P. Kay Coleman has been a volunteer with the American Cancer Society for 26 years and currently serves on the national board of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), having served as its Treasurer for the past three years. In 2025, Ms. Coleman received ACS CAN’s highest volunteer honor, the Capitol Dome Award, for her outstanding public policy achievement and leadership on legislative issues and was bestowed the title of State Lead Ambassador Emerita. And in 2024, she was recognized as the National State Lead Ambassador of the Year.
In 2019, Ms. Coleman was the recipient of the American Cancer Society's highest volunteer recognition, the St. George National Medal of Honor, for making a significant impact on the Society's strategic goals and mission driven programs. She was given the title of Chair Emerita of the ACS Southern California Area Board of Directors in 2020 after serving three years as its inaugural Board Chair. She previously served as Board Chair of ACS's California Division and was tapped to lead the West Region’s transition to ACS's new organizational structure in 2017. She co-founded ACS's San Diego Executive Partnership Council (EPC) in 2001, and has remained an active member of the EPC for 25 years. In addition, Ms. Coleman co-chaired San Diego’s two distinguished events, The ACS Golf Classic and The San Diego Gala in 2011 and 2015. She currently serves on the ACS San Diego Board of Directors and the ACS San Diego Women's Health Council.
Professionally, Ms. Coleman is the President & CEO of Del Mar Venture Group, LLC, an angel investment firm that she co-founded in 2005 to help startups get the capital and management expertise they need to grow in the early years. Prior to DMVG, she co-founded Workforce Transformation, Inc. in 1996, a management consulting firm that specialized in strategic planning, business transformation, and change management. Her thirty-five years of consulting experience has covered a broad spectrum of industries including consumer products, oil and gas, electric utilities, financial services, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and educational services.
Ms. Coleman earned her MBA in Finance and Strategic Planning from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She also holds a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology and a BA in English with High Honors from the University of Tennessee.
In addition to her volunteer roles with ACS and ACS CAN, Ms. Coleman currently serves as President of the County of San Diego’s Civil Service Commission, Vice Chair and Immediate Past Board Chair of The Policy & Innovation Center (a partnership between the Brookings Institution, The County of San Diego, and San Diego Foundation), and as a Director of Access Youth Academy. She also served nine years on the the Board of Governors of San Diego Foundation and as its Board Chair from 2019 to 2021.
Ms. Coleman also serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort North in Maui, HI, and also as President of the Board of Directors of the Westin Mission Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage, CA.