Shantel Palacio

Shantel Palacio is an education policy analyst and consultant with nearly 10 years of experience executing both mayoral and chancellor’s initiatives in New York City’s Department of Education. She served as chief of staff and as a strategic advisor to senior management teams on projects that have impacted all of NYC’s public schools, including the process for issuing nearly $40 million dollars in charter school funds. In 2018, she was featured on National Public Radio in an article that referenced Brownsvillain LLC, a website that uses storytelling to highlight the residents of her community in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Palacio is co-producing Million Dollar Block, which was awarded the Independent Film Project’s prestigious 2019 Documentary Fellowship.

After obtaining her master’s degree in public policy and administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2012, she co-authored research examining the economic impacts of funding public higher education. This research, presented to media outlets and policymakers at the statehouse in Boston, Massachusetts in 2012, is also referenced in university publications, including a Policy Brief by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. Palacio also holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Bryant University and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Leadership and Policy Studies, where she will continue research ways of improving educational outcomes.