Jerri Green Bio, Age, Education, Family, Memphis City Council & 2026 Governor Race

Who is Jerri Green? | Biography

Jerri Green is an American attorney, Memphis city councilwoman and the 2026 Democratic nominee for governor of Tennessee. A Memphis native, she earned a law degree at Georgetown and returned to Tennessee to work in public defense. Her first job in that field involved representing young people in Nashville. She later taught criminal law and juvenile justice while building a career that combined legal work with public administration.

Green went on to direct the Community Legal Center in Memphis, where she helped connect residents with legal assistance. She then joined the administration of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. Her work there included employee pay, criminal justice reforms and a gun lock distribution program. She gained experience delivering legal services and making decisions about staffing, funding and programs in county government.

Memphis voters elected Green to represent District 2 on the City Council in November 2023. At City Hall, she took up employee pay, safe firearm storage and the local impact of data centers. She also kept her ties to public defense. In January 2026, Harris announced her appointment as interim Shelby County chief public defender. The office represents people who cannot afford a lawyer.

Green won the Democratic gubernatorial primary in August 2026. She faced Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn in the November election to succeed term-limited Governor Bill Lee. Green proposed expanding Medicaid, strengthening public school funding and making child care more affordable. She also brought her local work on wages and gun safety into the statewide campaign. The Associated Press called the race for Blackburn. It was Green’s first statewide election after representing one of Memphis’s council districts.

Jerri Green Age | How Old is Jerri Green?

48 years old in September 2026, Jerri Green was born in Memphis, Tennessee, according to WSMV. Her full birth date is unconfirmed.

Jerri Green Height | How Tall is Jerri Green?

Jerri Green’s height has not been publicly confirmed.

Jerri Green Political Party

Jerri Green is a Democrat. She served as president of the Democratic Women of Shelby County before becoming the party’s 2026 nominee for Tennessee governor.

Jerri Green Education | Tennessee and Georgetown

Green attended White Station High School in Memphis. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and political science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1999. The two fields combined the study of writing and language with the study of public institutions. She then moved to Washington, D.C., for law school.

Green earned her Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in 2003. She qualified to practice in Tennessee and went into public interest law. She later taught criminal law and juvenile justice through the University of Phoenix for nearly a decade. Her professional affiliations have included the Tennessee Bar Association, Memphis Bar Association and Association for Women Attorneys.

Jerri Green Husband | Is Jerri Green Married?

Green is married to Patrick, whom she identifies in her campaign biography. The couple has three children. She discussed her experience as a mother when outlining her proposals on child care and schools.

Jerri Green Children and Family | Memphis Roots

Green is a mother of three and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended a local public high school before leaving the city for college and law school. Her first public defense work took her to Nashville. Later jobs brought her back to Memphis, where she worked with a legal aid organization and then with county government.

Outside her government work, Green has served on the boards of Girls Inc. and the local Humane Society. She was also president of the Democratic Women of Shelby County. Her nonprofit service included Habitat for Humanity of Memphis and the Overton Shell. Those roles brought her into contact with nonprofit work and local party organizing before her statewide candidacy.

Jerri Green Career | Public Defense and Shelby County Government

Green began as a juvenile public defender in Nashville. She later practiced public interest law in Nashville, Washington and Memphis. Her work covered criminal defense and international human rights. She also worked at the University of Memphis law school and taught through the University of Phoenix.

As executive director of the Community Legal Center, Green oversaw a Memphis nonprofit that helps residents secure legal services. She subsequently became a senior policy adviser and deputy chief of staff to Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. Her county portfolio included projects on public safety, health and compensation for county workers. Green helped develop a program that sent free gun locks by mail. In January 2026, Harris announced he would appoint her interim chief public defender. The appointment returned her to public defense in a leadership role.

Jerri Green on the Memphis City Council | Wages and Gun Safety

Green won election to the Memphis City Council on November 16, 2023. District 2 gave her an elected role separate from her work for Shelby County. Her earlier county assignments included helping raise pay for the remaining county employees who earned below a living wage. At City Hall, Green advocated for a $40,000 annual floor for city workers. The proposal dealt with what Memphis paid its own employees. It brought the cost of living into discussions about the city’s payroll and budget.

