Creating access

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 Cen...