Orlando C. Watkins

Orlando C. Watkins is Vice President for the Program at the Boston Foundation, where he oversees a discretionary grants fund of roughly $16 million and leads a Program Department staff of two dozen people who work across five core grant-making impact areas – Education, Health, and Wellness, Jobs and Economic Development, Neighborhoods and Housing, and Arts and Culture – and two cross-cutting strategy areas, Nonprofit Effectiveness and Grassroots.

Orlando started his career as a social entrepreneur in Atlanta, Georgia 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 has served on numerous boards 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, the International Center for Nonprofit Leadership at the University of New Orleans, Associated Grant Makers and MATCH Education/Charter Schools. Orlando is a graduate of Morehouse College and a recipient of the prestigious Echoing Green fellowship.