Laura Palacios, Msol Email & Phone Number

Kansas City, Mo, Us

As a Senior Director of Indy Summer Learning Labs, I bring over five years of dedicated, customer-centric experience in education-related work, positioning me as a seasoned, dynamic leader ready to drive transformative change to benefit students. With a proven track record of 3+ years in strategic project management and leadership within the education, nonprofit, and social entrepreneur sectors, I am committed to The Mind Trust's mission of ensuring every student in Indianapolis has access to a high-quality education.This role involves vision-setting, strategic planning, and execution for the future of Indy Summer Learning Labs (2024 and beyond). My responsibilities include cultivating and managing relationships with diverse stakeholders, working collaboratively with out-of-school time providers, and reinforcing high-quality practices. Over 350 certified educators were hired for the initiative's launch and continued programming.Committed to continuous learning, flexibility, and open communication, I contribute to The Mind Trust's high-impact, results-oriented culture. I am honored to play a pragmatic and pivotal role in the next phase of the Indy Summer Learning Labs, ensuring that all children in Indianapolis, particularly those from marginalized communities, have access to academically rigorous out-of-school learning experiences that propel them toward their full potential.

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Kansas City, Mo

During my time as a content marketing specialist at the Foundation, I drove strategic growth and audience engagement across the Education, Evaluation, and Kansas City Civic areas. With a people-focused mindset and creative problem-solving skills, I contributed to managing our communications-related activities, including content production and coordination with outside vendors. Additionally, as a Marketing Cloud Email Specialist, I utilized Salesforce Marketing Cloud to develop and manage targeted marketing strategies that aligned with our mission and goals.By collaborating closely with internal teams and external partners, I played a key role in optimizing our marketing and communication strategies, resulting in significant audience engagement growth. As a dedicated and results-oriented professional, I was passionate about leveraging the latest tools and technologies to improve our content and achieve our business goals continuously.As a skilled project manager in marketing, I harnessed the power of Teamwork to oversee and streamline our project processes effectively. My role entailed ensuring that my assigned content creation projects were executed efficiently and effectively so that our team could meet our deadlines and deliverables on time. With my project management and collaboration expertise, I successfully led the team and consistently delivered high-quality content that met and exceeded our program officers' expectations.

Kansas City, Missouri Area

As a marketing and project management professional, I am passionate about promoting education and supporting initiatives that positively impact communities. I had the privilege of working on projects that aimed to elevate the impact stories of grantees and engage the community through dynamic events like Amplify, Energize, and Rethink ED; all focused on education. Promoting the Foundation's mission and helping make a difference in the community was an exciting opportunity.As an education-focused marketing and project management professional, I worked on several notable projects while in this role, including the Skilled KC Technical Institute. While the program did not achieve the intended outcomes, I played a vital role in promoting the initiative and creating awareness around its mission.In addition, I provided critical communication support for the Real World Learning initiative's beginning stages, which I supported and project-managed. This initiative aimed to equip students with real-world experience and prepare them for success beyond the classroom. It was a rewarding experience to contribute to this critical work and help positively impact education in the community.

Kansas City, Missouri Area

As a Program Manager in the Marketing organization, I focused on attracting new Hispanic consumers nationally. Through my work, I improved the marketing strategy and created cohesive alignment across marketing channels, including the island of Puerto Rico. I also developed a successful multi-lingual digital marketing strategy using social media platforms to increase revenue.With my experience working with diverse communities, I gained a deep understanding of the Hispanic consumer market, allowing me to make data-driven decisions that positively impact business growth and success.If you're looking for a results-driven Program Manager with expertise in reaching the Hispanic market, I can help. My skills in developing and executing successful marketing strategies can help your business attract new customers and drive revenue growth.

Kansas City, Missouri Area

As a leader in the Integration and Delivery organization, I prioritized the Hispanic consumer's voice and influenced strategies catering to the needs of corporate clients and franchisees. I increased profits and drove revenue growth through my initiatives, such as championing an $8,000 investment that generated $68,000 in earnings within two weeks.Moreover, I worked collaboratively with cross-functional teams in Client Insights, Call Center, Field Operations, and Marketing Product Channels to ensure that the needs of the Hispanic market were integrated into all aspects of the organization's operations. By influencing consideration of the Hispanic consumer's needs, I was able to achieve improvements that had a lasting positive impact.

