Lourdes Perez-Berkeley came to golf late in a life filled with an exciting career in the financial industry and a storybook family. Some 10 years after she took up the game, though, tragedy prompted her to find a path where golf could make the world a better place. This year, that path led her to the board of the Metropolitan Golf Association Foundation.
Lourdes Perez was born and raised in Chicago to Puerto Rican parents. “No one in my family played golf or even thought we had access to it,” she said. “I grew up playing softball and bowling and other sports in high school.”
When she met her future husband, Michael Berkeley, golf became a part of her life.
“Early on in our relationship, I told him he either had to change his sport or get me a set of clubs,” she said. “Being the smart man that he was, he introduced me to the game. Golf became another challenge for me, and I really loved it.”
Now, she plays more than 50 rounds annually.
Tragedy struck on September 11, 2001, when her husband perished in the attack on the World Trade Center, killed in the 79th-floor office in the North Tower where he had recently established his own financial-services firm.
“Michael was taken away way too early,” Perez-Berkeley said. “Our kids were 3 and 6 at the time, and we were just starting to introduce them to golf.”
Her husband had also just that year realized his dream of joining Winged Foot Golf Club, where he had caddied as a youngster. The couple also belonged to New York-area clubs Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton and Hudson National in Croton-on-Hudson plus Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, and Indian Creek near Miami.
“I never had a chance to play Winged Foot with him,” she said, “but the club kindly allowed spouses of 9/11 victims to continue as members.”
Today, she serves on the board of the Winged Foot Women’s Golf Association.
“The sport took on a different meaning for me when Michael died,” she said. “I feel an obligation to carry the torch by introducing our kids to the game. I also started the Michael J. Berkeley Foundation to provide scholarships and sponsorships to minorities in golf. I became very involved in the golf world.”
She also retained membership at Atlantic Golf Club.
“I love Atlantic and the people there,” she said. “They continue to honor his memory with the Michael J. Berkeley Cup.”
The event supports the foundation, of which Perez-Berkeley, 62, serves as president. Her commitment to helping others through golf led to a position on the board of the MGA Foundation.
“I came across Golfworks when looking at possible program sponsorships for the Michael J. Berkeley Foundation. Every year, we sponsor several interns,” she said.
Golfworks is an MGA Foundation program that places 300 youngsters every year in paid internships at New York metro clubs. The program’s goal – to make the game and meaningful employment accessible to everyone – perfectly matches the purpose of the foundation honoring her late husband. One of the Golfworks interns whom the MJB Foundation sponsored, Skye McCaine, interned for five years at Winged Foot, studied advertising at Iona University with the help of a Westchester Caddie Fund scholarship and today works in experiential marketing.
“I was excited when the MGA approached me to join the foundation board and to be part of the Diversity Opportunities and Inclusion committee,” Perez-Berkeley said. “That’s really my passion. My mission is to provide opportunities to underrepresented communities, be that in education or golf.”
One of her first steps on the MGA Foundation board was to volunteer to help with the Alternative Golf initiative.
“As a Latina, the culture was very much part of my upbringing and I would like to include more Latina women in golf.” — Lourdes Perez-Berkeley
“That’s near and dear to my heart as well, since my eldest son was diagnosed on the high-functioning autism spectrum,” she said. “I’ve seen my son grow up to be a fine young man.”
Golf can be a gateway to personal and career success, Perez-Berkeley said, but someone has to open that gate to diverse communities.
“I’ve met some fabulous women through golf and made some amazing friends like Janice Olivencia, the coach of the University of Miami’s women’s golf team,” she said. “Golf has also been a great help to me in my career and otherwise, something I’d like to promote for others. As a Latina, the culture was very much part of my upbringing and I would like to include more Latina women in golf. I belong to several clubs, and it’s interesting that I am almost always the only Latina woman member. We are clearly underrepresented.”
A former CPA and investment banker for more than 35 years, Perez-Berkeley devotes much of her time to serving as president of the Michael J. Berkeley Foundation and supporting other charitable organizations. In addition to the MGA Foundation, she serves on the board of Unlimited Stages, a nonprofit theater company. She’s also a senior adviser to Independence Point Advisors, a women-owned investment bank. When not in a nonprofit board room, Perez-Berkeley often can be found honing her 18-handicap index on a golf course.