Orlando Watkins

Orlando Watkins is Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Boston Foundation, where he oversees the Foundation community investments and leads a Program Department staff of experts across four interconnected areas – Child Well-Being, Economic Opportunity, Community Wealth, and Community Leadership. During his time at the Boston Foundation, Orlando has worked with the Foundation’s Board, community partners and team to invest over $150m in to high-impactorganizations and leaders in the GreaterBoston community. His leadership at the Boston Foundation has included the development and oversight of several innovative and impactful projects like the COVID-19 Fund, Business Equity Fund, Success Boston, Live Arts Boston, Safety Net Grants, Skillworks and others. Orlando has also co-developed and led the Foundation's Impact Investing work, deploying creative capital for affordable housing and small business development.

Formerly Executive Vice President at Match Education, Orlando has over 30 years of experience developing and strengthening educational and community-based organizations. Orlando’s career has also included significant leadership roles in government and in higher education, including a Governor Appointment as Executive Director of the Louisiana Serve Commission. He also served several years as Vice President of Programs for the Greater New Orleans Foundation, including the years immediately following Hurricane Katrina. Orlando has received numerous awards and recognition for his leadership and has been a contributor to publications including Inside Philanthropy, Cognoscenti and the Boston Globe.

Orlando started his career as a social entrepreneur in Atlanta, where he co-founded FreeForm Academy, a private school for young children and served as founding Director of the NASA-funded Inspiring Careers in Engineering Mathematics and Science at Morehouse College. Orlando currently serves on several boards, including Camp Harborview, The Deshpande Foundation and Nectar Capital. He also advises companies with double-impact missions. Orlando serves as an Advisor to Greensight Robotics and is a founding Board member for QMB Quailverse, the first AI-native Regulatory Intelligence Engine built for FDA success. He has served on several other boards and committees including the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, New Schools for New Orleans, City Year Louisiana, the Institute for the Study of Race and Poverty at Tulane University, Harvard iLab’s President Innovation Challenge, the International Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the University of New Orleans and Associated Grant Makers. Orlando is a graduate of Morehouse College and a recipient of the prestigious Echoing Green fellowship.