Board President of The Southwest Fresno Community Development Corporation, Eric S. Payne is a Fresno, CA native son of West Fresno, He serves as Executive Director of The Central Valley Urban Institute a Policy and Advocacy Non-Profit. He is the Former White House Site Director under the Obama Administration who led a Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative for the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program a place-based initiative in the City of Fresno where he worked to secure millions of dollars in state and federal funds for community development in West Fresno. 

Mr. Payne was Elected to the State Center Community College District Governing Board of Trustees in a historic win in 2012 when he was elected as America’s Youngest Community College Trustee serving two terms governing Fresno City College, Clovis Community College, Reedley Community College and the New Fresno City College - West Fresno Campus. He was also elected in 2018 by his peers from across the State of California to serve on the Board of Directors of the Community College League of California which embodies over 100 Community Colleges from across the state. 

Mr. Payne has been featured in national publications like Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the Country’s “100 Men of Distinction”. He is a technical expert for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies a White House Think Tank. He is an active member of Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church; He is an Author and Political Commentator for KSEE 24 "Sunday Morning Matters". Eric has a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology from Alabama A&M University and a certificate in Health Policy and Leadership from California State University Fresno. He enjoys collecting art and listening to Oldies, Gospel, R&B, and Jazz. In His free time, he can be found at the gym, hiking, camping, running with his dog Cooper or traveling.