Ms. Longoria is an honors graduate of the University of Texas, and received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1979. She practiced law for 35 years starting with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, and then in private practice as a partner with Andrews & Kurth LLP, and Ogden Broocks Longoria & Hall LLP where she concentrated her practice in securities litigation. She has retired from the active practice of law and is focused on community leadership and board service.

After having served as a Commissioner since 2002, on January 8, 2013, she was unanimously appointed by the County of Harris and the City of Houston as the Chairman of the Port of Houston, the leading economic engine for the greater Houston region, and the most productive port in the nation. She is the first woman to hold this position in the 100 year history of the Port of Houston.

She serves on the Board of Directors of Superior Energy Services, Inc., a public company based in Houston which offers drilling and production related solutions to energy producers in domestic and select global markets. She served on the Board of Directors of Centerpoint Energy Inc., also based in Houston from 2005 through March 2018.

She is a member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, that oversees nine academic and six health institutions across Texas including the flagship University of Texas at Austin, and the world renowned UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also formerly served on the UT System Board of Regents from 2008 through 2011.

She has been active in many non-profit organizations. Prior to being appointed to the UT system Board of Regents, she was he President-Elect of the Texas Exes, and served on the Board of Directors and the executive committee of the Board of Visitors of the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also served on the board of directors of the University of Texas Law School Foundation, and the Texas Medical Center. She has also served on the Board and Executive Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership.

She is also a founder of the Center for Women in Law, and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for energy, business, and law at the University of Texas School of Law.

She received the UT Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013, an award granted to UT alumni who have distinguished themselves professionally and through service to the University of Texas. In 2016 she received the prestigious President’s Citation, awarded by the President of the University of Texas to alumni who have served the University of Texas with distinction. In 2017 she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for Public Service from The University of Texas School of Law.

For her service to Port Houston, maritime transportation, and the Maritime industry, she was named the Maritime Person of the Year in 2017 by the Greater Houston Port Bureau. In June 2018 she was recognized by The Bay Area Houston Transportation Partnership with the Charles A. Jacobson Transportation Award, that is awarded each year to a community leader who has made a substantial contribution to the greater Houston region.

She was selected by Direct Women, an initiative of the American Bar Association, the ABA Section of Business Law and Catalyst, Inc., as a recipient of the 2008 Sandra Day O’Connor Board Excellence Award, and has been named by Texas Diversity Magazine as one of the “Most Powerful and Influential Women in Texas.”

She has also received other honors and recognitions for her community leadership from various organizations including Communities in Schools and Crisis Intervention of Houston.  She and her husband Steve Lasher were honored in 2016 with the Pathlighter Award from Houston Achievement Place. She was also named the Female Executive of the Year by the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (2010), received the Community Service Award from the Hispanic Chamber in 2016,  and was recognized as a “breakthrough woman” and inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce in 2013. She is a frequent speaker on topics including the Port of Houston, leadership, and community service.