Uncrowned Community Builders

On April 1, 1999, Sharon A. Thomas made history when she was elevated to the position of Chief Clerk of Buffalo City Court. Ms. Thomas is the first African American to hold the Chief Clerk position outside the New York City area. She oversees the daily operations of the busiest upstate local criminal courthouse, and is responsible for supervising a staff of eighty-four court employees. As Mayor Anthony M. Masiello told the audience at Ms. Thomas' swearing in ceremony, she attained the position of Chief Clerk ".the old fashion way, she earned it." Ms. Thomas began her court career as an Information Aide under the federally funded CETA program in 1974. She was later named the Deputy Chief Clerk in 1981, a position she held for eighteen years until she was named the Chief Clerk.

Sharon Tomas is a product of the Buffalo Public School system. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Education from Daemen College in 1981. She has been certified by the New York State Office of Court Administration as an instructor in Cultural Diversity and Public Awareness courses.

She is well known in the Court system as an innovator and hard worker. She was instrumental in the creation of the Children Center in Buffalo City Court that opened in December 1999 for families that have court-related cases. Sharon is a member of the Office of Court Administration's Gender Bias and Gender Fairness Committee for the 8th Judicial District, and the Co-Chairperson of the Committee for the Development of Domestic Violence Protocols for Supreme, County, Family and City Courts located in Buffalo. She also is on the Commission on Minorities in the Court Advisory Committee.

Sharon is the recipient of the prestigious Unified Court System Merit Performance Award (2000), which she received during the Law Day celebration at the State Court of Appeals in Albany.

She has a long history of involvement in many professional and community-based organizations and committees. Currently, she is President of the Board of Directors of the YWCA and also chairs the YWCA's Racial Justice Committee; Secretary of the Board of Directors of Women for Human Rights and Dignity; and serves as a member of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library Board of Trustees. Sharon is the former Chairperson of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women. In addition, she is the former President of the Inner City Red Cross Board of Directors, as well as a member of the Regional Board of the Red Cross. Her affiliations and volunteer work are impressive and reveal her genuine desire to help others.

Sharon is the mother of two grown daughters and four grandchildren.