In March 2025, Silky Joshi, a passionate advocate and community leader, was unanimously appointed to Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) Board of Trustees. Joshi was among 11 individuals vying for the Position 7, At-Large seat, vacated by former trustee David Brown, who stepped down after accepting a position with a local school district.
“It was very humbling, incredible and hard to believe,” said Joshi, who will fulfill the remainder of the term (December 2026) with plans to run for the seat in the future. “If I was going to lose something, that was the room of people to lose to. It drives home this desire that I have to really try and do a good job in this role, because there were a lot of people who wanted this as well. To not be the best I can be here would be wrong.
“This is really important, and I need to make sure I do the best job that I can.”
With Imran, her husband of 14 years and her biggest supporter by her side, Joshi was officially sworn in to the Board of Trustees on April 16.
In just a few short months, Joshi is slowly putting her fingerprints on HCDE, its services and its many beneficiaries across greater Houston. Within a week of swearing in, Joshi accompanied Superintendent James Colbert Jr. for a tour of HCDE facilities, sat in on her first board meeting and visited staff members at the Irvington building’s First Floor Reveal.
In August, Joshi attended Convocation and represented HCDE at Precinct 1’s County Connections Youth Summer Initiative Awardee Reception.
“I feel like I’m still on the journey to learn how far reaching and how impactful HCDE is,” she said. “It’s so multi-layered that every time I attend a new event or meet someone new within the organization, I’m learning more of just how far reaching and complex we are – and then explaining that to people.”
As she’s getting more comfortable with her role here at HCDE, Joshi is rekindling the same servant leadership spirit she’s had for most of her life. Her maternal grandmother was a pioneer for women’s rights in India and advocate to seeking selfcare. Joshi only met her a handful of times but heard these stories from her mother. They became a blueprint to serving those in need, lessons that included determination to keep showing up, never backing down and always speaking your truth.
She used those lessons while working in health education at MD Anderson Cancer Center and in LBJ Hospital’s community outreach programs.
She used them when she and Imran moved abroad to Singapore and Malaysia, serving as a substitute teacher and volunteer within the schools.
She used them when she became the first woman to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ Second Congressional District.
Now, she uses them for the betterment of Harris County learners and their families. Joshi sees a lot of herself in those HCDE serves, whether its young students with immigrant parents or those who grew up in working-class neighborhoods.
“I don’t want to be in an ivory tower or penthouse in the sky not caring about what’s happening to people,” Joshi said. “When you see these things in action and you get to meet the people, you say to yourself, ‘This is the mission. This is why I’m here.’ And that’s really fulfilling.”