The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation is pleased to announce that on January 6 Diamond Walton began work as our new Programs Manager. Reporting to Eboni Bugg, the Director of Programs, she will administer the Foundation’s Enriching Communities grant program and serve as the primary point of contact for grant-seeking community partners, including nonprofits, government organizations, and individuals who are working to improve the quality of life in the Charlottesville area.
“We are extremely fortunate that Diamond will be joining the Foundation as a Programs Manager,” Bugg said. “She brings a fresh perspective on our work and her interests and skills align with our values, priorities, and strategies. With experience studying social correlates of health and supporting our rural communities with MAPP2Health Implementation Grants, Diamond understands the way critical issues intersect and how philanthropy can be a driving force for change.”
Walton has spent her career pursuing community-led solutions to public health issues. Her work has involved coalition building, strategic planning, program development and evaluation, and grant writing. She has worked alongside community members to mobilize financial, social, and human capital to address social determinants of health, such as transportation, the built environment, access to health care, and socioeconomic status.
“I look forward to continuing my service to our community as a Programs Manager,” Walton said. “I am excited to hear from community members and support them as they work toward their visions for the future. It’s an honor to join such an accomplished and innovative team and organization.”
Walton holds a BA from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in public health from Emory University. She has worked internationally as a Peace Corps volunteer, nationally as a government contractor promoting the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services to improve health care quality, and locally in the health system and academia to improve population health outcomes.
Most recently she provided technical assistance to organizations that apply for and receive MAPP2Health Core Group Implementation grants and the University of Virginia Community Health Grant. Walton has been a Charlottesville resident for nine years and in her free time can be found on the playground with her husband Nathan and their two daughters, Esperanza and Vera.