As medical director of the Kiwanis Reach Out and Read Program, she has diligently worked to promote early childhood literacy in the community and has assisted in distributing more than 15,000 books to pre-school children.

            As a native Texan, she was educated in the Austin public school system. She received her degrees cum laude, magna et supra, from the University of Texas at Austin (biology) and Southwestern Medical School at Dallas (doctorate of medicine). She is also a member of the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa.

            Prior to coming to Denton, she had a practice in Waco, Texas, where she was chair for Department of Pediatrics at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and former president of the Leadership Waco Alumni Association.

            Her medical and business background provides her with the skills needed to help the board’s challenges of providing the necessary budgets and bond funds for a fast-growing school district.

            Dr. Harris comes from a family of educators. She and her husband, Marvin, who is an educator for Northwest Independent School District, have three children. Nathan, a UT graduate, is a coach and teacher for Manor ISD; Kathleen, also a UT graduate, is a vocalist in Nashville, Tenn., and Annelise currently is studying biology at A&M at Corpus Christi. All three children are graduates from Denton High School.  

Insights and Contributions

            Dr. Harris said she believes in “giving back to the community.” Her medical facility – Pecan Creek Pediatrics – has been consistently named a Top Adopter by the Denton Adopt-A-School Program. When Pecan Creek Elementary School opened in 2003, she was the first to come forward to adopt that school.

            She is active in the Denton Noon Kiwanis Club and was named Denton Kiwanis Member of the Year in 2005 and Denton Kiwanis Rookie of the Year in 2001. She is the former president of the Denton High Fillies Booster Club where the group raised more than $30,000 in six years to provide scholarships to the graduating drill team members.

            She has been a member of the various school PTAs from 1994 through 2005 when her youngest child graduated. She has been a leader for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scout groups in central Texas.

            She is a graduate of Leadership Denton and an active member of Denton Chamber of Commerce and Denton County Medical Reserve Corp.