Tuleah Palmer is the President and CEO of the Blandin Foundation, where she oversees grantmaking, advocacy initiatives, and stewardship of foundation resources. With more than 20 years of nonprofit executive leadership in rural and Tribal communities, serving organizations through strategic planning, program redesign, and complex governance challenges. She has secured and managed over $100 million in grants and successfully acquired funding more than a dozen times at the state capitol.

Her work has been widely recognized for poly-government partnerships, advancing racial equity, community development, and systems change, including the 2019 St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation's Facing Race Statewide Award. She has also served in many advisory roles including the Governor’s Councils on Workforce Development and Economic Expansion and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Advisory Board. 

Born in Deer River, Minnesota, and raised in many small 218 towns, Tuleah brings a lived understanding of rural realities into boardroom discussions—translating kitchen table wisdom into board table responsibility. She draws on deep experience in community and economic development, workforce strategies, and governance practices tailored to rural contexts, ensuring that rural voices and perspectives are represented in decision-making spaces often dominated by urban viewpoints. 

Tuleah lives in Cass Lake, Minnesota, where she is both a parent of school-aged children and a grandparent. Rooted in a diverse family of laborers, educators, artists, and entrepreneurs, she continues to find her best ideas while gardening and reflecting on the strength and power of community.