The City of San Diego has entered a public-philanthropic partnership with the Prebys Foundation to create a Chief Global Affairs Officer to elevate San Diego’s global profile for the benefit of San Diego businesses and residents. 

 

Embedded in the Mayor’s Office, the Chief Global Affairs Officer will lead San Diego’s international strategy—aligning and amplifying the work of regional partners to secure foreign investment, deepen global partnerships, and promote shared solutions to challenges like climate change, economic resilience, and defense innovation.

 

“As Washington retreats from the global stage, cities like San Diego continue to step up,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “When you consider the great value international partnerships have brought to our technology and tourism industries and our potential to grow them, we’ve underinvested in global engagement. This partnership with the Prebys Foundation signals that San Diego is leading in the global arena.”

 

The Prebys Foundation is funding this initiative for an initial period of 18 months. This strategic philanthropic investment builds capacity within city government to pursue international opportunities that generate long-term economic and civic benefits.

 

“At the Prebys Foundation, we believe that a globally connected San Diego is a stronger San Diego,” said Grant Oliphant, CEO of the Prebys Foundation. “It's about giving San Diego the leadership and vision it needs to realize its global potential—and ensure every San Diegan benefits.”

 

Modeled after successful public-philanthropic innovations like the Chief Resilience Officers (Rockefeller Foundation) and Chief Sustainability Officers (Bloomberg Philanthropies), the partnership is an investment in civic capacity that will reap long-term dividends.

 

Mayor Gloria has appointed Ben Moore, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Department of State where he served as a diplomat, to the position. Moore has already been serving in a global affairs capacity in the Mayor’s Office through the U.S. Department of State’s Lewis Local Diplomat Program. Over the past year, Moore has played a central role in developing and advancing San Diego’s international agenda, and his appointment ensures continuity, momentum, and proven leadership as the city institutionalizes global engagement as a core civic priority.

 

In just the past year, through support from the U.S. State Department’s Lewis Local Diplomat pilot program, San Diego has:

With the recent addition of new international flights to Panama City and Amsterdam, and growing Indo-Pacific and transatlantic ties, San Diego is more connected to the world than ever before.

Despite being the eighth-largest city in the United States, San Diego has historically lagged behind peer cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix in global engagement. While cities like Tokyo and Beijing have entire departments dedicated to international affairs—with teams of 100 and 50 respectively—San Diego has left significant global opportunity on the table.

 

The Chief Global Affairs Officer will work closely with key partners, including:

This position will also play a central role in: advancing San Diego’s leadership in defense innovation, including support for a new Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) office; engaging international governments and businesses from our allies and partners to encourage defense investment here in San Diego; and, advancing San Diego-centric partnerships like the Australia-UK-US (AUKUS) agreement.

 

“This is San Diego’s global moment,” said Mayor Gloria. “We have the innovation, the location, the cross-border identity, and now, the leadership to seize it.”