Vice President
Recognized in the field of Head Start and early childhood education as a strategic thinker, trainer, and advocate of strong communication channels among staff, parents, and boards of directors, Ms. Palacios leads Danya's Head Start Programs. Ms. Palacios provides strategic leadership and vision for the overall management of the Head Start Monitoring Support contract. Prior to joining Danya, Ms. Palacios gained extensive experience operating large- and small-scale nonprofit organizations that served children and families. She was the Executive Director of Orange County Head Start, Inc., which provides child development and family services to more than 4,000 children annually. She was the Director of the Starting Points Program of Los Angeles Universal Preschool, where she successfully created systems for managing new universal preschool providers. She also led the School for Early Childhood Education at the University of Southern California, where she reorganized and expanded services to children and families in south Los Angeles. For 4 years, she served as the President of the California Head Start Association.

Ms. Palacios holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Santa Barbara and an M.S.W. from San Diego State University. In 2004, she participated in a Head Start program/Johnson & Johnson Management Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles. In 1998, Palacios was one of 10 individuals selected from across the country to participate in a National Head Start Fellowship in Washington, DC, where she worked with senior-level officials to create national policies for the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.