MÓNICA PALACIO (SHE/HER/ELLA)

CO-LEGAL DIRECTOR

Mónica Palacio joined DCALF in April of 2026. Mónica co-leads DCALF’s Legal team, providing oversight, strategy and guidance across all areas of practice.

Mónica is a civil rights lawyer who has worked both in the public and non-profit sectors for almost three decades on access to justice for all communities. She began her career at Georgetown Law School, teaching Street Law and defending young people through the Juvenile Justice Clinic. This work inspired Mónica to design and lead youth violence prevention programs with several local and national non-profit organizations such as Public Allies and the National Crime Prevention Council. More recently, Mónica served as Director of the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights (OHR), the agency charged with enforcement of numerous local and federal anti-discrimination statutes. During her tenure, agency staff and funding more than doubled to ensure more effective case resolution in the areas of employment, housing and access to public accommodations.

Mónica has extensive experience in organizational strategy, change management and executive coaching.

Mónica has been a proud resident of the District of Columbia for over thirty years and is a graduate of Fordham University and the Georgetown Law Center.