Representative Coleman is the Chair of the County Affairs Committee, the Senior Ranking Member of the Public Health Committee, and serves on the Calendars Committee. Representative Coleman has served as Chair of the Legislative Study Group, a non-partisan House Caucus dedicated to the development of sound public policy, since 20003. He also has the honor of being a past chairman and current member of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus.

Representative Coleman's work in the legislature has been instrumental to expanding access to health care for Texans. Representative Coleman authored and passed legislation that will allow rural hospitals to directly hire doctors. This legislation will help to bring quality physicians into the community, save physicians the cost of opening a practice, and increase access to quality care for the Texans who live in rural communities. Representative Coleman was one of the original authors of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Texas, a program that makes health insurance available to more than 500,000 children from working families. He helped simplify access to Medicaid for more than 600,000 Texas children, and worked to secure an increase of $161.5 million for at-risk child care services.

Representative Coleman's dedication to enacting sound public does not stop at the state's borders. Because of his commitment and record on health care, Representative Coleman was selected by the White House to serve as a member of President Obama's State Legislators for Health Reform, a select working group of only 32 state legislators from across the country. He is on the Board of the Progressive States Network, an organization that promotes and advances key progressive economic and social policies. He also serves on the Board of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a national organization that works to elect Democratic majorities in state legislative chambers across the country, and is a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Representative Coleman's legislative efforts have been recognized. The Center for Public Policy Priorities honored him with the Hobby Visionary Award, which was established to recognize a Texan whose service best exemplifies the leadership and foresight demonstrated by Former Lieutenant Governor Hobby. He was also selected as a "People's Friend" by the Texas Observer in 2009, and on two occasions, was named to the prestigious Texas Monthly "Ten Best Legislators List."

Outside of his legislative work, Representative Coleman remains active and involved in the Houston community. He serves on the boards of the Mid-Town Redevelopment Authority and the Ensemble Theater. In 1991, Representative Coleman founded S.M.A.R.T. Kids, a youth development program that provides tutoring for inner-city students. He also serves as president and CEO of Apartments for America, Inc., a non-profit affordable housing corporation.

Raised in Houston, Representative Coleman attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. and in 1990 graduated from the University of St. Thomas cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts. He also completed the prestigious Harvard University Senior Executive Program for State and Local Government. In 2010, Representative Coleman was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Southern University.

Representative Coleman and his wife, Angelique, reside in Houston's University Oaks neighborhood. They have two children, Austin and Evan.