Tom Layton has been a dedicated philanthropic leader in Northern California, seeding and supporting positive social change for almost four decades. As the president of The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation from 1975 to 2013, Layton built a track record of innovative and risk-taking grant-making that has served some of the Bay Area’s most esteemed leaders, movements and institutions in their nascent stages. His leadership in the philanthropic community, encouraging foundations to courageously support the policy and advocacy work of their grantees, has made him one of the most respected leaders in the field. Prior to joining to the foundation, he was a business executive and, later, the vice president and national director of the Coro Foundation. His awards are too numerous to list, but most recently he was the recipient of the 2013 Silver Spur Award and the 2013 Banyan Tree Award.