Early Career
After college, Brown worked for Bristol-Myers for a year as a regional sales representative, a job that came with a respectable salary and employee benefits such as an expense account and a company car. Brown was disappointed with his advancement potential in this position. As a result, he quit and took the New York State Troopers exam before becoming Chief of staff for Buffalo Common Council President George Arthur for two years. He then spent two years as an aide to Erie County Legislator Roger Blackwell (later Erie County Legislature Chairman). Then, he worked for two years under Arthur Eve, the Deputy Speaker of the New York State Assembly. Subsequently, he served eight years as director of the Erie County division of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Erie County Executive Dennis Gorski. He resigned his directorship in July 1993 to run for public office.
Brown became a member of Grassroots, a political organization which was founded in 1986 by a group of block club leaders. Brown eventually served as a vice president of the organization.
Brown was recognized in the November 1989 issue of Ebony magazine as one the "30 Leaders of the Future" with a caption that read "Byron Brown chosen for leadership skills." The Buffalo Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1991 honored him with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for community service. In 1993 he was selected by Business First for its "40 Under Forty Honor Roll". He was awarded the Infinity Broadcasting/WBLK 2001 "Voice of Power Award" and the 2004 "Citizen of the Year" award. He also received the "Political Impact Award" from the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in 2001.
In 1992, Brown was a delegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention from the New York's 33rd congressional district. He was originally pledged to Bob Kerrey, but switched to Bill Clinton after Kerrey bowed out of the 1992 Democratic Primary campaign on March 5, 1992. In 1993, Brown was invited to attend Bill Clinton's Inauguration.
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