Alison Palmer

Alison Palmer was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1931. She attended Pembroke College, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1953 with a degree in English literature and a minor in political science. She worked on the Christian Science Monitor and the New York Times before joining the Foreign Service in 1955. Palmer was assigned to the former Belgian Congo as vice consul. There, she rescued an American army officer from a mob and saved three journalists from the firing squad. She also...See more

Alison Palmer was born in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1931. She attended Pembroke College, graduating cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1953 with a degree in English literature and a minor in political science. She worked on the Christian Science Monitor and the New York Times before joining the Foreign Service in 1955. Palmer was assigned to the former Belgian Congo as vice consul. There, she rescued an American army officer from a mob and saved three journalists from the firing squad. She also served in British Guiana, in Ethiopia, and Vietnam. During her career, Palmer encountered severe discrimination because of her sex. In 1968, she filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against the State Department that led to the first investigation and hearing on this issue. While in the Foreign Service, Palmer experienced a spiritual journey culminating in her 1975 ordination as a priest in the Episcopal Church. See less