State Representative Penny Morales Shaw has dedicated the entirety of her two-decade career as an attorney to advancing the health and wellbeing of working families and children. She has now turned her attention to representing her hometown of Houston in the Texas Legislature. During the 87th Legislative Session, she was appointed to serve on the House Environmental Regulation Committee and the House Urban Affairs Committee. She is a member of the House Innovation & Technology Caucus, House LGBTQ Caucus, Legislative Study Group, Mexican-American Legislative Caucus (MALC), Texas Legislative Ports Caucus, Texas Women’s Health Caucus, and the House Caucus on Climate, Environment, and the Energy Industry.

Penny is a native Houstonian, attended Houston public schools, and has lived in the District 148 area for the past ten years. She has a long history of championing human rights, women’s healthcare, environmental protections, and early childhood education. Despite being widowed shortly after graduating law school, Penny dedicated herself to raising her four children, now college-educated young adults pursuing their respective career paths. As a working mom, she continued to be a local business owner, manage her multi-state law practice, and expand her legislative advocacy work.

Penny is a tireless advocate for principled, results-driven progressive policies so that all Texas families have access to a first-class education and high-quality, affordable healthcare. Early on in her legal career, Penny served as an attorney for NAACP legal clinics and as a federal legislative advocate for the passage of the International Violence Against Women Act. She has also advocated for policies focused on women’s fundamental right to healthcare and early childhood education, while standing up for commonsense policies to ensure that working families in "fence-line" communities have access to clean water.

Before her election to the Texas House, Penny served as the Deputy Chief for Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 2, overseeing policy and legislative affairs. She is excited to use her broad legal and governmental experience for the residents of House District 148, which includes parts of the Spring Branch, Oak Forest, and Northwest Houston communities.