| In November 2022, Janie Lopez made history by becoming the first Republican Hispanic elected as State Representative to represent House District 37, an area in south Texas that includes both Willacy and Cameron Counties.
Janie's parents legally migrated from Mexico to the United States in a quest for a better life. As a middle child of seven siblings, her parents devoted themselves to instilling the importance of hard work and education to achieve the American dream. She graduated from San Benito High School in 1997 and became the first in her family to attend and graduate college with honorary awards with a Master's in mental health. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Community Care and Counseling.
Janie has worked in everything from food service, manufacturing, and retail to building a successful career as a mental healthcare professional treating at-risk children, veterans, and first responders with PTSD.
Under her leadership as a Director of the San Benito CISD, student achievement increased and disciplinary referrals were reduced by 66%. She served the lowest-performing campus as a GEAR UP counselor in Brownsville CISD and was instrumental in achieving significant gains across the board with major improvements in the state proficiency rates in Science (#1) and History (#2), achieving a high-performing school status in the district. In addition, Janie demonstrated budgetary responsibility over millions of dollars for school counseling programs as a director for our local school districts.
Before being elected to the Texas House of Representatives, Janie served as a San Benito Consolidated Independent School District (SBCISD) trustee in Place 7. With SBCISD she served as the school board's Vice-President and Chair of Finance and Administration, where her commitment to teachers and staff resulted in pay increases all while reducing taxes. She provided checks and balances to ensure financial accountability within all aspects of the ISD's budget and projects via local, state, and federal funds. In addition to economic competence, Janie oversaw infrastructure improvements, increased student activity participation, and enhanced academic campuses. Proudly, Janie was pivotal in increasing the police force to better secure our classrooms district-wide.
Guided by her Christian values, we can count on Janie to represent the conservative family values of Willacy and Cameron Counties. As a State Representative, Janie has been appointed to serve on the Environmental Regulation Committee and the Juvenile Justice & Family Issues Committee. As a member of the Policy Committee, Texas House Republican Party Caucus, Aerospace Caucus, Texas Conservative Caucus, House Water Caucus, and Texas Energy and Climate Caucus, Janie will work to lower the cost of living, fully secure our border, properly fund our schools, protect life in the womb, stop the dangerous defunding of police, fight human trafficking, and defend the constitutional rights of Texans. |