Alfred was born in Memphis, Tennessee, to the late Alfred
Degrafinreid, Sr., and Patricia Degrafinreid.
Alfred was the youngest of three children. He was educated in the public schools of
Memphis City Schools and graduated with Honors from Raleigh-Egypt High
School. He graduated as the only male in
the top ten percent and was class president for the last three years of high
school.
Alfred entered Tennessee State University in 2002 and was a
Presidential Scholarship recipient and maintained the full academic scholarship
throughout his undergraduate career.
While in undergraduate school, Alfred majored in Speech Pathology. He was a member of the University Honors
Society, was elected onto the Student Government Association, and was a
initiated into the Alpha Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity,
Incorporated.
In addition to being active on Tennessee State University’s campus,
Alfred worked for the YMCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee as a Fun Company
counselor at Cumberland Elementary School in Bordeaux. After a two-year stint at the YMCA, he worked
for Citizens Savings and Trust Company as a Financial Service Representative
until he graduated. Immediately
following graduation, he worked as a political consultant for Howard Gentry,
Jr.’s mayoral campaign in Nashville, Tennessee.
He also enrolled in Tennessee State University’s College of Public
Service and Urban Affairs (formerly the Institute of Government) to gain a
better understanding of the public and non-profit sectors. He graduated with a Master’s of Public
Administration with a minor in Health Care Administration and Planning in
2008.
Wanting to make a greater impact on the community at large,
Alfred decided to pursue a legal career.
He knew that gaining a Doctor of Jurisprudence would assist him with
working to make government more efficient.
He attended Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in
2009. During law school, he was elected
Student Bar Association Representative, became a member of the Student Bar
Association Executive Board, and was elected by his colleagues to deliver the
commencement speech at his graduation. In
addition to countless hours in the law library, Alfred worked as a lobbyist for
a trade association and as a law clerk to a partner at a plaintiff’s firm.
Alfred has worked for the local, state, and federal levels
of government while living in Nashville, including: Howard Gentry, Jr. (former
Vice Mayor of Nashville and current Criminal Court Clerk), Karl Dean (Mayor of
Nashville), and Lois M. DeBerry (Speaker Emeritus – Tennessee State House of
Representatives), and for Jim Cooper (U.S. House of Representatives). He currently works as Counsel to Congressman
Jim Cooper and he advises on policy matters and coordinates community
outreach. Alfred is a member of Temple
Church in Bordeaux. His proudest moment
was when he married the former Tiffany Jones of Birmingham, Alabama, in August
of 2012.
