Quentin Palfrey

During President Obama’s first term, Palfrey worked as Senior Advisor for Jobs & Competitiveness in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. In that role, he served as lead policy staffer on reform efforts and also coordinated White House input into a report to Congress on the national strategy for innovation and competitiveness. He has written and spoken widely on innovation, poverty, and evidence-based policy.

Palfrey was the Democratic candidate in the 2018 Massachusetts election for Lieutenant Governor, running with gubernatorial candidate Jay Gonzalez against the incumbents, Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito of the Republican Party. The Baker/Polito ticket won the November general election by a margin of 1,781,341 votes to 885,770 cast for the Democrats.

In September 2017, Palfrey announced his campaign for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, stating that "we need leaders who will fight for good jobs and fair pay, work to reduce inequality and poverty, and stand up against attacks on our diverse and inclusive American values." On June 2, 2018, Palfrey was endorsed at the Massachusetts State Democratic Convention. In the Democratic primary election held on September 4, 2018, Palfrey defeated Jimmy Tingle. Palfrey was defeated by Republican incumbent Karyn Polito in the general election held on November 6, 2018.

After graduating from law school, Palfrey served as a law clerk for Judge Max Rosenn on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. After a brief stint as a litigation associate at the New York office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Palfrey returned to Boston to serve as an Assistant Attorney General and later as the first Chief of the Health Care Division in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. During the 2008 Presidential campaign, Palfrey served as the voter protection director for President Obama’s campaign in Ohio.

Palfrey married Anna Tabor in 2008. They have one daughter, Serena, and two sons, Drew and Max.

Palfrey attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and graduated from Harvard College in 1996 and Harvard Law School in 2002.

Quentin Palfrey (born April 29, 1974) is an American lawyer, policymaker, and political candidate. He previously served as the Executive Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) North America and is the Co-Director of the Global Access in Action project at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.