Erlito “Lito” Pernia brings to the RCP Foundation’s Board of Advisors a distinguished record of financial management, nonprofit leadership, civil-rights service, philanthropy, and Filipino-American civic engagement extending across several decades. Born and raised in Binagbag, Agdangan, Quezon, Philippines, Mr. Pernia earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, majoring in Accounting, from the University of the East in Manila. After beginning his professional career in the Philippines, he was recruited by a Saudi Arabian company and worked in Riyadh from 1984 until immigrating to the United States in 1988. That same year, he joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), one of the nation’s preeminent civil-rights legal organizations, where he built an extraordinary career in financial administration spanning nearly four decades and ultimately served as Financial Controller until his retirement in March 2026. His tenure placed his financial expertise in the service of an institution with a historic national role in advancing civil rights and equal justice. 

Complementing his professional accomplishments is an extensive and sustained record of organizational leadership and humanitarian service within the Filipino-American community. Mr. Pernia has served as president of numerous civic organizations in New York and New Jersey and, in 2018, was elected President of the Philippine American Friendship Community (PAFCOM), one of the region’s established Filipino-American community organizations. PAFCOM’s own account of his installation described him as a respected community leader who had also led Friends Indeed USA and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), Region I, and served on the Pastoral Council of St. John the Evangelist Church in Bergenfield, New Jersey. He has additionally served in leadership with the Filipino American Legal Defense & Education Fund (FALDEF), where current organizational information identifies him as Secretary and Financial Controller at LDF; earlier nonprofit filings document service as FALDEF’s Vice President and Executive Director.

Mr. Pernia’s commitment to service is perhaps most vividly reflected in his work as Executive Director of the GC Rivera Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose humanitarian mission includes providing free medical, surgical, dental, and therapeutic assistance to underserved communities and children with special needs in the Philippines. The breadth of his service—encompassing civil rights, nonprofit financial stewardship, Filipino-American civic leadership, faith-based engagement, and direct humanitarian assistance—reflects a career in which professional accomplishment and community responsibility have consistently reinforced one another. As a Distinguished Member of the RCP Foundation Board of Advisors, Mr. Pernia contributes seasoned financial and organizational judgment, decades of nonprofit and civic leadership experience, and a deeply established commitment to improving the lives of others—qualities that strongly complement the Foundation’s dedication to responsible leadership, charitable service, and enduring community impact.