The State Journal March 20, 2008

HEADLINE: Palmer Set to Retire From Education Alliance

The Education Alliance's President Hazel Palmer will retire from the post after seven years in August, but she doesn't plan to simply walk away from the mission that has moved her since she was in high school.

Story by Ann Ali

CHARLESTON -- The Education Alliance's President Hazel Palmer will retire from the post after seven years in August, but she doesn't plan to simply walk away from the mission that has moved her since she was a public high school student in Illinois.

"One of the most important things I did growing up was participate in work camps," Palmer, 62, said. "Those were multi-racial, multi-religious work camps ... and that helped cement my values system."

The Alliance is a 24-year-old nonprofit that provides programs for public schools, conducts research on educational issues, sponsors many grants and, while it's not a government entity, works with state government through the support of individuals, corporations and foundations, serving as a bridge between education and business.

Palmer will remain at the Alliance in a consulting role, and the Alliance's Board of Directors will conduct a national search for her replacement.

Palmer said when she grew up, women didn't have many career options, but she knew she wanted to be engaged in social action. She said she nearly ran herself sick volunteering in settlement houses and staying active in community service during her summer vacation before leaving for the University of Rochester in New York.

"My dad kept saying, 'Hazel, if you don't stop burning the candle at both ends, you're going to end up in the hospital with mono.'

"And the first week of college, I got mono, but I was too embarrassed to admit it until I was better," she said.

During her time in Rochester, where she received her bachelor's degree in elementary education, she received an award for being best student teacher in a non-departmentalized, inner-city seventh grade.

She's now placing a second bookend on a career that has spanned 32 years of economic development at a policy and management level along with research and building programs in public education.

"I've been here about five years now, and she exemplifies great leadership and gives the organization direction and purpose, especially with research summaries and working to obtain new programs to help the students of West Virginia," said Carey Sadowski, state director of the Alliance's State Scholars Program. "We're going to miss her tremendously in the role of president, but it's been wonderful. I've loved having her around and loved learning from her."

Palmer received a master's degree in education and guidance counseling from Tufts University in Massachusetts and doctoral degrees from both West Virginia University and Marshall University.

Palmer came to West Virginia in 1974, and she's lived in the same Charleston house ever since.

"I just fell in love with West Virginia and learned quite quickly to feel comfortable here," she said. "Every job I've had has been statewide in nature, and that's been a delight. When I was in the (West Virginia) Department of Education, I was able to go to 44 of the counties, and in most of those counties, visit every single school, so it's given me an appreciation of the state."

Palmer worked for Appalachian Regional Educational Laboratories, now known as Edvantia, the Marshall University Graduate College and the WVDOE, where she helped set up the county accreditation system. She then worked with the West Virginia Development Office to create a statewide work force development strategy, and the Development Office offered her the position of director of small business, a post she kept for nearly eight years.

Palmer's resume does her boasting for her, with such accolades as obtaining and managing 71 grants, preparing certification program reviews and financial audits resulting in National Full Certification and managing a cash budget of more than $3.2 million.

Palmer was named one of The State Journal's 55 Good Things in the early 1990s, and the Public Education Network named The Education Alliance the best local education fund in the nation in 2006.

Palmer said The Education Alliance president post seemed like an excellent match of her economic development and business experience with her educational background, and she's enjoyed being outside the state's education system because she said it allows her to more easily raise issues.

Jeri Matheny, chairwoman of the Alliance's Board of Directors, said she's sure the organization won't find anyone else just like Palmer.

"It was a wonderful combination of her education background and her business background that was just perfect," Matheny said. "Since Hazel's been at The Education Alliance, I think the organization has come so far; I credit it to her drive and enthusiasm, and I think that the organization itself, the reputation is so strong, and that's thanks to her leadership."

Matheny said Palmer steered the executive board toward its vision -- to be a leader in education policy, using research to back up recommendations for policy.

"I could go on and on," Matheny said. "She's going to be so missed."

But Palmer said she simply thought it was the proper time for a transition.

"I think when an organization is doing very well and the staff is strong and the finances are solid and it's in very good shape, that's the best time to transition to new leadership," she said. "So I felt organizationally, it was a good time, and, personally, it was a good time. The Education Alliance has done really remarkable things, given the size of it."

Palmer said her father turns 90 in November, and one of her sons is getting married in October, so she looks forward to spending longer visits with family and reading.

"I hope that I can be helpful to the next leader, and it would be my pleasure to work on special projects," she said. "We're rooted in West Virginia. We're chauvinistic about West Virginia, and we expect to stay here.

"I will definitely stay engaged in the things that are important."