Biography

Peggy Saika is the President/Executive Director of AAPIP (Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy). From 1993 to 2000, Ms. Saika was the founding Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network and from 1983 to 1991 the Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus. Prior to that she helped to create and direct nonprofit organizations in Sacramento, California and New York City. Spanning a 30-year period of community involvement, Ms. Saika is a co-founder of the Asian Women's Shelter, Asians/Pacific Islanders for Choice, the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. She has served on the board of numerous organizations including Equal Rights Advocates, Progressive Assets Management and the Alston/Bannerman National Fellowship Program. Her involvement in philanthropy has also been extensive. She is the past chairperson of the New World Foundation Board of Directors and The California Wellness Foundation. She also has served as a board member of the Ms. Foundation for Women, United Way of the Bay Area, the Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, the National Network of Grantmakers and the Council on Foundations. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Foundation. In 1986, Ms. Saika was the first Asian American appointed to the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women. In 1994, she was appointed to the Advisory Council of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and appointed by President Clinton to the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) where she chaired the Sub-committee on Public Participation and Accountability. In 1995, she was selected as a fellow for the Kellogg International Leadership Program. In 2008 she was awarded The LEAD (Leadership, Equity, And Diversity) Award from Women & Philanthropy, celebrating outstanding risk-takers and innovators in the philanthropic community who, through their determination and leadership, have increased funding for programs that promote gender equity and diversity.