Iwen Chu was born on December 16th, 1978, in Taiwan, but moved to New York to get her master’s degree in sociology. She served for one year in the New York State Senate, in the 17th district, which is a majority Asian district in New York and was the first Asian woman to hold office in the New York State Senate. Along with being a senator, Chu was also a journalist who spent her time shedding light on problems and stories in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Both of her jobs led Chu to help connect the Asian-American immigrant community and the New York government. Chu spent 10 years devoted to serving her communities on boards like the Community Education Council and as director of a local healthcare center. According to the New York Senate Website, Chu is working towards increasing the quality of life and education, along with public safety for everyone, but is especially focused on advocating for working families and immigrants in her district. During her time on the New York Senate from January 1st, 2023 to December 31st, 2024, Chu spent $30 million funding over 100 Asian-American and Pacific Islander organizations as well as advocating for government funding of public schools. Iwen Chu is an inspiration to many for all the work she has done for the Asian-American community; she showed the AAPI community that they were heard and that she would fight for bettering their lives. Even though she is no longer a part of the New York State Senate, she’s still fighting for the community she once represented.

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