Dakota Palacio is the Founder of Beholdance, a youth driven conservation and community service organization designed to engage youth to volunteer and help the environment, endangered species, conservation, and local humanitarian needs.

In 2006, she joined the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition (SBYC) as an educational member, because of her concern about the Spirit Bear and she was deeply inspired by Simon Jackson’s efforts to make a difference for the bears.  These bears reside on Princess Royal Island in Canada.  The Spirit Bear has a special gene that causes 1 out of 10 to turn white instead of black, making it genetically unique, not albino.  Deforestation from the logging companies was a threat to this rare animal and it truly bothered her so much that she started a petition at her school.  Nicknames stick in middle school and this earned her the name, ‘Koda Bear’. “This was my induction into active conservation and led to the start of my own organization, Beholdance,” Dakota stated.  She realized far too many tweens/teens get introduced to volunteering too late and decided to inspire others to get involved and to prove youth can make a positive impact on the lives of others.

Dakota networks with local charities, organizes youth participation at community events and has created numerous outreach programs for youth, including, Gone Nuts, Berry Blast, K9 Krunchies - Feline Munchies, and Ramona's Closet.  Dakota has hosted Bite Prevention booths to teach kids how to approach pets safely as well as Earth / Environmental education.  She heads the Beholdance Junior Board and works to empower leadership in others.  She leads by example as she organizes every event and works beside other youth volunteers to engender the spirit of volunteerism and educate others on conservation.  In 2009, Dakota was honored with Action for Nature International Young Eco-Hero and in 2011 was acknowledged with a Prudential Spirit of the Community Award.  Additionally, she has led the Beholdance team to numerous Presidential Volunteer Service Awards across multiple chapters as well as encouraged individual team members to achieve Presidential and Outreach Service Awards.

To date, Dakota has led her Beholdance team on 100+ volunteer service projects and she has logged well over 1,000 volunteer service hours through Beholdance and other community organizations.  Beholdance has logged over 5,500 service hours to-date.  Beholdance has over 165 members and three chapter groups in North Carolina.  Over the past several years, their accomplishments include 16 surgeries paid for through recycling (12 funded personally by Dakota from collecting aluminum), cleaned miles of highway, marked hundreds of storm drains to protect their local watershed and launched Ramona's Closet, providing clothes for Mexico, South Africa and the US.  Additionally, they have packaged over 22,000 pet meals for K9 Krunchies and Feline Munchies.  She also hosts Earth and environmental education events at a variety of community functions.

Currently, Dakota and the Beholdance team are working diligently to bring awareness to the plight of endangered species including the Spirit Bear, Elephants, Whales as well as others.  With news from professional conservationists in a recent article in USA Today regarding “Extinction in 20 years” for our large cats, including, Tigers, Lions, Cheetas, and Leopards, Beholdance youth continue to speak up and educate others on what it would mean to lose these valuable members of our planet’s society.

If you would like to learn more or get involved in youth conservation, please e-mail Dakota or visit her website.