates to forensic nurses and forensic nursing services – so in 2025 I carried legislation to expand access to care for sexual assault survivors through teleforensic services. The bill also establishes the Virginia Forensic Nursing Advisory Council, which will work to make recommendations to the General Assembly about the ongoing forensic nursing staffing crisis and strategies for expanding access to trauma informed care for survivors.
