Following the American Dream

Donna’s grandparents arrived through Ellis Island from Ireland and Italy in the early 1900s. Her father was a mechanic and her mother a hairdresser. Donna was the first in her family to earn a high school diploma, but there was no money for college, so she went to work as a secretary, often holding three jobs at a time to save for school.

She graduated from St. John’s University in 1983, then worked full-time again to afford law school, starting at night. She finished at South Texas College of Law in 1987 in the top 10 percent of her class, the first and only member of her family with a postgraduate degree.

Donna practiced civil trial law in Houston for more than 30 years, founding her own firm, Roth & Associates, in 1994 and settling thousands of cases through mediation and negotiation. Harris County voters elected her Judge of the 295th Civil District Court in 2018 and re-elected her in 2022.

Donna believes in giving back. She serves as a moot court and mock trial judge for students at South Texas College of Law, provides pro bono legal services to abused women, and spent years mentoring 4th graders at JFK Elementary.