Representative Donna Howard has served in the Texas House of Representatives since 2006.  She is a member of the Appropriations and Higher Education Committees and serves as Vice-Chair of the House Administration Committee.  Donna also serves on several select committees focused on budget transparency, fiscal impacts of border operations, and the healthcare workforce.

Donna is a native of Austin.  She earned a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and a Master’s degree in health education from the University of Texas.  Donna worked as a critical care nurse at Brackenridge and Seton hospitals and was the first hospital Patient Education Coordinator in Austin.  She has served as president of the Texas Nurses’ Association (District 5) and as a health education instructor at UT.

Howard was elected to the Eanes ISD board in West Austin, where she served from 1996-1999 and was certified as a Master School Trustee by the Texas Association of School Boards.  In the past she has served on the boards of Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Common Cause, the Texas Freedom Network and the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.   She now serves as a board member of the Expanding Horizons Foundation, supporting low-income housing and education.

Representative Howard is married to attorney Derek Howard, is the mother of three adult children and is active in her neighborhood and church communities.