Katoya Raquell Palmer
Nominated · Best Community Leader '26
About Katoya

I've lived both sides of the systems I now build.

I'm Katoya Raquell Palmer — founder and principal of ToyBox Consulting & Management. A systems strategist and operations executive with 20+ years of cross-sector leadership, I build the finance, governance, and accountability infrastructure that lets mission-driven organizations keep their promises.

From Section 8 to the C-suite — that range is the whole point.
The throughline

I've held a Section 8 voucher and I've sat in the COO's chair of a $12M organization. That range isn't a line on a résumé — it's the reason I can see where an organization is fragile before it breaks.

I founded ToyBox in 2008 and have led operations across budgets from $300K to $24M. Most recently, as COO of a $12M social-justice nonprofit with 80+ staff, I rebuilt all five core systems — finance, HR, IT, grants, and communications — during organizational crisis, and stabilized a team on the edge of collapse.

I work at the intersection of structure and soul: systems that don't just satisfy a funder's checklist, but actually make the work stronger and the people steadier.

“Inclusion is not charity. It is infrastructure.”
The path here

Two decades of building.

2008

Founded ToyBox Consulting

Began advising minority-led nonprofits and small businesses on operations, systems, and strategy.

2010s

Senior Aquatics Program Director · YMCA of Greater Seattle

Led programs and became a subject-matter expert in drowning prevention — featured in the award-winning documentary Drowning.

2022

COO of a $12M nonprofit · co-founded Together We End Gun Violence

Rebuilt five organizational systems in crisis; convened Governor Inslee, Mayor Harrell, and County Executive Constantine at Seattle University.

2024

Peer-reviewed researcher

Published in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

2025

“Five Windows into a Fragile Economy”

Launched an essay series on the structural fault lines beneath everyday life — from housing to nonprofit fragility.

2026

Three WA Commerce appointments · WSNC presenter · Best Community Leader nominee

Appointed to advise $7M in community reinvestment; peer-selected to present “Beyond Compliance Theater”; nominated by the Seattle Medium.

Credentials & appointments

The receipts.

3 WA Commerce appointments

Seattle-King Local Advisory Team ($7M reinvestment), CFVIP & Reentry grant evaluator — all active 2026.

Published researcher

Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (2024); author of the Five Windows essay series.

WSNC 2026 presenter

Peer-selected for “Beyond Compliance Theater” — a highly-attended session.

CompTIA Project+

Certified in IT project management; B.S. Business–Marketing, Western Governors University.

Proprietary frameworks

Developer of named diagnostic and governance frameworks used across engagements.

$300K–$24M

Budget range managed across two decades of cross-sector operations leadership.

Service & civic leadership

Currently serving on four boards.

Where I put the same systems thinking to work for the community.

Bellevue Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors
SplashForward
Aquatics access & community health
The Sophia Way
Board member
KEEP
Founding board member
Together We End Gun Violence

In 2022, I co-founded this convening as a public-health response to gun violence — bringing Governor Inslee, Mayor Harrell, and King County Executive Constantine to one table at Seattle University, and moderating the “Funding the Work” panel.

Let's figure out what your organization needs next.

What's next out the box?

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

Schedule a Discovery Call