Representative Nathan W. Biah

Member, House Finance Committee

Member, House Education Committee

Member, House Innovation and Technology Committee

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Representative Nathan W. Biah (D-Dist. 3, Providence) was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2020. He serves as a member of the House Finance Committee, the House Education Committee, and the House Innovation and Technology Committee.

In 2026, he sponsored legislation that would require examinations for licensing certified nursing assistants to be administered in both English and Spanish. Representative Biah also introduced a bill that would excuse any canceled school days due to a state of emergency; those days would not count toward the minimum amount of school days needed by law.

During the 2025 legislative session, Representative Biah was the main sponsor of legislation that would add Juneteenth National Freedom Day, observed on June 19, to the definition of “holidays" in the law regulating retail businesses in Rhode Island.

Representative Biah was named as a fellow in the National Conference of State Legislators Early Childhood Program and appointed as a member of the Office of Postsecondary Commissioner Advisory Committee.

Born on December 4, 1971, he grew up in Monrovia, Liberia. At age 20, he escaped the violence of a civil war by walking nearly 90 miles to freedom. After arriving in Providence, he passed the GED and worked in a factory. He studied criminal justice and earned a degree at Rhode Island College in 1999 and then a Master's degree in Education Administration from the University of Rhode Island in 2007.

After teaching math in Providence middle schools and high schools, Representative Biah is now the principal at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence. His wife, Thumbelina, is a teacher at Esek Hopkins Middle School in Providence. They are the parents of three children: Nathan Jr., Natalie and Natasha. ​