Top Ten - Marjaree Mason Center

The 41st Annual Top Ten Professional Women and Leading Business Awards

The Top Ten Professional Women & Leading Business Awards, presented by CalViva Health, are a hallmark awards ceremony that highlights the achievements and commitment of individuals who have raised the bar in their professions and enriched the lives of others.

The 41st Annual Top Ten Professional Women and Leading Business Awards ceremony will take place at the Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center in the New Exhibit Hall on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, commencing at 11 am.

This event not only provides recognition to individuals and organizations but also serve as a platform to inspire others and promote the values of leadership, excellence, and community service. The event will pay tribute to ten women who have excelled professionally, served as role models and given back to their communities, as well as one business for its support of women and women's issues. They join an alumni class that has greatly impacted the Central Valley community over the last four decades. Nominations are now closed. Award recipients are expected to be announced early August.

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The Marjaree Mason Center is thrilled to announce Danielle and Mark Herzlich as the keynote speakers for their 41^st Annual Top Ten Professional Women and Leading Business Awards presented by CalViva Health. Retired NFL football player, Fresno State alum, and personal friend to the Herzlich’s, David Carr, will moderate the discussion.

For the first time in event history, the event keynote speaker, sponsored by Valley Children’s Healthcare, is a married couple, Danielle and Mark Herzlich, who have made it their personal mission to spend their lives advocating for survivors of domestic violence.

Danielle was raised in a violent home, and as a teenager, found herself in an abusive teen dating relationship. She spent many years of her life hiding, never speaking about it, and internalizing her anger. After escaping the unhealthy and abusive relationship after high school, she attended Boston College where she decided to join the military. She enlisted in the Massachusetts National Guard, enrolled in Boston College’s ROTC program, and would later join the New Jersey National Guard as the Sexual Assault Victim Advocate for the State of New Jersey.

During her junior year of college, Danielle met Mark Herzlich, who was a star football player at Boston College. Shortly after they began dating, Mark was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a very rare form of bone cancer. He was given a 10% chance of survival, but he would go on to beat cancer, play seven seasons with the New York Giants and win a Super Bowl.

In very different ways, Danielle and Mark are bonded in their stories of survival. Danielle says that Mark helped her stop looking at herself as a victim, and helped her to embrace being a survivor.

Together over the past several years, Danielle and Mark have traveled across the country, sharing her story to thousands of people. Mark has spoken to hundreds of men in regards to healthy manhood, changing the culture of “what it means to be a man,” and about respecting and protecting women and children.

After spearheading the very first NFL Domestic Violence Awareness game in October 2015, Danielle and Mark were asked to join the National Board of Directors for Joyful Heart Foundation with the goal of changing the way our culture treats the issues of domestic violence.

As part of their advocacy work, Danielle and Mark have traveled to fortune 500 companies, sports teams, the military, and high schools nationwide to speak about domestic violence and sexual assault. Through these efforts, curriculum has since been built around what it means to be a man and how men should treat women. This curriculum is now provided to all 32 teams in the NFL.

Mark’s former New York Giants teammate, good friend, and Fresno State Alum, David Carr, will moderate the discussion focused on what we can do as a community to combat domestic violence and support survivors.

David is a former football quarterback who played ten seasons in the NFL. He played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs and was selected first overall by the Houston Texans in the 2002 NFL Draft. David also played for the Carolina Panthers, the New York Giants, where he was a member of their Super Bowl winning team, and the San Francisco 49ers. He currently serves as the offensive coordinator at Bakersfield Christian High School and as an NFL analyst.

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2024 Honorees

The Marjaree Mason Center proudly announces the distinguished honorees for the 41st Annual Top Ten Professional Women and Leading Business Awards presented by CalViva Health. These exceptional individuals have been selected to receive this prestigious recognition based on their outstanding contributions and remarkable dedication to their respective fields.

All honorees were nominated by their peers in the community who firmly believe in their deservingness of such an accolade for their exceptional work. They join an alumni class that has greatly impacted the Central Valley community over the last four decades.

Cynthia Bruno Rafferty
CEO,
Richard Heath & Associates, Inc.

Dr. Jaswant Chahal-Matharu
Physician,
Obgyn Associates, Inc.

Traci Fritzler
Assistant District Attorney,
Fresno County District Attorney's Office

Dr. Bonnie Her
Physician,
Community Health Partners

Patty Hixson
Regional Vice President,
Cumulus Radio - Fresno, Stockton, Modesto

Dr. Andrea Long
Associate Clinical Professor,
UCSF Fresno

Emilia Reyes
CEO,
Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission

Margarita Rocha
Executive Director
Centro La Familia Advocacy Services

Dr. Linda Scott
Founder & CEO,
Agape Schools and Agape College of Business and Science

Valerie Vuicich
Retired Educator,
Throughout Fresno County

2024 Leading Business:
Payroll People, INC
Represented by Bettye Smith