During the 88th General Assembly, she was the chairman of the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth and served on Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor; Senate Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs; and Senate Rules, Resolutions and Memorials. She was first alternate for Arkansas Legislative Council and Legislative Joint Auditing. Senator Irvin was a recipient of the 2011 Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association Advocate of Justice Award. Senator Irvin's political interest began as a presidential campaign volunteer for Ronald Regan in Arkansas. She then volunteered for Sheffield Nelson’s first campaign for governor, and in 1994 she worked in his second campaign as special events coordinator and assistant finance director. In 2000, she worked as campaign manager for her brother, Bob Thomas, in his bid for United States Congress (2nd District).

Raised in Little Rock, Senator Irvin earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, communications and dance from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Virginia. She also attended the University of Reading and Oxford University in England during her college career. Her professional background includes working as a news editor for KATV, Channel 7 News, as marketing director for Tipton & Hurst, Inc., of Little Rock, as the advertising and marketing director for Stone County Ironworks, and as an independent graphic designer and marketing consultant. For five years she worked as an adjunct professor of dance for Hendrix College, serving as director of dance her final year. Currently, Senator Irvin works with her husband in his medical clinic.

Civically, her extensive volunteer activities include coordinating the first three years of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life for Stone County, coordinating After Dark in the Park with the Ozark Folk Center, and supporting the Music Roots program. She serves on the health advisory committee for the Mountain View School District and has served as a parent representative for the school in the implementation of their EAST program. She served as president of the Mountain View Youth Soccer Association, as a vice president for the Arkansas State Soccer Association, and as a AAA registered volunteer soccer coach. In 2008, Senator Irvin received a Presidential Award for her volunteer work in the community. In 2010, she was named Coach of the Year by the Arkansas State Soccer Association for commitment to coaching girls recreational soccer. She is a member of Farm Bureau, the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, and Chapter DK of P.E.O., a philanthropic educational organization that supports women in education. She is a past president of Chapter DK, Mountain View.

Senator Irvin and her husband, Dr. John Dawson Irvin, have lived in Mountain View for over 14 years and are members of First United Methodist Church of Mountain View. Together they have four children, Allyn, Hennelly, Josie and Ike.