Green’s firearm safety work crossed both offices. Her county work included the free mail-order gun lock program, which reduced a practical barrier to locking up a firearm. At the state level, her campaign called for expanding access to locks and safe storage education. Her platform also supported background checks and red flag laws. These proposals would require state action or cooperation beyond the City Council.

During her county work, Green helped coordinate a vaccination project for people in local custody during the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s biography credits the effort with reaching more than 70 percent of the local incarcerated population. County officials also identified her work on limits to excessive solitary confinement and job resources for justice-involved residents. These projects preceded the interim public defender appointment.

Jerri Green and Memphis Data Centers | Zoning, Water and Local Revenue

Green made data center oversight an issue on the Memphis City Council. Her campaign lists a proposed moratorium and zoning changes. She also advocated for public input on how Memphis spends related revenue. A moratorium would temporarily pause the development it covers. Zoning rules can instead define where projects may operate and what local review they must undergo.

She also supported a facility for reusing graywater to reduce pressure on the Memphis Sands Aquifer. The reuse proposal addressed the source of water a facility draws for operations. That gave the debate a local dimension separate from statewide arguments about electricity demand and corporate incentives. Her campaign also pointed to a vote supporting public input on spending related tax revenue in affected communities.

Green carried those concerns into her Tennessee platform. It addressed how the state should manage energy demand and protect household electricity costs. One idea involved grants for local energy storage to help during extreme weather. As a council member, she could propose city rules or vote on local projects. A statewide governor’s agenda would involve state agencies, lawmakers and utilities as well.

Jerri Green for Governor | Democratic Primary and November Election

Green won Tennessee’s August 6, 2026 Democratic primary. AP data published by NPR gave Green about 69 percent, or more than 244,000 votes. The nomination sent her into the general election against Republican Marsha Blackburn. Blackburn entered the campaign from the United States Senate. Green entered it from local government in Memphis, a city with different voting patterns from much of the state. Bill Lee’s term limit meant voters would choose a new governor regardless of party.

The candidates offered competing approaches to running Tennessee. Green stressed the cost of housing and child care, health coverage in rural areas and support for public schools. Her campaign also used her government record to explain how she might pursue those policies. Blackburn ran with President Donald Trump’s endorsement after winning the Republican primary.

The Associated Press projected Marsha Blackburn the winner after the November 3 election. Decision Desk HQ’s November 4 update gave Blackburn 45.44 percent and Green 43.28 percent. Independent David Hatley had 9.27 percent in the same report. Green led in Shelby County, home to Memphis. Her margin there was about 39 percentage points in Decision Desk HQ’s county breakdown.

Jerri Green Policies | TennCare, Housing and Public Schools

Green called for Medicaid expansion to extend health coverage to more low-income Tennesseans. She put particular emphasis on rural communities. Her platform also defended reproductive freedom and supported policies that would give doctors more room to provide care. These proposals addressed coverage and medical decision-making through different parts of state policy.

Her campaign’s housing plan proposed using $10 million in federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds for security deposit relief. A renter may be able to cover a monthly payment and still struggle to pay a deposit upfront. Green presented the proposal as a way to lower that initial barrier. Its implementation would depend on program rules and how Tennessee administered the money.

She also called for affordable child care and paid family leave. Her education agenda emphasized funding public schools and supporting teachers. Green framed wages, child care and housing as costs families manage together. She linked that argument to her work on employee pay in Shelby County and Memphis.

Jerri Green Salary

US$37,808.42 annually was Green’s City Council salary on Memphis’s January 2025 payroll. The city lists the figure for her elected council role. Her county public defender work was a separate job, and her combined 2026 earnings are unconfirmed.

Jerri Green Net Worth

Jerri Green’s net worth remains unknown. Her documented work includes legal practice, nonprofit leadership and government service.

Biography Summary Table