The Center for Community Partnerships is pleased to award the 2008 Distinguished Community Leader Award to Elise Buik in recognition of her lifelong dedication to public service in Los Angeles.

Elise Buik joined the United Way of Greater Los Angeles (UWGLA) in 1994 and made history by becoming the first woman president and CEO in March 2005. Since joining the organization Elise has been instrumental in transforming UWGLA from its historical fundraising role into a community impact organization that identifies social issues, convenes experts, partners with other organizations and crafts innovative solutions. She shepherded UWGLA’s highly-praised social reports, including A Tale of Two Cities, Latino Scorecard, Diverse Face of Asian Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County, and the latest, The State of Black Los Angeles that shines a spotlight on pressing— and common — social problems in Los Angeles County and offer action plans to solve them.

Elise presently serves on the City of Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board, as a Senior Fellow for the UCLA School of Public Affairs, on the Advisory Board for the USC School of Policy, Planning and Development Master of Public Administration Program and on the boards of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and Southern California Grant Makers.