Operations Consultant · Fractional COO · Public-Sector Consultant

I build the infrastructure that lets the mission keep its promises.

Finance, governance, HR, accountability — the operating systems that turn vision into delivery. Twenty years of cross-sector leadership, now yours on the terms your organization needs.

20+
Years cross-sector
10
City of Seattle rosters
$12M
Nonprofit led as COO
3
WA Commerce appointments
Katoya Palmer speaking
“Inclusion is not charity. It is infrastructure.”
Katoya Raquell Palmer · Founder, ToyBox
FREE PLAYBOOK
How I Built My Site With Claude
KATOYA PALMER
New · Free Playbook

How I built three live brand sites with Claude — and got hosting down to $0.

15 pages. 11 phases. The exact path from a paid Wix subscription to a GitHub-hosted, fully analytics-instrumented, search-indexed, mobile-polished stack. Free PDF.

Get the playbook ~25 min read
The Seattle Medium · Best of the Best Northwest
1st Runner-Up · Best Community Leader · 2026

The Seattle Medium · Best of the Best Northwest

Top two in the Pacific Northwest for Best Community Leader — an honor built by every hand that voted, every organization we've served, and every reader who's kept up with the work. Thank you.

The Seattle Medium Announced 2026
One practice, many rooms

The same rigor — in every room I'm called into.

Boardrooms and community centers. Most consultants pick a lane. I don't.

The approach

Clarity, culture, and credibility — built together.

Every engagement moves through the same three commitments. They map to exactly what an organization in motion needs — and to the tagline I close on.

Clarity
Systems that make sense of complexity.
Culture
The identity worth protecting.
Credibility
The trust that earns the next yes.
How I can help

Senior operating capacity, structured to your stage.

See all services & rates →

Flagship
01

Fractional Executive Leadership

Interim COO/CEO — senior leadership without the full-time overhead.

$150–200/hr · retainer
02

Nonprofit Development & Compliance

Governance design, fundraising systems, and compliance that holds.

$100–150/hr · scope
Phase 1
03

Workshops & Training

Evidence-based sessions on accountability and systems leadership.

$2,500–7,500 · live
04

Government Contracting & TA

Technical assistance, contracting readiness, public-funding guidance.

$150–175/hr · scope
05

Business Systems & Operations

HR, IT, finance, and SOP build for organizations ready to scale.

Custom scope
06

Creative & Brand Development

Creative production, event management, and brand strategy.

Custom scope
★ Highly-attended session · WSNC 2026

Beyond Compliance Theater.

Building accountability systems that strengthen — not just monitor — performance. Peer-selected for the 2026 Washington State Nonprofit Conference. Watch the full 45-minute session.

Format · 45 min, interactive
For · EDs, boards & senior leaders
Take-home · Fillable workbook + 90-day plan
Book Katoya for your team Discovery call first Workshops · keynotes · staff trainings
Katoya Palmer
About Katoya

Two decades building the systems that hold organizations together.

I founded ToyBox in 2008 and have led operations from $300K startups to $24M systems — most recently as COO of a $12M nonprofit with 80+ staff, rebuilt during crisis. I'm a published researcher, the author of the Five Windows essay series, and currently serve on four boards.

★ City of Seattle · 10 Consultant Rosters 3 WA Commerce appointments Peer-reviewed researcher WSNC 2026 presenter CompTIA Project+ QBO Certified User Bellevue Chamber Board The Sophia Way · Board SplashForward · Board KEEP · Founding Board
Read Katoya's full story
Writing & ideas

I write the way I work — in systems.

From Section 8 to the C-suite. One throughline runs through all of it: the things we treat as charity are actually infrastructure.

Read on Substack
katoyapalmer.substack.com · the founder blog
Essay series · 2025

Five Windows into a Fragile Economy

  1. 01 Housing
  2. 02 Community Safety
  3. 03 Nonprofit Fragility: Passion Isn't a System
  4. 04 Technology & Digital Literacy
  5. 05 The Final Window · forthcoming
Stay in the loop

Systems notes for mission-driven leaders.

Essays on accountability, leadership, and the systems that hold organizations together — including the “Five Windows” series. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Recognition & affiliations
Seattle MediumWA Nonprofit ConferenceBellevue ChamberSouth Seattle EmeraldSplashForward
Let's begin

Tell me what's next out the box.

A free, 20-minute clarity call — no pitch, just a clear read on where you are.

Schedule a Discovery Call