Donna Howard

State Representative Donna Howard
Recipient of Distinguished Alumni Award

The Honorable Donna Howard is a native of Austin who earned 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 and as the first hospital-based Patient Education Coordinator in Austin history. 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 serves on the House Higher Education Committee, House Administration Committee, and is vice-chair of the House Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee. She also co-founded the Air Quality Caucus, a bipartisan group of more than three dozen lawmakers working on clean energy issues. 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.