Asian Fortune Your source for all things Asian American
By Michelle Phipps-Evans
Photos courtesy Grace Han Wolf
City Councilmember Grace Han Wolf believes that her philosophy as a governmental leader on the Herndon Town Council is simple, yet impactful.
“My job is to make sure our community is well run, that the community is safe, and that there’s economic development,” said Wolf, 49, a Korean-American, and one of six councilmembers, and the mayor, who comprise the Herndon Town Council in the Commonwealth of Virginia. “That’s my job—how do I make the communities’ lives better.”
A modest stance coming from the Councilmember whose job, among others, includes establishing town government policy, acting upon local issues and ordinances, setting tax rates, approving the annual town budget, appointing members to, and providing policy guidance for, the Town Manager (the appointee who runs the city).
“People don’t see how local elections affect their daily lives,” said Wolf, a Democrat. “They don’t come out for local elections; only the big ones for President. But the President won’t ensure your garbage is picked up, or he won’t issue zoning permits. That’s on the local level.” Wolf, a member of the Town Council since 2010, is running for re-election on May 6, for her third two-year term in Herndon, a town of about 23,000 residents, approximately 22 miles outside of Washington, D.C. Hendon maintains a small town charm, amid a 21st Century Northern Virginia landscape of high rise buildings, industrial complexes and transportation hubs.
“But you realize your responsibility to be an asset to your community,” she added. She provides a voice to the Asian-American community, which traditionally is the least likely to participate in the electoral or political process compared to other minorities, since the 1970s, according to the Pew Research Center.
Wolf, the first Korean woman elected to office in the Commonwealth, serves on the board of directors for the Council for the Arts of Herndon, the Korean American Scholarship Foundation (Eastern Region), and is a member of the Korean Womens’ International Network (KOWIN-DC), an organization of professional women of Korean descent in the Washington, D.C., metro area. In 2011, she co-founded the Jade Philanthropy Society, a nonprofit whose mission is to encourage and facilitate local philanthropy by Asian Americans.
“I am proud of my little things,” said Wolf. “I can see my vote and the outcome of my vote. Things are better because of that.” She has served in an informal role as liaison to the Korean American community and to the Asian community as a whole.
One thing of which she was especially proud, was in 2013, when she worked with the Fairfax County Registrar to create Korean language literature to help with voter registration and voting, the first time this key literature has been translated into Korean. Fairfax County’s Korean population is 46,108, making it the county’s second largest group of Asian American Pacific Islanders, according to KOWIN-DC. Although Korean Americans overall have high education rates, the population also has the lowest English-proficiency rates.
The Fairfax County Supervisor who represents the Dranesville District, which includes the towns of Herndon, McLean, Great Falls and portions of Vienna and Falls Church, raved about Wolf.
“I have known Grace Han Wolf to be a tireless community leader who is a common sense problem solver and consensus builder both in the Town of Herndon and in the larger Asian Community,” said Fairfax County Supervisor John Foust. “I am honored to call her a friend and (I am) continually impressed by the contributions she, and the rest of the Asian Community make to Fairfax County in business, culture, and civic involvement.”
In the Commonwealth, incorporated towns are an integral part of the counties in which they are located. Fairfax County provides public education, library services, health and social services to Herndon’s residents, so some of these are outside the scope of Wolf’s sphere of influence.
However, significant legislation that passed during her second term included Herndon Metro Station plan’s approval and rezoning; major roadway designs were approved and are in progress; and the Downtown Master Plan, Pattern Book and new zoning language was approved.
“This term we focused mostly on core infrastructure needs of the town, as well as moving forward with projects that will help our town grow with the arrival of Metro,” Wolf said, adding that as a Council, they revisited and revised its 2030 vision statement.
Born in Syracuse, NY, and raised in North Carolina, Wolf is the eldest of three to Korean immigrant parents who were both academics. Residing in Herndon since 1999, she is small-business owner. Previously, Wolf held positions in finance and accounting at IBM Consulting, Deloitte & Touché Management Consulting, and Dun & Bradstreet and Bankers Trust. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA in finance and strategy, both from Cornell University. Wolf is married and is a mother of one.
In 2006, Wolf received the Town of Herndon’s Distinguished Service Award, recognizing her volunteerism. In 2007, she attended the Leadership Fairfax signature program. Since 2008, she received the Volunteer Fairfax Benchmark Service Award annually. And in 2012, she received the Public Service Award from the Asian American Chamber of Commerce.
On March 2, 2014, Wolf announced her re-election bid at the Herndon home of Cathy and Jerry Lani.
“It was my great pleasure to host a campaign kickoff for my dear friend Grace Han Wolf,” said Cathy Lani. “I met Grace about 15 years ago when we volunteered together at the Herndon Festival. Grace and I were both officers of the board of the Council for the Arts of Herndon. Grace wears many hats and is passionate and dedicated to serving her community. She is an experienced leader and will be an asset as Herndon moves forward. Although I do not live within the town limits and cannot vote for Grace, I fully support her in her quest for re-election.”
The event attracted a cross-section of leaders and others that included Foust as well as Herndon Mayor Lisa Merkel and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid, all of whom have endorsed her, and support her re-election bid. She has also been endorsed by the Asian American Fund—Virginia Chapter.
As Wolf approaches her 50th birthday this September, she will probably continue with her work for the Town of Herndon. She said she has made no big plans yet for the milestone birthday, making a joke that “maybe she’ll dye the gray” out her hair.
