Strategic Advisory Board

Pamela Gray Payton

Vice President, Chief Impact and Partnerships Officer, San Diego Foundation

Expertise provided to HMI: Community and Equity

Pamela Gray Payton is vice president, Chief Impact and Partnerships Officer at San Diego Foundation (SDF). Since joining SDF in 2020, Pamela has leaned on her experience as a compassionate leader to guide SDF’s Community Impact team through two consecutive years of record-breaking grantmaking and the innovative implementation of three pillars of the SDF Strategic Plan to advance racial and social justice, foster equity of opportunity and build resilient communities. She plays a critical role as an agent of change in developing cross-sector partnerships and implementing future strategic plans for SDF.

Since joining SDF, Pamela and her team have launched several programs, including the Black Community Investment Fund, the Binational Resilience Initiative, the Healthy Children & Families Initiative, Level Up SD and the San Diego Black Homebuyers Program, which is the first program of its kind in California and has helped 35-plus families to date.

Prior to joining SDF, Pamela served as assistant vice president of Community and Government Affairs at the University of San Diego. During her 20-plus years at USD, she also served as AVP of Public Relations and Communications. She is the co-founder of USD’s Black Student Resource Center and the recipient of several on- and off-campus awards and recognition.

Pamela received her master’s degree from the University of San Diego Knauss School of Business, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego.

Lauren Klein

Regional Asset Manager, Klein Financial Corporation

Expertise provided to HMI: Policy and Systems Change

more information coming shortly

Hannah Kohlberg Johnson

Health Equity Focused Philanthropist
Chief Persistence Officer, Human Milk Institute

Expertise provided to HMI: Education and Equitable Access

Hannah Kohlberg Johnson is a leading advocate for equitable access to vital resources in infant and maternal health. As a co-founder of the UC Health Milk Bank, she has committed her career to ensuring that every baby, regardless of background, has the opportunity to receive life-sustaining nutrition through human milk.

Beyond her work with the milk bank, Hannah’s commitment to driving transformative change in infant care has dubbed her the title of “Chief Persistence Officer” at the Human Milk Institute. Through this initiative, she is driving transformative change in infant care, highlighting the power of human milk and the necessity of ensuring access for all. Her leadership at the institute is a testament to her commitment to health equity and her ability to inspire a collective effort toward improved health standards.

Hannah’s vision is a world where every child has the chance to thrive, and human milk is accessible to all families, not just those with privilege. Known for her strategic and collaborative approach, she empowers organizations to close gaps in health and education, helping bring complex and innovative projects from concept to reality.

Christopher Longhurst

Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer, UC San Diego

Expertise provided to HMI: Research, Clinical Care, and AI

Christopher Longhurst, MD, MS, is the Chief Clinical and Innovation Officer (CCIO) at UC San Diego Health, where he leads the integration of cutting-edge technology with patient care. He oversees several key areas, including Quality and Patient Safety, Information Services, and the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. His focus is on optimizing quality, patient safety, and clinician experience through process improvement and advanced technologies, such as telemedicine, AI, and remote monitoring.

Chris also serves as the Executive Director of the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, where he drives initiatives to integrate diverse data streams—such as wearables and electronic health records—to monitor patient health and develop AI-driven personalized care. He collaborates with industry leaders to co-design solutions that improve health equity, access, and patient experience.

As a professor and associate dean, Chris oversees education and clinical research in the health system and continues to practice as a newborn hospitalist. He earned his medical degree and Master of Science in Medical Informatics from UC Davis, completed his residency at Stanford University, and holds a Bachelor of Science from UC San Diego.

Sam Ramji

Cofounder and CEO, Sailplane
Trustee, UC San Diego Foundation

Expertise provided to HMI: AI and Data Platforms

A 30-year veteran of Silicon Valley and Seattle, Sam is the cofounder and CEO of Sailplane, a hierarchical planning AI research company. Previously, Sam led Kubernetes and DevOps product management for Google Cloud, founded the Cloud Foundry foundation, has helped build two multi-billion dollar markets (API Management at Apigee and Enterprise Service Bus at BEA Systems) and redefined Microsoft’s open source and Linux strategy from “extinguish” to “embrace”.

Sam is nerdy about open source, platform economics, middleware, and cloud computing with emphasis on developer experience and enterprise software. Sam is a member of the Board of Trustees for UC San Diego. He is an advisor to multiple companies including Dell Technologies, Fletch, Featureform, and the Linux Foundation.

Sam received his B.S. in Cognitive Science from UC San Diego, the home of transdisciplinary innovation, in 1994 and is still excited about artificial intelligence, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology.

Pelin Thorogood

Cofounder & Executive Chairwoman, Radicle Science
Trustee & Vice Chair, UC San Diego Foundation

Expertise provided to HMI: AI, Biosolutions, and Women’s Health

Pelin Thorogood is the Cofounder and Executive Chairwoman of Radicle Science, an AI-driven HealthTech pioneer recognized as a “World Changing Idea” by Fast Company for powering Personalized Wellness with clinical proof. Her category-defining efforts earned her the INC 200 Female Founder award in 2023.

Previously, Pelin was a leader in defining the digital marketing industry as CMO of WebSideStory (IPO in 2004, acquired by Adobe/ Omniture in 2008), the pioneer in web analytics, as well as CEO of Anametrix (acquired by Ensighten in 2015), an award-winning predictive analytics company. A prolific speaker and writer on AI, analytics, and entrepreneurship, she’s been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, SXSW, TED, Montgomery Summit and Cornell Enterprise.

Deeply committed to impact, education, and community, Pelin serves as Trustee and Vice Chair of the UC San Diego Foundation and chairs the UC San Diego Chancellor’s Council for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Pelin holds a B.S., M.Eng and MBA, all from Cornell.