Board of Directors

Executive Board of Directors:

Sherry Higgs

Founder & CEO

Sherry Higgs is a cancer survivor herself. She founded Drivers For Survivors based on her personal experiences and challenges as she battled Inflammatory Breast Cancer in early 2010. Prior to her diagnosis, Sherry worked for 15 years at a Fortune 500 company as a successful Account Executive. She worked with various-sized companies implementing full suites of solutions for Payroll and Human Resource needs.

During her cancer treatments, she has seen, firsthand, the struggles that cancer patients dealt with during treatment. The sole focus should be on the fight against cancer, not struggling to find a way to get to and from cancer related treatments. Sherry Higgs vowed to herself that after the battle was won, her life’s mission would be to offer free supportive companionship and transportation, lifting the burden off the shoulders of those undergoing cancer treatments. This passion has led to the creation of a newly formed 501 (c)(3) non-profit charitable public organization, Drivers For Survivors. DFS provides free transportation service and supportive companionship for ambulatory cancer patients, from suspicious findings through treatments. Drivers For Survivors began serving the Tri-Cities of Fremont, Newark, and Union City in December 2012. And in July 2017, DFS received a grant that allowed the organization to expand its services to residents in Hayward, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Ashland, and Cherryland.

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Erik Holland

Chair

Erik became familiar with Drivers For Survivors when the organization was still in its infancy. He was connected as a possible resource to assist with Drivers For Survivors insurance needs and during that he developed a friendship with Sherry Higgs, the founder. After being raised in a family with a strong familial inclination to “give back,” and having a wife that is a two-time cancer survivor, it seemed natural and an honor for him to join the Board of Directors.

Erik feels that one of the best strengths he brings to the board is that he is a consensus builder when he helps groups reach a decision. This has been used during his tenure as the Chair of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce board and filling various other board/leadership positions for other non-profits, his church, and Fremont National Youth Baseball little league. Professionally Erik is the President of Fidelity Insurance Service and the firm helps all sorts of clients in the East Bay. One niche that the agency has a strong reputation in is non-profit organizations. He and his wife of 18 years reside in Fremont since 2003. They have no children but are on their 2nd rescue dog (Lucy) and enjoy making sure she is very spoiled. In his free time, he enjoys backyard BBQ meals, spending time outdoors, working in his yard, and following Bay Area sports (especially Cal football).

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George Duarte

Vice Chair

George is the President, CEO and Broker of Wentworth Enterprises, Inc., parent company of Horizon Financial Associates, mortgage brokerage; and Elite Real Estate Properties, real estate brokerage, located in Fremont, CA. George has been in the mortgage business over 27 years.

He is the 2013-14 State President of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals (CAMP). He has served in many positions at CAMP over the years: President-Elect, Vice President, State Government Affairs Chairman, President-East Bay Chapter and has been a member since 1994. He currently also serves on the NAMB Delegate Council and GA Committee, and has been a NAMB GA Vice Chair. George has earned several designations: a CMC (Certified Mortgage Consultant) and Lending Integrity Seal from NAMB; a CRB (Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager), CG-REP (Certified Green Real Estate Professional), and CMHS (Certified Military Housing Specialist). He earned a BA from Boston University, Boston, MA.; and an MBA from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA. George has been very active in the Alameda County Business and Real Estate Communities, having served as a Chairman of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Chairman of the Government Affairs Committee; he also served as a Director on the Bay East Association of Realtors Board, and as Chairman of the Local Government Relations (LGR) Committee.

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Steven Mihara

Treasurer

Kim Marshall

Secretary

Kim Marshall recently retired from the City of Fremont after a 30+ year career. She had the amazing opportunity to work in various City of Fremont departments including Police, Human Resources, and Economic Development. She has extensive experience managing projects, assisting businesses locating or expanding in Fremont, telling stories through social and print media, and working with elected officials both locally and regionally.

Kim’s life took an unexpected turn when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. While she was recovering from surgeries and reconstruction, she made the decision to do something to help others fighting cancer. She connected with Sherry Higgs at Drivers For Survivors (DFS) and started volunteering on special projects. Kim realized that with her business and government connections, she can help DFS in a multitude of ways. She’s excited to see what opportunities lie ahead professionally, personally, and especially for DFS!

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Board of Directors:

Larry Bunn

Larry Bunn was formerly the President of the Board of Directors of the Oakland Lions Blind Center from 2014 to 2015, which provided services to hundreds of Blind and Visually Impaired Persons throughout Northern California. He used his wealth of experience from his lengthy career to serve others.

In November of 2014, as a result of an international search, Larry was the keynote speaker at a conference that was promoting employment for persons with visual impairment/low vision in Macau, State of the People’s Republic of China. In 1976, Larry worked for Orange County, California, as a Job Developer and Placement Specialist for the Blind and Visually Impaired. This began an extensive career in Job Placement and Development, spanning over 24 years. During this time, he served as a Disability Evaluation Analyst for the California State Department of Social Services. In the tech industry, Larry placed hardware and software engineers as a Recruitment Executive for non-disabled people. For seven years he worked directly with Mayor Tom Bradley of the City of Los Angeles, placing people with many different disabilities in a variety of city departments. For the last ten years of his career, Larry was a Rehabilitation Counselor for the State of California Department of Rehabilitation. There he provided training and employment for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons. After Larry retired he held a variety of consultant positions, including a term as an Assistive Technology Specialist for Visually Impaired Persons throughout the State of California. Larry is a committee member of the Union City Transit Committee, and the Alameda County Paratransit Advisory Planning Committee, where he makes recommendations regarding accessible transportation for people with disabilities. He is also a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) Accessibility Task Force. On a personal note, Larry was selected to join the team of blind bowlers representing the U.S. at the World Games in Australia in 2007. He has been an active member of Lions Club International since 1995, starting with the Menlo Park Host Lions Club, serving in various district cabinet positions. While with the Menlo Park Host Lions Club, Larry was honored by them to receive the Melvin Jones Fellow Award. He was the first honoree in their 60-year history. He is currently a member of the Union City Lions Club. Larry, who has been visually impaired since birth, was raised in New York. He attended the High School for the Blind in New York City, Corning Community College in Upstate New York, Southern Illinois University, and California State University Fullerton. He looks forward to meeting you and is grateful for this opportunity to share his professional and personal experiences.

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Lita Hughes

Shirley Jacob

Shirley Jacob has worked in the Bio Pharma industry for over 20 years, including Amgen and was an integral part of a team that developed drugs for certain types of cancers. Currently, she is the president of a non-profit organization, Vanitha (India American Association of Women).

She has the empathy and a keen interest to help people cope with cancer. After attending the Drivers For Survivors’ 4th Annual Black and White event and learning about the tremendous effort done by Drivers For Survivors in supporting people with terminal illness in our community, she decided to serve on the Board of Directors to do whatever it takes to make life better for the sick and the community at large.

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Barbara O’Leary

Barbara has been retired from Hewlett Packard for the last nine and a half years, and has lived in Newark for the last 37 years. She has been a volunteer for 38 years in many different capacities in the community. One of these volunteer positions is as an active member of Drivers For Survivors. Barbara has made many contributions toward the organization since its inception. Barbara was born in Indonesia and then moved to USA from Netherlands. Since then she has been living in California. In her spare time, Barbara loves to cook and is an avid belly dancer.

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