Senator English is known for her work to benefit military veterans and to promote economic development. She was responsible for a major restructuring of the state's job training and adult education system, to give local business leaders more of a voice in the types of classes offered to students.

Senator English was among the legislators who pushed strongly for a new nursing home for veterans when the previous facility in Little Rock was closed. The new residential home is in North Little Rock.

Before she was sworn into the state Senate in January of 2013, she served two terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2009 through the end of 2012.

Senator English chairs the Senate Education Committee. She serves on the Insurance and Commerce Committee, the Joint Performance Review Committee, the Senate Rules Committee, the Joint Budget Committee and the Legislative Council.

A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Senator English graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in Economics/Finance. From 1984 to 1997 she was a Senior Project Manager with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission working to recruit new manufacturing companies into the state and assisting existing companies in their expansion efforts.

From 1997 to 1998 she was the executive director of the Fort Chaffee Public Trust. She was the executive director of the Arkansas Manufacturers Association from 1998 to 2001. From 2001 to 2004 she was the executive director of the Arkansas Workforce Investment Board, a Cabinet position under Governor Mike Huckabee. In 2005, she was an economics/workforce advisor to Lieutenant Governor Winthrop Rockefeller.

She has been married for more than 53 years to retired Army Colonel Don English and they have one son and one daughter.