Effective March 9, former U.S. Rep. Erica Lee Carter will serve as the new Harris County administrator after commissioners unanimously approved her appointment Feb. 12.
She will be the first African American woman to hold the position, which was created in 2021.
In a nutshell
Lee Carter will lead the Office of County Administration, or OCA, which oversees the day-to-day operations of the county and coordinates needs across its departments. She will replace interim County Administrator Jesse Dickerman, who was appointed to the role in April 2025.
The county administrator directly supervises 16 departments and leads long-term strategic planning, performance management and fiscal responsibility in alignment with the Harris County Commissioners Court, per the OCA’s website.
“It is my commitment to work each day to make progress towards your 2050 vision and ensure the county is safe and fair, thriving, resilient, connected, healthy and secure,” Lee Carter said during the Feb. 12 meeting.
Did you know?
Lee Carter brings decades of experience across local, state and federal government as well as the nonprofit sector, per a news release from the OCA. Since 2020, she has overseen policy initiatives within Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis’ office with a focus on economic opportunity, voting access and budget management, the release states.
Her work includes launching the county’s first dedicated funding for afterschool programs through County Connections, helping establish the CROWN Act as a countywide policy, and contributing to the development of an $18 million loan program for minority and woman-owned businesses.
Lee Carter served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2024-2025 in a special election to Texas’ 18th Congressional District. She filled the seat of her mother, late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who represented the district for nearly 30 years before she died in 2024.
The new administrator also spent time as a budget analyst for the governor’s office in New York and served as an elected trustee of the Harris County Department of Education from 2013-2019.
“I will never forget who you serve and why we must work relentlessly to succeed,” Lee Carter said. “I truly am a daughter, sister and mother of this county.”
