Representative Bowers was elected to serve House District 113 in the Texas House of Representatives on November
8, 2018. She made history as the first African American elected to represent this district. House District 113 includes
all of Sunnyvale and parts of Rowlett, Garland, Mesquite, Seagoville, Combine, Balch Springs, and Dallas.
Bowers was drawn to activism at an early age, following the example of her mother, a prominent community leader,
and her father, a nationally recognized surgeon. She is an alumna of Spelman College and Texas Southern
University, earning her bachelor's degree in Telecommunications, with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism.
Upon graduation, she began her career as a broadcast journalist in public television working at PBS headquarters
and for WETA-TV 26/Radio 90.9 in the District of Columbia. She moved to commercial television once she
returned home to Texas working at KCEN-TV 6 in production, and was later promoted to news producer. Bowers
has held many positions within the television industry, but it was her job as the educational services coordinator for
KERA TV 13/Radio 90.1 that resonated most with her and fueled her dedication to supporting and improving
education.
Throughout her adult life, Representative Bowers has always invested time and energy in her community. Bowers is
an advocate for children and education. She is a former educator, and has volunteered many hours on Garland
Independent School District PTA and Band Booster executive boards. She maintains an active membership at St.
Paul United Methodist Church and is a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated. She served on
the Rowlett Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for 8 years. In addition, Representative Bowers co-founded the
Dallas Women's March and has co-chaired the event for the last four years.
During the 86th Legislative Session, Bowers served on the House Committees for Corrections, Juvenile Justice &
Family Issues, and Local and Consent Calendars. Representative Bowers champions women and children's rights,
juvenile justice issues, working towards eliminating the school to prison pipeline, and uplifting marginalized
communities on every level of government. She has been recognized across the state for authoring House Bill 3435,
which declares March 1st as "Texas Girls in STEM Day" a day designated to highlight women in STEM and
encourage and expose young girls, with support from local school districts and organizations, to embrace and enter
fields relating to science, engineering, technology, math and the arts.
As the 87th Legislative Session begins, Bowers has continued her commitment to supporting human rights by filing
the Texas Crown Act which protects against discrimination based on race-based hairstyles by extending statutory
protections to hair texture and styles such as braids, locs, twists, and knots in the workplace and public schools.
Bowers has also filed multiple bills to provide additional resources to people experiencing homelessness and to aid
those whose life's work is helping them.
Representative Bowers has been honored for her public service by several organizations as the recipient of the
following awards- the 2019 Bands of Hope "Trailblazer Award" the Afiya Center's "Legislative Achievement
Award" Texas Southern University's "Distinguished Alumna of the Year" Greater North Dallas Business and
Professional Women's Club "Woman of the Year" and named the Texas Legislative Black Caucus 2019 "Freshman
of the Year."
Though she is a proud native Houstonian, Representative Bowers has resided in Rowlett with her husband MSG
(ret.) John P. Bowers, Jr. and their 2 children for nearly 20 years and proudly calls House District 113 home. |