Perry Diaz is a columnist and writer, a businessman, a community leader, and a political activist. He has devoted many years of his life to community and public service.
He arrived in the United States in 1970 and worked as a computer programmer analyst until 1997 when he took an early retirement to concentrate in his construction company and real estate businesses.
In 1987, California Governor George Deukmejian appointed Diaz as Assistant Director for External Affairs in the California Department of Rehabilitation. He served in that position until 1991.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed him to the U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board in Washington, DC. The “Access Board,” as it was commonly called, was responsible for the development of the regulations of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act, known as the civil rights act for people with disabilities. Diaz served on the board until 1996.
Diaz has been a community leader for the past 30 years. He served as President of the Filipino Community of Sacramento and Vicinity, Inc. and several other community organizations. Since 1974, he has been affiliated with international organizations such as the Jaycees, Toastmasters, Rotary, and Lions. He also served as Vice-President and Treasurer of the International Leadership Foundation, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization, which awarded scholarship grants to deserving Asian-American students.
As a businessman, Diaz was involved with various chambers of commerce. He was a founding member of the Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Sacramento and Vicinity, which he served in various positions including President and Executive Director for which he was conferred “Lifetime Member.”
Diaz started his writing career in 1987 when he published and edited a community newsletter called “Balita” and wrote his first column, “From the Grapevine,” for four years.
In 1990, he began writing his “PerryScope” column with the Philippine Herald-U.S.A. His first article, “Why politics affect our daily lives,” got him started in writing opinion on political issues in the United States. The newspaper ran for about a year.
In 1992, Diaz was the recipient of the “Role Model” award for “The Most Outstanding Performance In The Field Of Public Affairs” by The Eye International.
In 2003, Diaz had an opportunity to write a weekly column again, this time with “Ang Panahon” in Northern California. He retained his original column’s name, “PerryScope.” He also wrote feature stories for about a year under his column, “Grapevine,” for Filipinas Magazine.
In 2004, Fil-Am Image recognized Diaz as one of the “Twenty Outstanding Filipino Americans in the United States and Canada” at its 12th Annual “Circle of Leaders” event in Washington, DC.
In 2008, Diaz launched GlobalBalita.com, an online news service, which features his articles as well as those of other well-known journalists and columnists. The following year, he started writing his weekly “Balitang Kutsero,” a humorous and satirical column that delves into the comedic aspect of Philippine politics.
Today, numerous publications have published his “PerryScope” and “Balitang Kutsero” columns, which include: Fil-Am MegaScene (Chicago and Midwest); Philippine Fiesta (Sacramento); Pinoy Weekly (California); Pinas Global News (California, Hawaii, and several other states); Pinoy Herald (Washington, DC); Mindanao Examiner (Mindanao, Philippines); Zamboanga Today (Mindanao, Philippines); Northern Philippine Times (Northern Luzon, Philippines); Filipino Journal (Winnipeg and Alberta, Canada); Philippine Courier (Toronto, Canada); Balita (Toronto, Canada); Filipino Times (New York/New Jersey); Filipino News (Milan, Italy); Pinoy Watchdog (Los Angeles, California); Vancouver Times (Vancouver, Canada); and several other broadsheets, online news publications, and websites.
Diaz currently operates a residential care facility for the elderly. He is married to the former Dolores Valdez for 41 years. They have two daughters: Lara, a lawyer, who works as the Senior Vice President of a lobbying firm in Sacramento; and Andrea, a graphic designer, who works as an instructor at a community college and also operates her graphic design business. Perry and Dolores are the proud grandparents of five young grandchildren.
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