Tishaura Jones is a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Missouri House of Representatives

Missouri House of Representatives

The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 31,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections held in even-numbered years.In 1992 Missouri...

. She represents the 63rd District, which encompasses a large portion of downtown St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. She also serves as House Assistant Minority Floor leader

Floor Leader

Floor Leaders are leaders of their political parties in each of the houses of the legislature.- Senate :In the United States Senate, they are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and...

 during the 96th Missouri General Assembly

Missouri General Assembly

The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate, and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are subject to term limits...

.

Personal history

Tishaura Jones is the daughter of former St. Louis City Comptroller Virvus Jones. After graduation from Affton Senior High School in 1990, she attended Hampton University

Hampton University

Hampton University is a historically black university located in Hampton, Virginia, United States. It was founded by black and white leaders of the American Missionary Association after the American Civil War to provide education to freedmen.-History:...

, earning a Bachelor's degree

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 in Finance

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 in 1994. Jones later earned a Master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in Health administration

Health administration

Health administration or healthcare administration is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of hospitals, hospital networks, health care systems, and public health systems...

 from Saint Louis University School of Public Health

Saint Louis University School of Public Health

The School of Public Health is one of nine graduate schools within Saint Louis University.-Programs of Study:*Master of Health Administration*Master of Public Health*Master of Science in Public Health...

in 2001. When not involved with her legislative duties Representative Jones is Vice-President of Public Finance at Blaylock Robert Van, LLC. She's the mother of one child, a son, Aden.

Political history

Jones' political career began in 2002 when she was appointed Democratic committeewoman of the 8th Ward for the city of St.Louis. Since 2004 Jones has served as Sergeant-at-Arms for the St. Louis City Central Democratic Committee Jones was first elected to the Missouri House in November 2008 when she defeated Independent candidate Nels Williams 85.4% to 14.6%. There was no Republican challenger for the seat. Jones ran unopposed in 2010 to win her second term. She made Missouri political history in November 2010 by becoming the first African-American elected to serve as assistant minority leader.

Committees: Representative Jones serves on the following committees

• Elementary and Secondary Education
• Health Insurance
• Special Standing Committee on Election Contests