(he/him)

Scott Palider joined the Ohio Citizen Action team in June of 2024. A native of Northeast Ohio, Scott's career and education has taken him across the nation. His political journey started in 2012 as a political organizing intern for the Obama for America campaign. Pursuing his passion for government and politics, he pursued a degree in political science at the University of Kentucky before furthering his education at the University of San Francisco, where he earned his M.A. in international studies in the Fall of 2018. During his time in San Francisco, Scott was involved in local mayoral races and served as a community organizer and national security policy researcher for the non-profit organization Global Exchange.

After returning to Ohio, Scott worked as a paralegal focused on preventing nursing home abuse before moving to Pennsylvania to work as a political field coordinator for the Progressive Turnout Project during the 2020 election cycle. In 2021, Scott returned to Ohio to serve as the Chief Lobbyist, Legislative, and National Security Coordinator at The American Legion Department of Ohio, leading advocacy efforts for Ohio's largest veterans non-profit. Some of his victories include successfully fighting the closure of the Chillicothe VA and successfully advocating for the passage of the 2022 Honoring Our PACT Act.

Before joining Ohio Citizen Action, Scott was a lobbyist at the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), helping secure public school funding through the continuation of Ohio's Fair School Funding plan.

In his free time, Scott is an avid Cleveland sports fan and is active in baseball coaching and instruction following the conclusion of his collegiate career. He also enjoys being a foodie, a movie buff, and a board and video gamer. Scott advocates for suicide prevention, environmental sustainability, and adopt-do-not-shop animal rescues in Ohio.