Biographical Background

Current Shelby County Clerk and former Councilwoman Wanda Halbert was the second African American woman in the history of the City of Memphis to be elected to a city-wide office.  She was elected to the Memphis City Council 2007 through 2015 after serving as a legislator on the Memphis Board of Education 2000 through 2007. As Commissioner, among many leadership and committee assignments, Halbert served as Memphis City Schools’ Board President and President of the Memphis Chapter of Parents for Public Schools (a chartered national organization).

A graduate of Kirby High School, having attended State Technical Institute at Memphis, Bethel College, and the University of Memphis where she studied organizational management, Councilwoman Halbert was employed as an administrator over 33 years in the Information Technology Division at FedEx Services, Black Business Association and Peerless Properties Real Estate Agency.

Councilwoman Halbert’s leadership and accomplishments include but are not limited to:

• Created the city’s first Minority & Women Owned Business Oversight Commission, an appointed group requiring and monitoring the city’s spending with minority and women owned businesses;
• Revived the city’s Pre-65 health insurance for employees;
• Initiated the city’s joint compromised pension investments;
• Sponsored approved legislation reviving the city’s Summer Youth program with a $2 million-dollar investment;
• Sponsored approved legislation strengthening the city’s Civilian Law Enforcement Review processes and procedures;
• Sponsored approved legislation adding $4 million to revive the city’s Utility Payment Assistance Program;
• Sponsored approved legislation adding $2.4 million for a school literacy initiative;
• Sponsored approved legislation to spend $500,000 to repair city parks;
• Sponsored new legislation securing $1.6 million for new park and neighborhood redevelopment;
• The first and only city legislator:
• Walking and documenting evidence to ensure more than 2,000 blighted properties were reported and/or litigated;
• Publishing district-wide reports and plans for community improvement projects;
• Initiating the city’s review and remediation of outdated drainage systems causing city-wide flooding;
• Preparing the city’s first report tracking more than 3,300 District wide Housing and Community Development Major Projects;
• Securing district wide Blight Remediation Funds;
• Ensuring District was selected as the first recipient of the Memphis Clean 2019 initiative;
• Creating 5 year pot-hole and street repair

Shelby County Clerk Halbert has two adult sons, Andre’ a local entrepreneur, and Assistant Attorney General Stephon in Washington, DC, both of whom are graduates of the Memphis public schools and attended Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) and a beautiful granddaughter.

Memphis Magazine featured Wanda Halbert as one of Memphis’ 100 Who’s Who representing our city’s best and brightest leaders.

Contact the Clerk

Contact Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert at (901) 222-3000.