Donna Bahorich

Donna Bahorich was a member of the Texas Historical Commission from 2021 to 2025, and a former member of the Texas State Board of Education, serving as chairwoman from 2015 to 2019.

Early life and education Bahorich was born in Ronceverte, West Virginia on 14 September 1955. She received her Master of Arts degree in 1990 from Liberty University and her Bachelor of Science degree in 1977 from Virginia Tech. She was appointed by the governor as Chair in June 2015 and served on all three of the board's standing committees, finishing her final term of service as a member of the $34 billion Permanent School Fund Committee. and social studies revisions. Regarding the Alamo, Greg Abbott and other elected officials urged the TXSBOE to amend the committee-recommended history standard proposed for the state's seventh-grade that removed the "heroes" of the Alamo story. In an attempt to reduce the large number of historical figures required to be taught, TXSBOE work committees suggested a number of changes including trimming the number of historic figures required in the curriculum of Texas schools. In 2018, the TXSBOE approved the first in the nation high school Mexican American ethnic studies course, followed by the African American ethnic studies course in 2019.

Bahorich was a member of the pastor's council at Houston Vineyard Church, the West Houston P-16 Council and served as president (and many other positions) of the Daughters of Liberty Republican Women. She is a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum-Houston, Education Class 43, and was a member of Conservative Leaders for Education.

Recognition Bahorich was recognized by The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) for the 2017 State Director's Leadership Medal, 2018 Leadership Award, and 2019 Consensus Builder Award. Bahorich has received other awards: 2019 Greater Houston Coalition for Justice Award Honoree; 2020 Governor Abbott commissioned her with the Yellow Rose of Texas award; 2021 the City of Houston recognized Bahorich for exceptional community service; 2021 Children At Risk nominee for Education Advocate of the Year.