Elizabeth Palmer

Elizabeth Palmer (April 17, 1913 - October 4, 2014) was an American activist who worked for the World YWCA. A native New Yorker, she started working for the US YWCA in New York City in 1935 and later became the General Secretary of the YWCA in Manchester before moving to the World YWCA in 1945. She became General Secretary of the World YWCA in 1955 and retired in 1978. Palmer worked to help women and girls around the globe and guided the World YWCA to take leadership and create international discussions on the status of women. In 1980 Palmer chaired the NGO Forum at the Second UN World Conference on Women in Copenhagen, Denmark and attempted to expand the diversity of voices heard at the conference.

Early life and education Elizabeth Palmer was born in New York City to Elizabeth and Embury Palmer. Palmer attended the Masters School at Dobbs Ferry and later earned a degree in religious education from Columbia University in New York. In 1942 she became General Secretary of the YWCA of Manchester, Great Britain. she was World YWCA Secretary for South and East Asia from 1948 to 1951. and in 1955 Palmer was appointed General Secretary of the World YWCA, where she worked with the board to set global policy for the organization. She also oversaw the staff in Geneva, traveled to many international conferences and meetings, and served on CONGO committees (Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations) and on other NGOs based in Geneva.

Palmer retired from the role of General Secretary in 1978. Planning meetings were open to all NGO participating in the conference, and 34 participated. Over 8,000 people participated in the forum, representing 128 countries, and 150-175 workshops, panels, and meetings were held each day, Palmer and her committee provided funding and minimal structure so the participants could take the lead. Palmer moved to Pilgrim Place, a senior community in Claremont, California, in 1988, where she died in 2014.