Thursday, April 9, 2026

California Community Foundation Leader Who Directed $100 Million in Fire Relief to Keynote Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast

Miguel A. Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation

The 53rd annual interfaith gathering, hosted by Friends In Deed, raises funds for homeless services in a city still rebuilding

The head of the California Community Foundation, which distributed $100 million in wildfire relief after the January 2025 fires, will deliver the keynote address at Pasadena’s 53rd Annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast on May 7.

Miguel A. Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, will speak at the event, which is themed “Rising Together” and takes place at the Pasadena Convention Center.

Santana’s foundation activated its wildfire recovery fund immediately after the Eaton Fire, distributing $30 million in its first month to nonprofits helping survivors in Altadena and across the region, according to an Associated Press report.

Proceeds from the breakfast benefit Friends In Deed, the 132-year-old Pasadena interfaith nonprofit that operates a food pantry, shelters, street outreach, and housing assistance programs for the city’s homeless and vulnerable residents.

The breakfast traditionally draws hundreds of Pasadena residents, local leaders, business owners, and members of the faith community each year.

The event is one of the longest-running interfaith gatherings in Southern California, having persisted through virtual formats during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 before returning to in-person gatherings.

Last year’s 52nd breakfast, held months after the Eaton Fire, featured Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin and focused on resilience and rebuilding.

“The annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast continues to be one of Pasadena’s most meaningful traditions,” Mayor Victor M. Gordo said in a statement released by Friends In Deed. “It is a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish when we come together across faiths, backgrounds, and perspectives.”

Santana, a native Angeleno, previously served as City Administrative Officer for Los Angeles, where he oversaw the city’s $9 billion budget, according to the California Community Foundation. He was appointed CCF’s president and CEO in 2023 after leading the Weingart Foundation. He holds a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

“We are honored to continue hosting the Pasadena Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast,” said Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater, chief executive officer of Friends In Deed. “For more than a century, faith communities in Pasadena have come together to respond to the needs of our neighbors.”

Grater has previously described the breakfast as a way to bring together people of different faiths, community organizations, and civic leaders, adding that it highlights the nonprofit’s motto of “doing together what we cannot do alone.”

Friends In Deed was founded in 1894 as a coalition of Pasadena congregations and has grown into a social service agency with five core programs. Its food pantry serves more than 600 households weekly, according to the organization. The nonprofit also operates The Women’s Room, a daytime shelter for homeless and at-risk women; a Bad Weather Shelter; Street Outreach and Housing; and Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance.

The breakfast runs from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. at the Pasadena Convention Center, 300 E. Green St., Hall C. Doors open at 6:45 a.m. Individual tickets are $45, and a table of 10 is $450. Sponsorship tables range from $600 to $1,750. For tickets or sponsorship information, visit friendsindeedpas.org/mipb or call 626-797-2402 x202.

“Miguel Santana’s leadership and commitment to community-driven change embody this year’s theme, ‘Rising Together,'” Grater said.