Paloma was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico until the age of eight after which she moved to Silver Spring, Maryland with her mother. She attended The Catholic University of America where she pursued her Bachelor’s in Social Work. She remained in DC where she worked as a case manager for a local nonprofit aimed at housing local residents who experienced homelessness. Thereafter, she found her passion for policy after working for the U.S. Senator to her home state of New Mexico. She decided to pursue her Master’s in Social Work with a focus on policy administration and macro social work at the University of Texas at Austin.