| Senator Gloria Butler, a Democrat, w as elected to the
State Senate in 1998 and first served in 1999 to represent
District 55 in DeKalb County. With 19 years of service, Sen.
Butler is the highest ranking female in the Georgia Senate.
She has held leadership positions every year during her impressive tenure.
In the State Senate, she is the Senate Democratic Caucus
Chairwoman. Sen. Butler is the Secretary for the State and
Local Governmental Operations and Urban Affairs Committees. She is also a member of the Ethics, Health and Human
Services, Reapportionment and Redistricting, Rules and
Transportation Committees. She is the former chair and a
current at-large member of the National Black Caucus of
State Legislators for region 6, which includes Florida and
Georgia, and former Vice Chair of the Georgia Legislative
Black Caucus.
Sen. Butler was appointed to the MARTA Overview Committee by Gov. Nathan Deal. She has served on the Child Fatality Review Panel under the aegis of the Child Advocate's
Office since 2005 and was recently reappointed by Lt. Gov.
Casey Cagle for 2014-2015. She is an avid champion of
children's issues and works diligently to improve the public
health system. She was also appointed to both the 2013
Medicaid Reform Study Committee and the 2013 Study
Committee on the Status of Doctors in Georgia. She is also
the State Director for two national organizations, Women in
Government (WIG) and Women in Legislative Lobby (WILL).
During her tenure with the legislature, Sen. Butler has
sponsored and co-sponsored many important pieces of
legislation. During her first term, Sen. Butler received the
Freshman Legislator of the Year Award from the Georgia
Legislative Black Caucus. Sen. Butler was appointed by
Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor to serve on the Georgia
Workforce Investment Board, which was established in accordance with the Congressional Workforce Investment Act
of 1998 to assist in preparing Georgia for a statewide workforce development system.
Active in her community, Sen. Butler volunteers with Positive Growth, a youth program that provides housing and
counseling for young men (ages 11-17) who have been involved with the court system. The organization recently
opened a second home, which was named in honor of Sen.
Butler, for securing funds from the annual state budget for
the operation of the facilities. She also secured funding and
volunteers for VIBE, an initiative for the betterment of black
male youth. During Sen. Butler's service in the Georgia
State Senate, she has received numerous awards of recognition and appreciation for her work in the communities of
her Senate District.
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April 2019- Senate Press Office
Senator Gloria Butler
Senate District 55
A resident of Georgia since 1977, Sen. Butler spent 12 years as a Fiscal Accounting Assistant for
the Health Sciences Center Library at Emory University. In 1992, she directed Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney's Get Out the Vote (GOTV) campaign and later became a legislative assistant to
McKinney, advising the Congresswoman on education, agriculture affairs, the environment, foreign
agriculture and hunger issues, space and technology, and welfare reform. Two years later, Butler
was recruited by the United States Information Agency (USIA) to participate in the U.S. Speaker
Program, which entailed travel to South Africa, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.
During the 1996 Olympics and Paralympics Games, Sen. Butler served as Assistant to the
Director of AmeriCorps Team for National Service. There, she recruited young adults to work
alongside senior citizens, emphasizing the importance of volunteerism and cooperative efforts.
Sen. Butler is a graduate of Perimeter College and holds an Associate Degree in Business
Administration. She is a member of the National Council of Negro Women, served on the Board of
the South DeKalb Business Association and is a lifetime member of the DeKalb County NAACP.
Sen. Butler is a former member of the DeKalb Junior League Advisory Board and the South DeKalb
Business Association Board.
Sen. Butler, the mother of two daughters, Felicia and Leslie, is also the proud grandmother of two;
grandson Corey, granddaughter Courtney, and step grandmother of Jalen. She is also blessed with
seven great grandchildren, Zion Cornell, twins Corey and Cayden, Jase, Michael, Mason and C'loe.
She is a member of Berean Christian Church in Stone Mountain. |