Parker J. Palmer

writer, teacher, activist

Palmer is a writer, teacher, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality, and social change. His work spans a wide range of institutions, colleges and universities, public schools, community organizations, religious institutions, corporations, and foundations. He serves as senior associate of the American Association of Higher Education, as senior advisor to the Fetzer Institute, and is the founder and senior advisor for the Center for Courage & Renewal. Palmer has published a dozen poems, more than 100 essays and numerous books, including several best-selling and award-winning titles. His work includes: *The Company of Strangers: Christians and the Renewal of American Public Life* (1983), *To Know as We are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey* (1983), *The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teachers Life* (1998) and *A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life *(2004). Palmer has been awarded eight honorary doctorates and several national awards, including two Distinguished Achievement Awards from the National Educational Press Association, an Award of Excellence from the Associated Church Press, and major grants from the Danforth Foundation, the Lilly Endowment and the Fetzer Institute. The Leadership Project, a 1998 U.S. survey of 10,000 administrators and faculty named Palmer one of the 30 most influential senior leaders in higher education and one of 10 key agenda-setters of the past decade.