Irene Shin

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.