Judge Genesis Draper, born and raised in Texas, earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Spelman College and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Upon graduation, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee and began her career as an Assistant Public Defender. She later moved to Houston, Texas, where she served as Assistant Public Defender at both the federal and state levels before becoming the first Black female to lead Harris County's Public Defender's office in July of 2025. Genesis makes her home in Houston with her husband and their two children.