Chief Executive Officer

Lori Palmer


Lori Newsletter 2011

Lori Palmer joined Girls Inc. in September 2007 to ensure continuity in operations and valued programs.  She has focused her professional career and community service on assisting nonprofit organizations, community groups, and special projects successfully achieve their goals. Lori has performed this function as a North Texas regional health planner, Head Start center director, executive director of a Dallas based nonprofit organization, elected official, and consultant in organizational development.

Lori Palmer established The Palmer Solution, a sole proprietorship, in 1996. Since then, she has provided consultant services, on a full-time basis, to close to 100 clients in the nonprofit sector. Her areas of specialization are:

  • Organizational leadership and management as interim chief executive officer for nonprofit organizations
  • Strategic and operational planning
  • Organizational assessments of nonprofit agencies
  • Facilitation of meetings, workshops, and board retreats
  • Issue resolution and consensus building
  • Coordination of public involvement processes for public projects

Specifically, her experience and consultant work in the nonprofit sector includes board governance, organizational assessment and planning, program development and evaluation, fundraising and fund development planning, donor relations, volunteer programs, financial management including budget development and oversight, public and community relations, human resource administration, issue resolution, and building community partnerships.

From 1983 to 1994, Ms. Palmer served as Executive Director of the North Texas Food Bank. In that capacity, she provided executive leadership and management to build an organization that now serves a large region of North Texas by providing food to the hungry through a number of programs.

She also served on the Dallas City Council from 1985 to 1993, representing a diverse inner-city district. In that capacity, she chaired several committees and task forces, including the City Council Housing, Health, and Human Services Committee and the City of Dallas Domestic Violence Task Force. Her district included the central business district of Dallas, West Dallas, West Oak Cliff, Oak Lawn, Love Field, Walnut Hill, and Old East Dallas.

Additional experience includes: (1) Head Start Center Director in West Dallas; (2) Health Planner with Texas Area 5 Health Systems Agency; and (3) VISTA Volunteer in Austin, Texas. She has also served as president and member of the board of directors of many civic and nonprofit organizations.

Ms. Palmer received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Minnesota in Education and her Master of Science in Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Arlington with an emphasis in nonprofit agency management and community planning. In 1990, she received the UTA Distinguished Alumna Award. She also received the Maura Award from the Dallas Women’s Center and many other awards for her leadership in many arenas of community service.