Filler-Corn was born in New York City and grew up in West Windsor, New Jersey, graduating from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in 1982. She graduated from Ithaca College, Ithaca NY with a B.A. degree in 1986. She received her J.D. degree from American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC in 1993. In the time between her two college stints, she worked on Democrat Jeff Laurenti's unsuccessful 1986 campaign to defeat incumbent RepublicancongressmanChris Smith. She and her husband Robert Corn, President of Landmark Strategies, Inc., a national issue advocacy, grassroots engagement and campaign voter contact firm, have two children.
Career
Filler-Corn served as director of intergovernmental affairs in the administrations of Virginia governorsMark Warner and Tim Kaine. Since 2007 she has been director of government relations at Albers & Company, a national lobbying and consulting firm in Arlington. On January 1, 2019, Filler-Corn became Leader of the House Democratic Caucus, and was the first woman to lead a caucus in the 400-year history of the Virginia House of Delegates. Filler-Corn serves as the Chair of the Rules Committee and as Chair of the Joint Rules Subcommittee. On November 9, 2019, following elections where the Democratic Party of Virginia won control of the House, the incoming caucus officially nominated her for the position of Speaker in the 161st General Assembly. She will be the first woman ever to hold the position, as well as the first Jewish Speaker. Filler-Corn first ran for the 41st district seat in 1999, but was unsuccessful. She won the seat in a 2010 special election to replace David W. Marsden, who had himself won a special election to the Senate of Virginia the month before. Jim Dillard, the Republican incumbent who defeated Filler-Corn in 1999, endorsed her candidacy in 2010 because of her opponent's remarks that funding for Fairfax County Public Schools was "excessive". Filler-Corn won by only 37 votes. She was sworn in on March 3, 2010 after her opponent dropped his plans to request a recount. On January 1, 2019, Filler-Corn became Leader of the House Democratic Caucus. She is the first woman to lead a caucus in the 400-year history of the Virginia House of Delegates. In 2019, Filler-Corn introduced and passed House bills on a variety of issues, from expanding education on the topic of consent in schools to exempting disabled veterans from motor vehicleproperty tax. On January 8, 2020, the new Democratic majority elected Filler-Corn Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. She is both the first woman and Jewish person to serve in this position. On May 26, 2020, Filler-Corn endorsed Joe Biden for President.
Legislative issues
In 2019, one of Filler-Corn's top priorities has been preventing gun violence. She and other Democrats formed a “Safe Virginia Initiative” task force, which she co-chairs, to examine the issue. In response to the refusal by Republican delegates to consider gun control legislation, she has stated that action on gun control must be taken in order to prioritize school safety. The Virginia Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education has endorsed her because she has consistently voted for legislation supporting public education.
