Irene Fernando

@hennepind2.com

97 Followers 10 Following

She/her. Learner. Listener. Solutions creator. @hennepin.bsky.social Board Chair. Commissioner for District 2.

Eight Years of Results graphic on domestic violence. Text notes the commissioner, with Commissioner Conley, authored and passed a resolution directing county staff to produce a report outlining Hennepin’s current domestic-violence services and long-term prevention strategies — long-term strategies, not just reaction.
Eight Years of Results graphic on tree planting. Text notes that since 2020 the county has planted 576,000 trees — including 32,000 bareroot trees in 2024 — toward a goal of 1 million by 2030, backed by $12 million in Emerald Ash Borer grants and $500,000 in annual canopy grants.
Eight Years of Results graphic titled “The Blue Line is coming.” Text notes the light rail will connect North Minneapolis, Robbinsdale, Crystal, and Brooklyn Park to downtown Minneapolis, with unanimous municipal consent, 90% design complete (published May 2026), and federal environmental review complete.
Eight Years of Results graphic explaining what HCMC is. Text describes Hennepin County Medical Center as the region’s only public safety-net hospital, serving more than 100,000 patients and providing Level I trauma care regardless of ability to pay.
Eight Years of Results graphic on family homelessness. Text notes that between January 2024 and the end of 2025, the number of families in emergency shelter dropped 62% — from 529 to under 200 — through investment to keep homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.
Eight Years of Results graphic on constitutional values. Text states the Constitution asserts the right to due process for all people in the country, that Hennepin County governs from that principle, and that the law sets the floor while community sets the county’s ambition.
Dr. Commish video that answers: “won't the Blue Line displace me or push people out of my neighborhood?"
Eight Years of Results graphic titled “The last line of defense.” Text explains that as the federal government cuts funding, local governments are the last line of defense for residents — protecting health coverage, food assistance, and county services.
Eight Years of Results graphic titled “Building the foundation” on racial equity. Text lists foundational actions: created a Racial Equity Advisory Council, declared racism a public health crisis, disavowed racial covenants, and made Juneteenth a permanent county holiday — addressing systems, not just outcomes.
Eight Years of Results graphic showing the growth of the Embedded Social Worker program. A timeline notes it began in 2019 as a pilot with one social worker in Plymouth’s 911 dispatch, expanded to 12 more communities by 2021, reached every city in Hennepin County by 2023, and grew to MSP Airport and Minneapolis 911 in 2026.
Portrait of Commissioner Irene Fernando in a navy blazer against a purple background. Text reads: "Who is Commish?" and identifies her as Hennepin County Board Chair, District 2 Commissioner — the first Filipino American elected in Minnesota, the youngest woman to serve on the Hennepin County Board, and its first Board Chair of color.
Dr. Commish Blue Line Video: "Dr. Commish, why Light Rail? Why can't the Blue Line just be a bus?"
People keep asking: "Dr. Commish, hasn't the Blue Line Extension project been going on forever?"
Dr. Commish Blue Line Video 2: "Dr. Commish, why does it matter so much who will ride the Blue Line Extension?"
Four Years of Resistance: My Statement on the Fourth Anniversary of the Overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Graphic: Ending HERC incineration requires Mayor Frey. Hennepin County has a plan. The City of Minneapolis has a contradiction.
Eight Years of Results. A governing record: 2019-Present. Commissioner Irene Fernando - Hennepin County District 2. hennepinD2.com/results
Graphic saying that HCMC stays open and thanking those who made it happen.
Video 3 about saving HCMC in the Dr.Commish series.