Meet Irene

Dr. Irene Fernando currently serves as Hennepin County Commissioner for District 2, which includes Golden Valley, Medicine Lake, southeast Plymouth, St. Anthony Village, North Minneapolis, Northeast Minneapolis, and much of the North Loop neighborhood in Minneapolis. Irene was elected to the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners in November of 2018. Together, she and Commissioner Angela Conley (District 4) were the first people of color elected to the County Board since Hennepin’s founding in 1852. She is the youngest woman to serve in this position, and she is the first Filipino-American elected in Minnesota. Since 2023, Irene has been elected annually by her Commissioner colleagues to serve as Chair of the Board. In her time on the Board, Irene has fought hard to increase access to housing, transit, health services, and jobs.

Before joining the County Board, Irene worked in not-for-profit and corporate settings, and she instructed college courses. Her expertise is in youth development, social entrepreneurship, shared leadership models, talent development, and systems change. Irene studied at the University of Minnesota where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Master of Education in Youth Development Leadership, and recently graduated with a doctorate degree in Human Resource Development.

At age 17, she moved to Minneapolis to attend the University of Minnesota, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Master of Education in Youth Development Leadership. Just ten days into her freshmen year, she co-founded Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF) with a mission of revealing leadership through service, relationships, and action. What started as an optimistic idea quickly transformed into a thriving nonprofit; over 11 years, STLF ran over 600 programs with 22,718 students contributing 318,000 hours of service to communities across the country.

Her career spans not-for-profit, corporate, and academic spaces. In 2015, Irene was selected as a Bush Foundation Fellow and began teaching social entrepreneurship at St. Mary’s University. She also worked at Thrivent Financial leading around organizational design, culture, and talent. Her community involvement includes serving on the Carlson School of Management Alumni Board, being a member of the Global Shapers Minneapolis Hub, and leading as an Alpha Gamma Delta Alumnae Chapter President.

Irene brings deep expertise in youth development, social entrepreneurship, shared leadership models, talent development, and systems change. Irene lives in the Harrison neighborhood of Minneapolis with her partner Kent, and their dog Mimi. She loves this community and can often be found out on her front porch chatting with her neighbors or cheering on the Minnesota Lynx!