Senator Eckhardt has deep roots in Central Texas and deep commitment to improving opportunity for all Texans. After receiving an LBJ School Master of Public Affairs and law degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998, Eckhardt worked for eight years as an Assistant Travis County Attorney. From 2006-2013 she served as Travis County Commissioner representing 300,000 people. From 2015-2020 she served as the Travis County Judge presiding over the Commissioners Court and representing 1.3 million people.

Senator Eckhardt believes that elective office is a temporary trust bestowed by the people who elect her. She values policy above politics. And she believes that government exists to assure that opportunity is within reach of every Texan. Government should be effective, efficient, fair and minimally intrusive.

Eckhardt's public service experience includes emergency response, health care, workforce and economic development, criminal justice, water policy, transportation, and budget and finance. Some of her previous accomplishments include curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in Central Texas through early and decisive region-wide orders, preserving more than 30,000 acres of green space, building a multi-county collaboration for the preservation of groundwater, maintaining a vibrant construction economy while raising safety standards for workers, establishing a Travis County Public Defender's Office, and instituting jail and arrest diversion programs that support justice and public safety.

Senator Eckhardt learned public service from her mother and father and is inspired to continue serving by her son and daughter. Her mother Nadine Eckhardt and her father Congressman Bob Eckhardt served Texas and especially the most vulnerable Texans in the halls of the State Capitol and the US Capitol. Her children Nadine and Hank inspire her daily to make Texas a better place for generations to come.