Kansas City, Missouri Area

As the Program Director of Latino Operations in H&R Block's Latino Department, I successfully led a real estate pilot project involving 103 company offices and five franchise offices across ten states. Through my leadership, I reduced the pilot's cost by half a million dollars, resulting in a significant $250,000 savings.My accomplishments also included increased bilingual staffing, higher Net Promoter Scores, and positive focus group responses, reflecting my dedication to improving customer satisfaction and driving revenue growth.Additionally, I took the initiative to ensure that Hispanic consumer needs were integrated across functional teams, such as Client Insights, Call Centers, Field Operations, and Product Channel teams. By facilitating cross-functional collaboration, I was able to deliver positive results and achieve lasting improvements.With my expertise in program management and commitment to delivering results, I can contribute to any organization.

1015 Avenida Cesar E. Chavez Kansas City, Mo 64108

Guadalupe Centers, one of the fastest-growing nonprofits in Kansas City, hired me as the HR Director for a 100-year-old organization that included a charter school system. In this role, I built a new HR department for the nonprofit agency and spearheaded change management for the board, executive leaders, and educators.One of my significant achievements was developing a talent acquisition strategy that increased the pipeline of bilingual talent, resulting in the first interstate talent acquisition strategy for educators with expertise in English Language Learners. This strategy helped to enhance the organization's diversity and inclusivity, leading to improved outcomes for its students and communities.Additionally, I hired a Development Director, resulting in a $26,000 increase in the nonprofit's revenue within just six months. Through my efforts, I contributed to the organization's overall success and its mission to serve the community.

Kansas City, Missouri Area

As an HR Manager at Guadalupe Centers, I played a vital role in onboarding and creating a blueprint for a Human Resources department for a 100-year-old nonprofit organization that included a charter school and wrap-around services. The successful execution of the blueprint resulted in increased employee productivity and process improvements.One of my most significant achievements was improving the overall budget by addressing equitable benefits for nonprofit employees and educational staff. My efforts attracted and retained top talent, leading to increased employee satisfaction and a more productive workforce.I also implemented a system-based department, saving resources and increasing efficiency by introducing new technology and streamlining HR processes. This automation reduced the amount of time and resources needed for manual labor.

Kansas City, Mo

Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a union of 2 million members committed to improving the lives of workers and their families and creating a more just and humane society, hired me as a Community Organizer and Grievance Representative. As co-chair, I advanced contract negotiation campaigns for four agreements and minimized contract breaches, enhancing membership value by reducing the number of member grievances.To build leader-to-leader professional development experiences, I designed programming that resulted in people-power-led issue-driven campaigns, leading to a raise for members after an organized strike due to unfair labor practices. I also created a public relations and marketing strategy to celebrate victories.In politics, I led SEIU members in county, state, and school board campaigns to influence policy adjustments for service industry employees. I also helped increase participation in yearly lobbying days. My involvement in political races included working on campaigns for Jackson County legislator Theresa Garza Ruiz’s re-election, Robin Carnahan’s state senate race, and “We are Wisconsin” Senatorial District 22 for the recall elections.

Houston, Tx

As a Calendar Manager at a corporate law firm, my responsibilities included accurately calculating rule-based litigation deadlines and providing daily and weekly calendar reports. Additionally, I assisted with docket review and other pretrial preparations, as well as conducting research on procedural and administrative issues related to the docketing system.To improve the firm's efficiency, I implemented an organized filing system for off-site storage, ensuring prompt and easy access to essential documents.

Houston, Tx

As a service representative at a customer service branch office, I administered operations and researched to ensure adherence to Property Tax objectives. I initiated follow-up systems to enhance the customer service experience and retention. I created and led an effective messaging model that prevented a 15% customer loss and increased revenue by achieving target sales goals through new business, referrals, and maintaining account relationships. Daily, I handled all aspects of customer service, including origination, processing, and closing.

Houston, Texas Area

Filed pleadings, motions, etc in all courts in the Houston area.

El Paso, Texas Area

Assisted the associate superintendents in gathering facts to aid in the settlement of disputes.

Msol

Very Partial Law Degree

B.A.