Alfred brings a dynamic focus, persistent drive, and passion for results, adding to the McWilliams' ability to deliver for its clients. The son of an Air Force officer, his family was stationed on Bergstrom Air Force base in 1991, two years before its closure. Prior to the move, his family resided in Bremerhaven, Germany.
Alfred earned his Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, and soon after, his Juris Doctorate from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, KS. During his third year of law school, the professional relationships he developed, coupled with the 2008 presidential election, fueled Alfred's interest in the political arena and brought him home to Austin.
Government and Legal Experience:
Prior to joining McWilliams, Alfred developed a strong understanding of the Texas House committee process and House Rules by working for the powerful State Affairs Committee chaired by former-Representative Burt Solomons (R- Carrollton). He provided legislative and legal research used in the committee's interim report prior to the 82nd legislative session. Notably his research concerned Texas' then-current and future energy portfolio, as well as federal climate change legislation (Waxman-Markey and Kerry-Lieberman). For this reason Alfred gained an extensive understanding of Texas wholesale electric market, from generators, transmitters, retail providers, to the regulatory Public Utility Council.
During the 81st Legislative Session, Alfred contributed to the Texas Senate Research Center as a member of their research team where he conducted time-sensitive legislative research for numerous senate offices and delivered confidential memoranda. He also drafted comprehensive hearing reports for the senate committees on: Finance, Government Organization, and Agriculture & Rural Affairs. These were later published for Capitol-wide review. Additionally as part of his duties, Alfred analyzed a high volume of diverse bills passing through the Texas Senate to the House, providing him an in-depth understanding of the legislative process. Alfred also gained legal experience working for the law firms Levy and Craig, P.C. and Cavanaugh and Lemon, P.A..
While at Levy, Alfred assisted a partner serving as state counsel to the 2008 Mitt Romney campaign. In this capacity Alfred communicated with the Kansas Republican party concerning state caucus procedure, as well as being privy to nation-wide campaign conference calls. Additionally, Alfred worked under another partner serving as Missouri counsel to Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Significantly, he drafted and was credited for legislative briefing that was distributed throughout the state to the association's members. While at Cavanaugh, amongst general litigation and business issues, Alfred conducted research and drafted memoranda on statutory matters including tribal and state gaming compacts in Kansas.
Community:
Since returning to Austin Alfred has worked extensively with Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, a $40 million non-profit organization. In the summer of 2009, at 26, Alfred was nominated by the CEO and confirmed to board of Goodwill Staffing Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Goodwill . Currently Alfred also sits on the board of the Young Men's Business League of Austin and the Austin Young Chamber of Commerce. He also holds membership in the Seton Forum and Urban League Young Professionals. Lastly he is a 2012 graduate of Leadership Austin’s Emerge Program.