Stephen J. Alford earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at Morehouse College. He also earned an MBA in Marketing at the Keller Graduate School of Management, and completed an executive education program in strategy and innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Alford has over 20 years of marketing communications and public relations experience. He led the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Office of Communications amid award winning and hostile periods for the organization. During Alford’s tenure, APS was home of the state and national Superintendent of the Year, Board of Education of the Year, and Board Member of the Year. He also managed the communications process requirement that allowed APS to regain full accreditation for all high schools. Finally, Alford developed and managed a crisis communications strategy for countless school district issues, including the infamous CRCT standardized test cheating scandal, abrupt leadership change, school shootings, school closures and a gas leak at an elementary school.
Stephen J. Alford has a unique ability to deliver the right message to the right audience using the right communications channel, from concept to implementation.