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[3] and also coordinated White House input into a report to Congress on the national strategy for innovation and competitiveness.[4] He has written and spoken widely on innovation,[5] poverty,[6] and evidence-based policy.[7]
Palfrey grew up in Southborough, Massachusetts.[9] His parents, Judith Palfrey (née Sullivan) and Sean Palfrey, are pediatricians who work in Boston. He has one brother, John Palfrey, who works as an educator, and one sister, Katy, who works in nonprofit conservation. Palfrey is the great-great-grandson of United States President Theodore Roosevelt.[10]
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.[12]
Palfrey also served as Deputy General Counsel for Strategic Initiatives at the US Department of Commerce. As the first Chief of the Health Care Division in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General,[13] Palfrey oversaw multi-million dollar consumer protection litigation and investigations relating to health insurance, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, healthcare providers and nursing homes. Prior to his Chief position, he was an Assistant Attorney General in the Insurance Division.
In September 2017, Palfrey announced his campaign for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts,[14] 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."[15] 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.[16] Palfrey was defeated by Republican incumbent Karyn Polito in the general election held on November 6, 2018.
Palfrey sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general of Massachusetts in 2022. He announced his candidacy in February 2022.[18] In June 2022, he won the party's endorsement at its state convention.[19] However, in August 2022, before the primary election, Palfrey withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Andrea Campbell.[20]
Healey administration
On March 20, 2023, Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announced that they had named Palfrey as Director of Federal Funds and Infrastructure in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.[21]
Palfrey married Anna Tabor in 2008. They have one daughter and two sons.
Palfrey's father was born John Gorham Palfrey, III, and is a 1967 graduate of Harvard, as is his mother, born Judith Swarm Sullivan. His father is also considered John Gorham Palfrey, IV or John Palfrey, VI. He had a younger brother who didn't live for a day (December 5, 1946) and a younger sister, Antonia Ford Palfrey, named for their 3rd great-grandmother, Antonia (nee Ford) Willard.
Quentin's 3rd great-grandfather is John G. Palfrey (1796-1881), Massachusetts politician. His 2nd great-grandfather, John Carver Palfrey (1833-1906), served in the United States Civil War, as did his 3rd great-uncle, Francis Winthrop Palfrey (1831-1889). His great-grandfather, John Gorham Palfrey II (1875-1945) was an 1896 graduate of Harvard and a lawyer in Boston. His grandfather, John Gorham Palfrey, Jr. or the III (1919-1979), was a 1940 graduate of Harvard, served in World War II, was appointed to the Atomic Energy Commission by President John F. Kennedy, and was a professor at Columbia University from 1952 until his death in 1979 as well as dean of Columbia College from 1958 to 1962.[22]
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