Isabelle Han

About Isabelle

Ibby Han is a multi-racial Chinese American who is a community organizer rooted in Charlottesville, VA. She works to build sustainable youth movements by training and empowering young people to address structural injustice in their community. She is known throughout the state for rallying thousands of young people around causes of social justice, including but not limited to: standing up against fascist and neo-Nazi attacks in Charlottesville, passing a bill for in-state tuition for undocumented students, fighting tuition hikes, and winning higher wages for campus workers. Ibby served as Executive Director of the Virginia Student Power Network (VSPN) from 2018-2021. VSPN was Ibby’s political home and where she honed her organizing skills over the course of eight years: first as a volunteer member during her undergraduate career at the University of Virginia, then as a staff organizer, and then as ED. Ibby employed a variety of strategies, from mobilizing thousands of young Virginians to vote, to suing the police for civil rights violations. Outside of her day job, Ibby organizes for social change in the greater Charlottesville community. She worked on grassroots initiatives including supporting asylum seekers and distributing over $4.5 million in COVID relief. Motivated by her years volunteering as an EMT for the local rescue squad, Ibby organizes street medics and therapists to provide care for people participating in protests. Ibby has presented her work to national, state, and local audiences, on topics ranging from how students and faculty can combat fascism to protest health & safety. She has been interviewed by outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and GQ. When she’s not organizing, you can find Ibby reading a huge variety and volume of books, jamming on old-time tunes with friends, and experimenting with watercolors and ceramics.