Representative Dora Olivo has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1997 and represents one of the State’s most diverse districts. District 27 encompasses about half of the fast-growing Fort Bend County. Education, childcare, economic development, mental health, senior citizen issues and workforce and job-training are areas of special interest to her.

Representative Olivo serves under a pledge to make government work by bringing it closer to the people. She has devoted her time and efforts as a legislator to breaking down the barriers that too often deter, from the decision-making process, the citizens who pay for the system.

A grass-roots activist and advocate for her community, Representative Olivo takes pride in more than 34 years of service to her community and the state of Texas. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education and a Master's degree in Early Childhood Education. Representative Olivo received her Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1981 from the University of Houston and has a private law practice in Richmond, Texas. She is a former schoolteacher who worked in both the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District for a total of 10 years. In 1977, she founded the radio talk show Lo Nuestro on KFRD in Rosenberg and hosted the program for 15 years.

Past affiliations include: director of the Fort Bend Voter Registration Education Project; board member for the Fort Bend Family Health Clinic; Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Fort Bend Interfaith Council, an IAF organization); member of the National Democratic Committee; and board member of the Fort Bend Housing Finance Corporation.

Representative Olivo is a member on the Public Education and Public Health Committees. Representative Olivo also served on the Human Services Committee, two sessions as a member of the County Affairs and Agriculture & Livestock Committees, and three sessions on the Insurance Committee. She served as Vice-Chair for the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus and for the Legislative Study Group. She also serves on the board of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL).

House Speaker Pete Laney appointed Rep. Olivo to the National Council of State Legislatures' Education Committee in 2001. Former Governor Ann Richards appointed her in 1991 to the Texas Punishment Standards Commission that was charged with revising the Texas Penal Code and whose recommendations are now laws.

In 2002, Representative Olivo was selected as one of the Black Go Texan honorees. In 2001, Texas LULAC named her the Woman Legislator of the Year. In 1998, the Houston Area Association for the Education of Young Children named her the Elected Official of the Year. In 1997, Representative Olivo received the elite leadership award of the Flemming Fellows Leadership Institute with the Center for Policy Alternatives.

She is married to Victor Olivo, Jr., owner of Olivo Insurance Agency in Richmond, Texas. They have two sons, Victor III and Geraldo; two grandsons, Victor IV and Roman and two granddaughters, Analise Trinity and Sophia Grace. Both Victor III and Geraldo graduated from Texas A&M University. Victor III is married to the former Dawn Bingaman.