BATON ROUGE, La — Regina Ashford Barrow joined the Louisiana Legislature as the Louisiana State Representative for District 29 in 2005. She served three consecutive terms in the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 2015, Regina Barrow was elected to serve District 15 as a Louisiana State Senator, where she is currently serving. She is now seeking to return to the legislature for the 15th consecutive year.
As a State Legislator, Senator Barrow has been actively involved in her duties. She currently serves as the Chairwoman of the Select Committee on Women and Children, Vice Chairman of the Health and Welfare committee member of the Finance committee, member of the Joint Budget committee, member of the Judiciary C committee, member of the Labor and Industrial Relations committee, and a member of the select committee on Veterans Affairs.
Through her role as a state legislator, Senator Barrow has passed some very pertinent pieces of legislation, which include ACT 264 that provides National Guard members who re-enlist in the National Guard the opportunity to receive free college tuition up to a doctorate degree and ACT 98, which creates a new economic development district for the North Baton Rouge area.
She has also been especially active, whether it be by authoring, co-sponsoring or supporting, in legislation that supports women, children, and families of all shapes and sizes. Most recently, Senator Barrow passed an important bill to extend foster care services to young adults up to age 21. This measure was an effort to assist those aging out of the system and provide them with the resources they need to become happy, healthy, and productive members of society.
In 2018, she championed the “Empowering Families to Live Well Louisiana Act.” This law created a council to assist and empower families struggling with poverty. In that same vein,
Senator Barrow has always been a strong supporter of bills to increase the minimum wage and provide equal pay for women. Senator Barrow believes that both men and women deserve every opportunity to be successful and provide their families with financial stability.
Senator Barrow is also a champion for Louisiana’s Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, sponsoring legislation to help the council achieve its goals and provide more support to grandparents as they care for children in the state.
Senator Barrow is an advocate for ethics in our state government. In the 2007 Legislative Session, she served as a leader in the push for Ethics in State Government by successfully passing legislation that requires elected officials to participate in mandatory ethics training.
Senator Barrow is not only a government leader, but also a community leader. She hosts the state’s annual Flag Day celebration, sponsors events to help young women pursue STEM careers, and is otherwise involved in many organizations. Senator Barrow is also heavily involved in nationwide organizations. She currently serves as the State Director for three national organizations, Women in Government, Women in Legislature Lobby, and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. She has been selected as a participant for the National Early Learning & Child Welfare Fellows and National Opioid Policy Fellows programs.
Regina Ashford Barrow is the loving wife to James Barrow, Sr. for the past thirty-five years. They have two children, Shanrika Barrow and James Barrow, Jr, a son-in law, Derrick Fobb, Sr. and two grandsons, Jeremiah and Derrick Jr. She and her family currently attend North Boulevard Macedonia Church, pastored by Clifton Sanford, and reside in the Glen Oaks area.
Senator Barrow believes that the ability to lead others and influence change is important ingredients to leadership. Her leadership over the past years has done both. Senator Barrow lives by the motto: To make "A" difference is good, but to make "The" difference is better!