Eddie Bernice Johnson

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson represented the 30th Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2023 (103rd-117th Congress). She was the first African American to serve in the House from the Dallas area. She was also the first nurse elected to the U.S. Congress. She was the first African American woman to chair the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and was a Senior Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Before her congressional tenure, Johnson served in the Texas State House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. She made history as the first woman in Texas to lead a major Texas state house committee. Johnson was outspoken on several issues, including science, technology, transportation, election reform, and civil rights. Johnson earned a nursing certificate from St. Mary’s College at the University of Notre Dame. She also earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University and a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University.