Alfrieda Baldwin is a Chicago area native. A retired attorney, she was in-house counsel at Securian Financial for 32 years. After retirement, Baldwin started volunteering in her school district. Being with elementary students caused her to reflect on the education she had received while attending a Lutheran grade school. It led her to want to start a Christian school accessible to families of all ethnic and financial backgrounds.
 
In September of 2021, she opened Laurel Community School, a K-8 micro-school. Baldwin serves on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. She is also the Board Chair of TakeCharge MN, an organization dedicated to restoring the Black community's cultural roots of faith, family, and education.