Veronica Palmer is the Co-Founder and CEO of RISE Colorado, a family empowerment non-profit in Aurora. RISE works to educate, engage and empower low-income families and families of color to RISE as change agents for educational equity in our public school system. Veronica is a 7th generation Colorado native that was born and raised in Denver. She was educated in Denver Public Schools and went on to become the first Latina Student Body President at the University of Colorado at Boulder, graduating with honors and a degree in Political Science in 2005. Veronica was a 2006 Teach For America Los Angeles corps member and taught 3rd grade in Lynwood Unified School District, serving as grade level chair her second year. In 2008, she graduated with honors from Loyola Marymount University with a Master’s in Education. That same year Veronica became a founding teacher at KIPP Raíces Academy in East Los Angeles where she taught Kindergarten and founded the Parent Advisory Council.
In 2010, Veronica joined Teach For America’s (TFA) staff in Los Angeles as a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development, supporting elementary and middle school corps members. While on staff, Veronica was appointed to the national TFA Latino Advisory Council, participated in Leadership for Educational Equity’s (LEE) Political Leaders Fellowship, and completed the Urban Leaders Fellowship with CO State Senator Mike Johnston’s office serving on the education policy team. While at RISE, Veronica has completed the Aspen-Pahara NextGen Fellowship, Stanford’s Latino Entrepreneurship Leaders Program, and the Latino Leadership Institute at DU. Since founding, RISE has been named winner of the TFA Social Innovation Award, the White House’s Bright Spot in Hispanic Education, LEE’s Inaugural Venture Fund and Fellowship Award, Forbes 30 Under 30, Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, Colorado’s MLK, Jr. Humanitarian Award, and Denver’s New Leaders Council Progressive Hero Award. Veronica and her husband Leotis have two children, Trey and Avianna. In addition to her family Veronica loves dancing and traveling.
What are you looking forward to as a fellow of TLC?
“It is an incredible honor to have been chosen for the TLC fellowship. I have had the opportunity to be part of many national fellowships that focus on leadership development, identity, and being a nonprofit leader but none where I’ll get to go deep in organizing and identity work with people of color who work in and live in my same community. The focus TLC has on uplifting and empowering leaders of color who organize to bring change in CO will be transformative experience for us all I’m sure. I’m excited to meet and learn from the other amazing fellows so we can do this work together alongside our communities of color in CO. Equitable systemic change is needed and I look forward to working urgently with TLC being part of this catalyst for change.“