About Ellen

Ellen Cohen is the State Representative for District 134, which includes Bellaire, West University, River Oaks and parts of Meyerland and Montrose.  On November 7, 2006, she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives with 55% of the vote and by the largest margin of any challenger to an incumbent in Texas. 

Ellen pledged in her first campaign to work diligently to restore balance and integrity to the Texas Legislature and her work and voting record continues to reflect her commitment.  Ellen's priorities include supporting public education, restoring children's health insurance, improving air quality and keeping personal life decisions with Texas families, and not the Texas Legislature.

During the 2007 legislative session, Ellen served as the first House sponsor of the bill creating the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas that will fund $3 billion toward grants addressing cancer research, clinical trials, and laboratory facility construction in Texas. In addition, she authored and passed legislation which provides $25 million for adult and child survivors of sexual assault through an Adult Entertainment Fee. During her first term, she served on the Public Health, Urban Affairs, and Rules & Resolutions Committees.

In the 81st Legislative Session, Ellen was named to the Appropriations and Higher Education Committees. She helped craft a $182 billion budget for the next biennium which unanimously passed the House. She was also the joint author on the bill reforming admission procedures -- with regards to the Top Ten Percent Rule -- at the University of Texas at Austin and the bill which set the state to create more Tier One research universities across Texas.

Ellen is a 30-year resident of Houston.  For 18 years, she served as President and CEO of the Houston Area Women's Center, which is dedicated to eliminating domestic and sexual violence.  In that capacity she managed a $6.2 million budget and a 120-person staff, serving over 6,000 women, children, and men.

Ellen and her late husband, Lyon, moved to Houston with their two children, Marcie and Eric, in 1977.  Shortly thereafter she began serving as executive director of the American Jewish Committee.  For ten years she worked with the leadership from Houston's diverse religious and business communities to foster mutual understanding and tolerance for one of the nation's premiere human relations organizations.

Before moving to Houston, Ellen and her family lived in Lyon's hometown of Montreal where she founded Reach to Recovery of Canada.  This self-help post-mastectomy group was started two years after her own breast cancer surgery.  At that time, allowing women in hospital rooms to help other women was a completely foreign idea.  By virtue of Ellen's leadership and persistence the program was in all Montreal hospitals when the Cohen family left Quebec. This year she will serve as an Honorary Chair of the Leaders in Pink Challenge for the 2009 Komen Houston Race for the Cure.

Ellen has been voted by Outsmart readers as one of their "Favorite Local Politicians for 2009." She also received an "Honorable Mention" in Capitol Inside's "Best of the Legislature's List for 2009". In 2007, the online publication noted her "Best Freshman Performance as a Bill Sponsor" for her work on House Bill 1751 which will provide $25 million toward sexual assault and prevention programs. She had previously been recognized by Capitol Inside for the Best General Election Challenger Campaign in 2006.

In their first annual Wind Champions awards, the Wind Coalition recognized policy-makers in Texas who have had an impact on growing the wind energy industry in the state. Ellen received the Outstanding Supporter award.

Ellen is the recipient of numerous other awards including being honored by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as an outstanding contributor to civil and human rights in Houston.  In May 2008, she received the Woman of Wisdom Award from the Houston Area Women's Center. The American Association of University Women named her to their 2008 class of AAUW Texas' Women of Distinction. Other awards include the American Cancer Society's Texas Advocacy Award; the Vivian Miles Lifetime Achievement Award given by the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault; Texas Academy of Family Physicians 2008 Patient Advocacy Award; The Shattered Glass Award from Harris County Women's Political Caucus; Texas Executive Woman's Women on the Move Award; Celebration of Life Honoree by Woman's Hospital of Texas Research and Education Foundation; Leadership Houston Distinguished Alumnus Award; NAACP Outstanding Service Award; the American Jewish Committee's Max H. Nathan Award; an Oral History Honoree by Women of Achievement; and the Distinguished Leadership Award by the National Association for Community Leadership.  She's been named as one of Houston's 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Woman Magazine.

She also serves or has served on the Boards of Congregation Beth Israel; Faith Trust Institute; American Jewish Committee; American Leadership Forum; Cool Globes Houston Programming Advisory Board; Houston Area Adult Protective Services and the National Violence Against Women Advisory Task Force.  She is a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Standing Committee on Health and the Ambassadors Program of Texas Woman's University's Institute of Health Sciences-Houston Center. Cohen is also a former President of Leadership Houston and the board of the Medical Center Hospital.