Please give us a brief biography: where you were born, your journey to where you are today, and your connection to the Portuguese and Lusophone world.

My name is Maria Cecelia Roliz. I was born in Hong Kong in 1963 (when it was still a British Crown Colony). With the proximity of Macau – a protectorate of Portugal – less than 40 miles away, many Portuguese went to Hong Kong to seek better job opportunities. My paternal roots trace back to Macau and Portugal via Hong Kong and Shanghai. Before emigrating to the US in 1977, my parents were high-level executives and prominent members of the local Portuguese community in Hong Kong.

Upon arrival in San Francisco, California, I attended Presidio Junior High and graduated from Lowell High School at age 16.  My undergrad was a full scholarship at Tulane University, New Orleans, with a BS in Accounting.  After that, I received my CPA certification in 1984 and an MBA from San Francisco State University in 1986.

My father, Rigoberto Paulo Roliz, was passionate and proud of his Portuguese heritage.  He was actively involved in many leadership roles within the Portuguese Community in Hong Kong and San Francisco.  Consequently, he instilled in us his enthusiasm to build, better, and strengthen our heritage, culture, and community.  I attended primary school at Escola Camões, where the Portuguese language was part of our school curriculum, but unfortunately, it was not in the schools I attended in the US. Most of my childhood fun times were spent at the Clube de Recreio and Clube de Lusitano, playing with friends, and they have left an indelible mark.  Those memories have inspired me to take on an active role in preserving our Portuguese heritage/culture/language for future youths. Eu sou fllha do meu pai , and I followed in my father’s footsteps by involving myself in the Portuguese diaspora.

In 1993, I was appointed as the youth director for The Lusitano Club to involve the younger generation in the club’s sports activities, with the primary objective of educating its members on the history, culture, and heritage of the descendants of the Portuguese people and to build and reinforce a bond between all Lusophone descendants. The Lusitano Club was established in 1984. Initially established as a field hockey team, it has become the current vibrant Macanese cultural club. After that, I became actively involved with other Portuguese associations, starting in 1993 with our annual food booth at the Portuguese Historical Museum’s Dia de Portugal Festival.  Since then, to further promote, enrich, and preserve our Portuguese heritage, I have held many vital leadership roles in the below Portuguese and Macanese associations: 

Luso-American Education Foundation, President

Macau Cultural Center, President

Lusitano Club of California, President

Portuguese Historical Museum, Secretary

Silicon Valley Portuguese Education & Culture Foundation, Director

Conselho das Comunidades Macaenses, Council Member

Portuguese Consulate, San Francisco – Advisory Member

I am also a partner of a Portuguese-owned export company. In my spare time, I love to travel and enjoy the outdoors.

How did you get involved in the Luso-American Education Foundation, and what has been your trajectory in this organization?

I learned of the Luso-American Education Foundation (LAEF) through its annual conferences about twenty years ago. In 2016, I learned about the Cultural Youth Summer Camp through Jose Luis da Silva, who so graciously taught Portuguese classes at the Macau Cultural Center. I had the Lusitano Club sponsor some of the Macanese youth to attend. It was an invaluable experience for the youth attending; one even received a scholarship later from LAEF. 

In 2021, Jose Luis da Silva asked me to join the LAEF Advisory Board. The objectives of LAEF are very similar to those of the Macau Cultural Center and Lusitano Club, where I served as the President. I enjoyed working and sharing my ideas with the people at LAEF to better the Foundation. In 2022, I chaired the Golf Tournament as Vice-President of Fundraising. In 2023, I was elected President and am serving my second term.

I look forward to representing the Foundation to the best of my abilities and offering the maximum number of scholarships to support students accessing higher education. 

What is your vision for LAEF? How do you see the organization’s relevance today compared to half a century ago?

My vision for LAEF is that it will continue to be very relevant because education is invaluable and priceless. I am very optimistic that the Foundation will continue to grow as we implement new and exciting ideas in 2024 and the future.  With the commitment of every dedicated board member to attract and recruit our younger generation, who are willing to spend time volunteering and bringing in new ideas while working alongside our more senior and seasoned directors, we will achieve success and do wonders. The Foundation can and must thrive to benefit our Portuguese youth and the betterment of our community.

Since the COVID pandemic and through social media, our annual conferences have reached a wider audience worldwide and serve to promote our Portuguese culture.

Our mission continues to provide scholarships and more opportunities for students to access higher education and to advance our Portuguese culture and language.

What would you like to see as short- and long-range goals for the organization? Are there any changes you would want to see come to fruition at LAEF?

For the short term, I would like to see the Foundation increase the dollar value of its scholarships, especially with rising tuition costs over the years, and to continue subsidizing its Youth Summer Camps. 

In the long term, I would like to encourage more fundraising ideas, further collaboration with other Portuguese organizations to increase interaction and garner support from the community, and sponsor and support more students by providing them with more Portuguese language programs and other cultural activities.

Can you briefly reflect and summarize your thoughts on the Portuguese and Lusophone Diasporas in California, considering that immigration, at least in significant numbers, ended over 40 years ago? What challenges and opportunities do you see for our Portuguese and Lusophone diasporas in California?

With fewer immigrants from the Portuguese and Lusophone diasporas and the average age of active members steadily increasing, we need to increase membership to keep our Foundation vibrant. Portuguese organizations should encourage and attract more youth participation as they are our future. Parents and grandparents must instill the importance of our traditions and customs into their children and grandchildren from an early age and encourage them to participate in our functions. Our youth must be given every opportunity to acquire a good and higher education, which will most definitely assist them to get into a more successful profession. Also, being bilingual will add to their success in whatever they do and, more importantly, preserve their identity.

Portuguese is the world’s 6th most spoken language – 265 million speakers – and May 5 is World Portuguese Language Day. LAEF can and will take on that challenge of spreading the “word.”