Jacquelyn A. Alford

Jacquelyn A. Alford, Ph.D.
Educator, Trainer, Career Counselor/Coach

"And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more,
neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore,
The former things have passed away."
Revelations 21:4

Born in Newnan Georgia, December 8, 1936 to Rev. James A. Alford and Rosette Brasman Alford. She attended public schools in Atlanta, Georgia, and earning a Bachelor of Science Degree from Spelman College in 1962. She earned a Masters of Social Work Degree and in 1978 a Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Research from the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Her professional career began as an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh in the School of Social Work. She later became Professor of Social Research at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. A mentor, teacher, and motivator, she was like a magnet to her protAC.gAC.s. Lecturing by day in academia, she often lectured to her students after-hours on the world of career development, life and relationships. Upon her retirement, she moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, where she managed Brasman Research Company with several federal and local government clients. She later established J.A. Alford Interests some of her most prominent assignments were General Dynamics, National Institutes of Health, and the Departments of Energy, State, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development.

Dr. Alford has extensive experience in career development, training, counseling and coaching at the Federal level, for employees ranging from political appointees to Senior Executive Service employees, to wage-grade employees. For the U. S. Department of Energy Dr. Alford managed and operated a high profile Career Management Program. In this role, she directed a program which served over 500 people per month, training for staff and contractors at all levels. Worked with the Secretary of Energy in developing the "first" upward mobility program for administrative support staff and a career development program specifically designed for developmentally challenged contract staff. Received numerous awards and commendations for support provided to two major reorganizations and "reductions in force," and for sensitivity in dealing with the developmentally challenged contract staff. Of particular note, Dr. Alford guided the career development of five Department of Energy career employees who achieved Senior Executive Service status and numerous employees who achieved promotions at the GS 13-15 levels. During her tenure, there was an 86% increase in promotions among women across all series, within the Department.

For the U. S. Department of State, Dr. Alford served as Coordinator and Senior Career Counselor for the Career Management Center, which served over 1,000 Federal and Foreign Service family members and employees per month. Individually, she facilitated the transfer and promotion of numerous staff re-locating to the new geographical area, and achieved a 65% success rate in relocating staff locally. Dr. Alford's validated model of career transition, called the "Resiliency Model" was the skills assessment tool developed by her for key job classifications.

Dr. Alford has served for several years as President and Family Historian of the Alford African American Family Organization of Georgia. Once she heard the oral history of the family from her Aunt Cora Alford Williams, she embarked on the task of documenting that oral history. She used her research expertise to conduct the genealogy studies, finding our oldest known descendant Lydia Alford (1785 - 1885). Dr. Alford has documented over 900 descendants of Lydia. Her contributions to the family genealogy will be felt for many generations to come.

She was a member of several organizations to include the National Association of Social Workers, National Association of University Women, Society for Human Resource Management, and American Management Association

She is survived by her daughter Jennifer Medlock, two granddaughters Jessica and Lauren Hackney, three sisters Rosemary Alford Whitehurst (Ronald), Harriette Alford Meriwether, Brenda Alford, one brother James A. Alford Jr., numerous endearing cousins, other family members and friends.