Jerri Green is a 40s-year-old Democrat, Memphis City Councilwoman (since 2024), lawyer, and public defender who is the leading Democratic candidate for Tennessee governor. A Memphis native educated at the University of Tennessee and Georgetown University School of Law, Green has worked as a juvenile public defender and legal counsel for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. As the first Democratic Memphis City Council member in her district and member of the first majority-woman-run Memphis City Council, Green focuses on gun violence reduction, education, affordable childcare, labor rights, and repealing conservative social policies.
Jerri Green was born and raised in Memphis in a financially challenging environment. She graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1999 and earned a J.D. from Georgetown University School of Law in 2003. She served as a juvenile public defender in Nashville and later as legal counsel for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, where she currently serves as deputy chief of staff. Green is married to Patrick and has three children (Beau, Vivienne, and Wilder). She is a gun violence survivor and activist, having lost people close to her to gun violence. She is deeply involved in her community through organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Girls Inc., the Humane Society, and Moms Demand Action.