About Donna
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.

“We have it within our reach to cross party lines, ideological divides, and bureaucratic deadlocks to find common ground for Texas,” Howard says.
 
Howard has served as the representative for Texas House District 48 since March 2006.  She currently sits on the House Higher Education Committee, House Technology Committee, and is Vice-Chair of the House Administration Committee.  Rep. Howard has also previously served as Vice-Chair of the House Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee.
 
For her work at the State Capitol on health care, environmental protection, and historic preservation, Howard has been honored by community organizations, from the Austin Business Journal and the Texas Hospital Association to the Sierra Club and the Heritage Society of Austin.
 
 
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 and is currently a board member of the Expanding Horizons Foundation, supporting low-income housing and education.
 
Married to Austin attorney Derek Howard, Howard is the mother of three adult children, all educated in Austin public schools, and is active in her neighborhood and church communities.