Mandy Palmer

Co-Founder and Co-Director

Mandy Palmer has been working in the field of early childhood education for over 25 years. After receiving a degree in Family and Child Development from Auburn University, she moved to Atlanta in 1996 in hopes of finding better schools in the “big city”. Before starting The Nest, she worked at Clifton Child Care, (now known as The Clifton School) Georgia Pacific Bright Horizons, and Grant Park Cooperative Preschool. Mandy is not only passionate about working with children but also their families. She enjoys being a community builder!

Mandy’s passion comes from a strong belief that children come into this world yearning for connection and knowledge, that the first five years of a child’s life are the most important and impactful years in human development, and that families of young children deserve support from their school community. It takes a village! 

Mandy lives in Boulevard Heights with her husband James (a life-long artist) and her  15-year-old son Leo who attends Maynard Jackson High School. Mandy & James have had the great fortune of living in the neighborhood for 20 years, enjoying what she never had as a child—a loving community of people that work together to make the world a better place for our children. 

In recent years Mandy has been interested in and researching how childhood trauma affects the brain, racial & social justice issues, neoliberalism, and how empathy can be the path to inner and world peace. She has come to realize that for any change to happen, you must work hard and resist the status quo. She is excited to work with The Nest community to begin changing the way we see schools for young children to ensure that every child regardless of their economic status have the opportunity to attend quality schools.