Akilah Templeton is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD), a nationally recognized nonprofit dedicated to ending veteran homelessness. Since 2020, she has led VVSD’s continuum of services, including transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, VA Grant & Per Diem programs, mental health and substance use recovery, employment support, and prevention initiatives that reach more than 3,000 veterans annually. She oversees a multi-million-dollar budget and a staff of more than 200 while building strong partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies, philanthropic partners, and community leaders.

Akilah has over two decades of nonprofit leadership experience and is a trusted voice in housing, behavioral health, and veteran services. In June 2021, she testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on “Veteran Homelessness in the Wake of COVID-19,” where she called for urgency, flexibility, and sustained investment to meet the rising challenges facing veterans during the pandemic.

She is a respected regional and statewide leader, serving as Vice President of the California Association of Veteran Service Agencies (CAVSA); Chair of the San Diego Continuum of Care Advisory Board; and a member of the RTFH Board of Directors, where she also serves on the Executive and Audit Committees. She also serves on the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) Board of Directors and the One VA Community Advisory Board (CAB).

Akilah’s leadership emphasizes equity, innovation, and collaboration. She has been a driving force in reducing disparities in veteran homelessness, particularly among Black veterans, and in advancing trauma-informed, low-barrier models of care. She is committed to strengthening partnerships across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to achieve “functional zero” for veteran homelessness in San Diego and beyond.

She has been recognized five times by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the region’s most influential nonprofit leaders and is a sought-after speaker on topics including veteran policy, equity in homelessness systems, nonprofit governance, and transformational leadership.