Shante K. Avant

Shante Avant was elected to the Shelby County Board of Commissioners on August 4, 2022, to represent District 5. She is a native of Memphis and earned her BA in Psychology and Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Tennessee.

Shante was a member of the Shelby County Board of Education representing District 6 until 2022. She serves as deputy director for the Women’s Foundation for Greater Memphis (WFGM) and manages its staff and operations. She also has 17 years of experience in the nonprofit sector.

Commanding over 20 years of non-profit experience, Shante K. Avant works towards the economic security of thousands of women and their families in the Greater Memphis Area every day. As Deputy Director of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis (WFGM), she manages staff, operations, and fund development. She is responsible for grant allocations, fostering strategic partnerships within the corporate community, stewarding relationships with local and national foundations and local community-based organizations, institutional giving, and large donor stewardship.

Avant’s local community involvements include serving as Chair of the Shelby County School Board. She represents District 6 which includes the South Memphis, Riverside, Westwood, and Whitehaven communities. She is a board member for Clean Memphis and serves on the advisory boards for the University of Memphis College of Social Work and the New Memphis Institute.

She has one daughter named Peyton.