Senior Counsel, Office of the General Counsel,
U.S. Department of Commerce

Location: Washington, DC

Member Since: 2011

Laura Shin is Senior Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Federal Assistance Law Division.

Previously she served as an attorney advisor in the Office of the General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). She advised her clients in the CFO’s office on the $14 billion in federal assistance funds that DHS awards to state and local grantees as well as a range of fiscal law and appropriations matters.

Prior to that, she was the Grants Director for Homeland Security and Public Safety in the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa. At the Mayor’s Office, her responsibilities included overseeing a portfolio of over $400 million in homeland security and public safety grants; appearing in front of the Los Angeles City Council on grant related matters; and working with most of the major cities and fire and law enforcement agencies in the County of Los Angeles.

She is an elected member of the board of the SouthWest Neighborhood Assembly in DC, her neighborhood civic association. She is also on the board of Developing Emerging Leaders, an employee association at DHS. Laura is also the co-chair of the Federal Bar Associations Grants Committee. During her time in Los Angeles, Laura was an active member of the executive committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA) Barristers and the government relations chair and a LACBA board trustee. She was also a fellow for the Netkal program based at USC’s School of Social Work and a past president of the Korean American Democratic Committee of Los Angeles.