She is currently chief of staff to Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the federal New Democratic Party.
[3] Howard was born and raised in Brandon, where she graduated from Brandon University; she was the federal New Democratic Party candidate in Brandon—Souris in the 1997 election,[4] coming fourth; Progressive Conservative candidate Rick Borotsik won.
Prior to her election to the Legislative Assembly, Howard was employed as policy advisor to Premier of Manitoba Gary Doer on health care issues and as executive director of the Women's Health Clinic.
She has also served on the boards of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (Manitoba), the Rainbow Resource Centre and the University of Winnipeg's Board of Regents.
Howard resigned her cabinet position on November 3, 2014, along with Theresa Oswald, Erin Selby, Stan Struthers, and Andrew Swan due to concerns about Premier Greg Selinger's leadership.