She turned hard lessons into second chances for all

A memory sprang to mind upon my learning that Patrice Palmer ’09, ’10 MSW, a member of the College of Social Work Alumni Hall of Fame, had died May 30 at age 64. It was a 2023 afternoon, minutes after Palmer finished teaching two classes for a city of Columbus program to help former prisoners reenter society. Her big voice and personality had commanded the room nonstop, connecting with 23 attendees as individuals. Now exhausted, she dabbed sweat from her brow with a handkerchief and told me: “You give all you have.”

The moment encapsulated how Palmer gave to others with relentless passion, foundational faith and the heart of a servant leader in her much-acclaimed career as a licensed social worker, prevention specialist and chemical dependency counselor, social justice advocate and educator.

To the incarcerated and newly released, she gave tools of knowledge about starting anew that were learned during her own painful experiences of cycling in and out of the criminal justice system. She gave hope by recounting her remarkable transformation with honesty and empathy. Gave seeds of self-empowerment by helping those in troubled shadows to tell their own story.

“Patrice didn’t just hear people; she listened to them,” says Nikki Palmer, her daughter-in-law and senior director of development for the College of Social Work. “She saw people and not just for them to be seen. She recognized in them the ways she could be of help and support. She’d always figure out a way to meet them in their moment and make them feel like they had someone.”

In Palmer, they had a relatable ally who emphasized that enhancing the value, dignity and worth of a person can lead to better citizens, stronger families and more productive communities. “Peaches” or “Dr. P,” as she was affectionately known, pursued that goal by working on initiatives with such fervor that the world’s largest membership organization for professional social workers named her National Social Worker of the Year in 2022. That award sat atop a hill of honors, all rooted in the resolve and redemption of her life’s arc.

Palmer went from experiencing four stints in jail and prison, while dogged by addiction, during a 20-year period that ended in 2003, to becoming an ordained minister and attending the 2020 State of the Union address as guest of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman ’22 HON. Her remarkable reboot began with a spiritual awakening and sobriety, then took flight when she earned two Ohio State degrees. “She was so proud of what she accomplished at Ohio State because it represented a pivotal point in her journey,” Nikki says.

Without fear of sharing her story, Palmer advocated for anyone behind bars or mired in recidivism through a variety of outlets as a reentry support specialist with Franklin County, and later through Chosen4Change, a nonprofit she co-founded in 2010 and operated until her death. She partnered with local, state and national coalitions and programs, including the Ohio Governor’s Expedited Pardon Project. She served on the Ohio Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition, testified for legislation before the full Ohio Senate, and briefed congressional staff in Washington, D.C., on the need for justice reform. Palmer took calls, said yes.

“Patrice was larger than a superhero,” says Jeff Sparr ’85, co-founder of PeaceLove, a nonprofit that uses expressive art to improve mental health. Palmer contributed as a longtime trainer and facilitator. “She was a champion for those searching for a second chance in life. She was living proof that our past does not have to determine our future,” he says. “She was a symbol of what’s possible when resilience triumphs over adversity, when compassion overcomes judgment, and when one person dedicates their life to others. She changed lives.”

The Palmer family plans to honor their beloved matriarch’s legacy by continuing the work of Chosen4Change and hopes to establish an Ohio State scholarship in her name. “We want to ensure,” Nikki says, “that her passion for education and advocacy lives on in the next generation of change-makers.”