Palmer graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Chemistry and Physics, and co-founded Windward Mark Interactive, a video game and simulation startup based in the Boston area specializing in real-time graphics simulation. Windward Mark was acquired by Linden Research Inc., the makers of Second Life. Palmer has been the production manager for An Evening with Champions, a charity event that raises money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and worked with the VNA Care Hospice Network as a hospice volunteer for many years.