District Office:

790 East Delavan Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 Telephone: 894-0914 Fax: 896-1463 Email: grant@erie.gov

Betty Jean Grant has been a resident of Buffalo, NY, for over 37 years. Legislator Grant was born and raised in Brighton, Tennessee, a small rural town approximately 18 miles from Memphis. Betty Jean is the mother of three daughters and the grandmother of Amanda and Aaron Rojas and Monica Patton. She has been married to George E. Grant since 1970.

In 1980, Betty Jean and her husband George opened a family-owned deli on East Ferry Street. This venture allowed the Grants to become self-employed and it also provided employment opportunities for their daughters in addition to other youths in the community. The store is still in operation today, one of the few remaining African-American owned stores in the City of Buffalo.

Legislator Grant attended Medaille College, where she earned a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, graduating magna cum laude ion 1993. She earned a master of science degree in special education from Buffalo State College. Betty Jean has taught in the Buffalo Public Schools as well as the deferral Head Start Program. She is the founder of AIDS Education, Information and Support Services (AEISS), an HIV/AIDS prevention education organization.

Legislator Grant was elected to the Buffalo Common Council in 1999 representing the University District. She served two full terms on the Common Council and is proud of her accomplishments as the University District Common Councilmember. She takes credit for bringing two Tim Hortons stores to the district as well as the Aldi Supermarket. Legislator Grant also is responsible for developing McCarthy Park into a first-class family park.

In 2004, Betty Jean was elected to the Buffalo Public School Board of Education, representing the Ferry District. She recently finished serving in her final year of a three-year term.

Some of the groups and organizations Legislator Grant is a member of include: Harriet Tubman 300s, Mary B. Talbert Civic and Cultural Club, SCLC, NAACP, Housing Opportunity Made Equal and the Buffalo Crime Reduction Task Force.