Bio |
Gamal J. Palmer grew up in West Mt. Airy, Philadelphia, a neighborhood characterized by a degree of racial and religious diversity that was uncommon in the 1990’s. Palmer’s parents were advocates for social change: his mother was part of starting one of the first needle exchanges in the country and his father was a civil rights activist. Early on Gamal became enthralled by theater and the power of storytelling, particularly within the context of exploring identity. His advocacy started early: he had his first paying theater job in 8th grade, working in prisons, and in high school he created a theater workshop at a mental health facility for his senior project.
As a graduate student at the Yale School of Drama, Gamal continued to explore his passion for advocacy and community engagement. During this time, he developed graduate level programs, such as “Arts in Action: Theater and Public Health in Swaziland and South Africa” (in partnership with the School of Public Health) and “The Quest for Social Justice through Music, Theater, and Religion in Tanzania” (a joint program between the Yale Schools of Drama and Divinity). As part of these courses students traveled to both urban and rural African communities to initiate, facilitate, and encourage dialogue around socio-political challenges (such as unsupervised children, Christian/Muslim conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS devastation, abuse in the education system etc.). These ventures led to the Dean of the School of Drama recognizing Gamal for his leadership abilities by offering him a Post-Graduate Associate Position, through which he took MBA courses at the Yale School of Management.
Gamal’s experiences at Yale, while abroad, and throughout his lifetime combined with his passion for theater led him to start Global Eye Entrepreneurs: A non-profit creating pipelines to power for male innovators and business men of color (founded in 2016). His passion for social entrepreneurship, along with his perspectives informed by his international experiences has contributed to the formation of Global Eye’s authenticity and relevance.
In addition, Gamal is the Senior Vice President of Leadership Development at the Jewish Federation where he is responsible for several leadership programs including the Community Leadership Institute (CLI) which trains young adults ages 20-40 to be effective board and committee members of Jewish non-profits and initiatives throughout Los Angeles.
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