+ − Contact Information
Phone: (512) 463-0631
Fax: (512) 463-0901
Office Address:
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
+ − Biography
A seasoned professional with years of hands-on experience in the areas of public health and public education, State Representative Donna Howard's policy expertise and leadership skills have earned her a place at the center of the growing effort to champion mainstream values in the Texas legislature.
Howard serves on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Higher Education Committee; additionally, she serves as vice chair of the House Administration Committee. She serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Article III (Agencies of Education) and the Subcommittee on Budget Transparency and Reform. The Representative previously served as vice chair of the House Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee and as a member of the House Technology Committee.
For her work at the State Capitol on health care, education, environmental protection, and historic preservation, Howard has been honored by community and state organizations, from the Austin Business Journal and the Texas Hospital Association to the Texas Parent-Teacher Association, the Sierra Club and the Heritage Society of Austin. She also has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumna of both The University of Texas School of Nursing and The University of Texas Department of Kinesiology and Health Education.
Howard is a native of Austin who graduated from Reagan High School, then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's in health education, both from the University of Texas.
She worked as a critical care nurse at Brackenridge and Seton hospitals, was the first hospital-based Patient Education Coordinator in Austin, and helped start the Seton Good Health School. She has also served as president of the Texas Nurses' Association (District 5) and as a Health Education instructor at UT.
A recognized expert on public education, Howard was elected to the Eanes ISD board in West Austin, where she served from 1996 to 1999 and was certified as a Master School Trustee by the Texas Association of School Boards. She co-founded the parent organization Advocates for Eanes Schools and helped form the Texas Education Crisis Coalition, a grassroots group of parents, business owners and community leaders working together to tackle the public school finance issue.
Howard has previously served on the boards of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Common Cause, the Texas Freedom Network and the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. She is currently a board member of the Expanding Horizons Foundation, supporting low-income housing and education.
Married to Austin attorney Derek Howard, Representative Howard is the mother of three adult children and is active in her neighborhood and church communities.