Ryan Palmer was Director of DC Community Initiatives at the Clark Foundation from 2018 until 2022. While at the Foundation, she led the design, development, execution, and management of the Parent-Child Health Initiative, which coupled over $100 million in funding with intentional coalition-building to improve outcomes for pregnant and birthing people, their children, and their families in DC. She also developed a portfolio focused on nonprofit capacity building, providing thought partnership and over $50 million in multi-year funding to support strengthened infrastructure and sustainability for community-based organizations in DC.  

A recovering attorney and former nonprofit fundraiser, Ryan held roles across the nonprofit, business, and government sectors prior to joining Clark. Since leaving the Foundation, Ryan served as executive director at a DC-based family foundation. She now runs a consulting practice, RavensLight Pathways, where she supports philanthropic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and their leaders seeking to overcome strategic inertia, deploy capital, and deepen their impact. 

Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. She is a member of the 11th Street Bridge Park Advisory Board and Leadership Greater Washington’s Class of 2022. A Washington, DC, native and proud graduate of DC Public Schools, Ryan currently lives in North Bethesda, Maryland, with her cat and her Doberman.