Pamela Gray Payton

Pamela Gray Payton has spent nearly three decades in service of communities deserving equitable opportunities — first as an administrator at the University of San Diego (USD), and for the past six years as Vice President and Chief Impact and Partnerships Officer at San Diego Foundation (SDF).

At SDF, Pamela leads the Community Impact Division, where she and her team have driven consecutive years of record-breaking grantmaking while reimagining what philanthropy can accomplish. Under her leadership, SDF has moved beyond traditional grantmaking into direct, systemic interventions — most notably the Access Granted Homebuyers Program, the first of its kind in California, which has helped 120 families build generational wealth through homeownership, representing more than $58 million in real estate assets. Her work reflects a consistent conviction: that lasting change requires not just funding good ideas, but building the cross-sector partnerships and structural shifts that let communities thrive on their own terms.

That same conviction shaped her 24 years at USD, where she rose through leadership roles in public relations, communications, and community and government affairs — work she anchored by co-founding USD's Black Student Resource Center, ensuring Black students had a dedicated space of belonging and support on campus.

A USD alumna, Pamela holds a master's degree from the Knauss School of Business and a bachelor's degree from UC San Diego. She chairs the board of the Monarch School Project, leads the national Community Foundation Opportunity Network, and serves on several local advisory councils, including the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Community Advisory Council and the Lifeline Community Services CEO Advisory Council.

Her contributions have been recognized nationally and locally: she is an Honorary Member of Beta Gamma Sigma through the USD Knauss School of Business, a four-time San Diego Business Journal Black Leaders of Influence honoree, a 2024 Girl Scouts San Diego Cool Woman Honoree, and the 2022 California Woman of the Year for the 79th Assembly District.

The proud daughter of a retired higher education administrator, wife, and mother of three adult children, Pamela is an active member of the Epsilon Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated — carrying forward a lifelong commitment to community, mentorship, and service.