David Allred is the lead pastor of High Places Community Church in Oak Ridge where he has served for 31 years. He received his BA in Psychology from the University of Tennessee and Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. David established “Friends of the Grove” in 2014, a non-profit group devoted to rescuing the historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, Tennessee from demolition for the purpose of serving Arts organizations in Oak Ridge at no charge.

For the past five years, he has worked closely with the People’s Supper to help create a stronger community in Oak Ridge using shared meals and guided conversation to foster trust and unity among people with different perspectives. Active in the Oak Ridge Ministerial Association for many years, David helped develop the organization’s mission statement many years ago, which is still in use today and he currently manages their website.

In January of 2023, The New Pluralists awarded David a grant entitled “Healing Starts Here” to enhance Oak Ridge’s conversational initiatives and to reclaim hidden stories of minorities and other neighbors living on "the edges" in the Manhattan-Project created town. Key among these are the "Scarboro 85," a seemingly lost-to-history set of heroes who were the first black students to desegregate a public school in the Jim Crow South.   

David’s free time is spent fishing, reading, and writing. He is married to Dr. Tracy Allred of the Center for Wellbeing in Oak Ridge and they have two wonderful children at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville.