Gregory Wayne Walton II, MSCJ

Director

Born Gregory Wayne Walton II, the Directors upbringing was spent in the inner-city Bay Area, California. Mr. Walton was raised in an underserved community in East Side San Jose, CA, where he attended local grade schools which typically suffered from insufficient resources. Moreover, due to the environmental factors that shaped Mr. Walton’s childhood, he had early dreams to one day play professional sports. Subsequently, as an adolescent he was a youth athlete, that participated in organized youth baseball, basketball and football for more than 10 years. This led to Mr. Walton chasing the dream of becoming a professional athlete by playing both intercollegiate and amateur football. After sustaining multiple injuries participating in sports, it was then that Mr. Walton realized his avid passion for reading, research, and education. In being a first-generation college student, he was determined to not let his disadvantaged background prevent him from attaining a higher education. Credibly, Mr. Walton has been a distinguished scholar over the course of his career. He has graduated magna cum laude from Foothill College in Los Altos, CA with an Associates of Arts degree in Sociology (2019). He has graduated magna cum laude from the California State University of Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, where he was selected as the “Most Outstanding Graduating Senior” by the department of Sociology in 2021. Admirably, Mr. Walton also graduated with a 4.0 grade point average from the University of Southern California with his Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 2022. In Februrary 2023, Walton II, was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi, which is Americas oldest and most-selective honors society for the brightest minds around the globe (University of Southern California Chapter).