A native North Carolinian with a passion for conservation and the outdoors, Palmer began exploring trails with her family as a young girl, backpacking with her father and learning about wildflowers from her grandmother. Palmer has devoted most of her career to the Piedmont Land Conservancy, a regional nonprofit land trust dedicated to preserving natural areas in the Triad region. Involved with PLC since 1996, Palmer has helped protect thousands of acres of land and has led the design and construction of trails in nature preserves for public access and enjoyment. In 2020, she helped launch and now leads the NC Great Trails State Coalition, a statewide trails advocacy group with more than 94 member organizations. She served as director for 2023 NC Year of the Trail, which is a statewide celebration of trails with goals to inspire people to try trails, advance diversity on trails, and boost outdoor recreation tourism through a public awareness campaign and events. Palmer settled in her native Greensboro after years away for college, early career jobs in environmental education and environmental policy, and two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in West Africa. She holds a Master of Regional Planning from UNC-Chapel Hill. Palmer and her husband have three children. In addition to her passion for hiking, she loves gardening, volunteering in schools, serving as a Girl Scout leader, and spending time on her family’s Ashe County farm, which is forever protected by a conservation easement.