A Middle Tennessee native, Mr. Palmer grew up just outside of Nashville in Coopertown, TN. From there, he attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he earned his B.S. in Political Science with a minor in English Literature. While completing his academic work, Mr. Palmer held many leadership roles at UTC including Vice President of the Student Body and two-time Social Issues, Equity, and Diversity Chairperson for the Student Government Association.
After completing university, Mr. Palmer joined the Teach for America Appalachia Corps and was placed at Harlan Independent in Harlan, KY. During his tenure at Harlan Independent, Mr. Palmer taught courses in 8th Grade ELA and Writing, 9th Grade ELA, 11th Grade ACT Prep, and 12th Grade Writing Seminar. As Director of the Harlan High Drama program, Mr. Palmer directed both The Odd Couple and The Mind of Ray Bradbury. Furthermore, he served as both the Harlan Elementary Academic Team Coach and the Harlan High School Assistant Academic Team Coach.
In 2016, he was able to share his experiences of teaching in rural Appalachia back to Chattanooga by being a keynote speaker in the TEDX Chattanooga event. Mr. Palmer’s TEDX speech, entitled “Learning Appalachia: My Time Teaching in Coal Country” detailed the need for the region to invest in retaining the most creative and brightest young minds to spur economic and cultural development.
When not teaching, you can find him drinking way too much coffee with his nose in a book, trying out new restaurants around Nashville, and playing Pokemon GO with his niece.