Timi Brown-Powers was born at Beale Air Force Base in Yuba County, California and raised in the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines, Iowa.

She graduated from Herbert Hoover High School and attended Des Moines Area Community College for a year.

She then moved to Waterloo to attend the University of Northern Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in therapeutic recreation.

[3] As a student at the University of Northern Iowa, Brown-Powers worked as a certified nursing assistant.

[5] Brown-Powers announced her candidacy for Anesa Kajtazovic's seat in the Iowa House of Representatives on March 8, 2014 at the Black Hawk County Democratic Convention.