Kimberly Brandon

Why do you do what you do?

I do this work because service is my inheritance and my calling. My parents, steeped in civil rights activism and community leadership, brought the struggles and hopes of San Francisco into our home, teaching me that progress demands participation, but also prudence. As a native and a financial strategist who was educated in this city’s public schools, worked alongside its communities, and served under five mayors at the Port Commission, I’m committed to safeguarding trust and transforming resources into lasting change. I do this because San Francisco’s story is my story, and I’m committed to working towards a more equitable and inclusive Bay Area.

What drew you to the foundation?

My connection to the San Francisco Foundation runs deep, both personally and professionally. From childhood, I admired its role as a pillar of our community, supporting the nonprofits that shaped my upbringing, and the civil rights work my father championed alongside Dan Koshland. Later, as a financial advisor to clients, foundations and endowments, I gained deep respect for SFF’s ability to combine strategic investing with transformative grantmaking. For me, fiduciary oversight is as vital as passion. But what truly drew me is the foundation’s unparalleled legacy: its funding capacity, its bold vision for equity, its ability to unite leaders across sectors, and its unwavering belief that a better Bay Area is possible.

Biography

Kimberly K. Brandon has mapped a flourishing career in the field of financial services along with an extensive engagement in public service. She most recently served as Senior Vice President with The Brandon Group at Morgan Stanley where she oversaw a portfolio of assets of high net worth individuals, foundations, endowments and public entities. Ms. Brandon joined the firm in 2004 from the Private Bank at Bank of America in San Francisco as a Vice President, Private Client Manager. While at Bank of America, Ms. Brandon provided strategic investment management advice to ultra-high net-worth individuals, foundations and endowments.

Ms. Brandon is a native San Franciscan and a graduate of San Francisco State University. She is a Distinguished Alumni who serves on foundation’s Board of Trustees as past Chairwoman. She is also a member of the University’s Lam Family College of Business Development Council. She completed Cannon Financial Institute’s Certified Wealth Strategist Mastery Program and holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 7, 63 and 66 licenses.

She is very active in the San Francisco community, with involvement in civic and political causes. She is the first African American woman to have served on the San Francisco Port Commission. The Port Commission oversees 7.5 miles of the most expensive real estate in the world that includes maritime, commercial and retail developments. Amongst its tenants are Oracle Park, the Ferry Building, Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. Kimberly was appointed by Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., in August 1997, served seven successful terms on the Commission, ending April 2025.

Ms. Brandon also spends numerous hours serving the community on various boards and has chaired the Board of Trustees for the Museum of African Diaspora, Metta Fund, and San Francisco Grants for The Arts Advisory Panel. Kimberly is also a current board member of PACT, Inc., and President of the San Francisco Chapter of the Links, Incorporated.

She has received numerous awards and proclamations throughout her career, including the SF Business Times, Most Influential Woman in Business Award, SF League of Women Voters, Women Who Could Be President Award, SF Chapter NAACP, Business and Professional Award, San Francisco State University 2022 Alumni of the Year and the A. Philip Randolph Institute’s, Rosa Parks Award.