Board of Directors & Advisory Members

NICK ARQUETTE

Founder + CEO, Walk With Sally

Nick has been a resident of Manhattan Beach for 25 years. He came to LA after he attended the American Conservatory Theater and Boise State University to pursue a career in film industry. He has worked as an actor getting his SAG card in 1994 for a stint in 90210 and has filled many production roles in movie and television. Nick created a niche business he has owned for the past 20 years as a broker negotiating deals for major productions shooting on location in LA and throughout the United States. In addition Nick has grown as an entrepreneur in the South Bay and is also passionate about the aging population, having created products and services to enhance quality of life for aging population. In 2006 he co-founded Adia InHome Care and recently started Assisted Preferred, a local information site providing customer support for placement services and quality senior care referrals. Nick was recipient of the Citizen of the Year award from MB Chamber Women in Business 2011 and Daily Breeze finalist for Most Philanthropic 2012.

DARIN DeRENZIS

Partner + Realtor, Vista Sotheby’s International Realty

Darin is a principal and partner of the Edler | DeRenzis Group, a division of Vista Sotheby’s International Realty and the top-rated luxury real estate team in the South Bay. The Edler | DeRenzis Group has been ranked in the Top 75 of Real Estate Teams nationwide by RealTrends. Darin is also Co-Owner of the brokerage Vista Sotheby’s International Realty, which has eight offices that stretch from Manhattan Beach to Palos Verdes. Darin has been a top producer in the South Bay for the past 10 years and focuses on selling real estate in Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. As an active member of the community, Darin serves on the board of the Hermosa Beach Little League and Walk With Sally.

MALCOLM GILL

Regional Sales Director, Hitachi Consulting

A native of Brooklyn, Malcolm was introduced to community service at an early age by his parents. Their time spent volunteering at his school, church, and local events demonstrated a commitment to empathy and community. Inspired at a winter camp led by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Malcolm developed a deep passion for reaching out to others through volunteer work. This drive stayed with him as he attended the Air Force Academy and California Polytechnic University at Pomona, as he served in a variety of positions providing outreach the community. Malcolm is a sales management professional focusing on business-to-business technology sales with expertise in leveraging social media and proven solutions to build business and personal value for his clients. As a member of Walk With Sally’s Board of Directors, Malcolm has found an opportunity to focus his efforts on helping children, their families and the community, one friendship at a time. Malcolm hopes to provide a unique perspective, specifically in areas of technology, to assist Walk With Sally with helping children and their families reach their full potential.

MICHAEL HARRINGTON

Founder + Creative Director, Video Director & Still Photographer, Quiet Digital Studio

Michael is a video director and digital media producer for Quiet Digital Studio. Following a short career as an equities analyst in Hong Kong, Michael followed a path of creativity spending two years in New York City attending acting school. This led to his current career in video production, directing and producing over 200 videos for clients like Nissan, Toyota, Monster Energy, Salesforce, HP, Microsoft, and of course Walk With Sally. Michael has been a part of Walk With Sally since its inception. Michael considers it an honor to have been a small part in taking this great “idea” and seeing it blossom into friendships, programs and support for kids and families. As someone who has directly seen the impact that cancer puts on children, Michael is proud of the work Walk With Sally’s mentors, staff and volunteers do in helping kids and families grow and thrive in adversity.

RUSSELL HOSSAIN

Senior Vice President Chief Business Development, Perl Mortgage

After moving to Southern California from Chicago in 2009, Russell fell in love with the South Bay community. He has over 23 years’ experience in the mortgage industry and is currently SVP/Chief Business Development Officer for Perl Mortgage where his focus is on managing the Sales, Secondary Marketing and Marketing departments. He most recently served as an EVP for Bank of Manhattan in California where he launched the mortgage banking platform for the bank. He met Walk With Sally Founder Nick Arquette in 2010 while working at Bank of Manhattan. Once he learned about Walk With Sally he immediately wanted to get involved and helped Bank of Manhattan become one of the main corporate sponsors for Walk With Sally’s annual White Light White Night event. Although there are many worthy charities, Russell feels that Walk With Sally is unique because of its heartwarming mission to help kids who have or have had an immediate family member diagnosed with cancer. He looks forward to working with Walk With Sally and growing the organization nationally.

GRACE LEUNG

Chief Operating Officer, UPI Marketing

A Native New Yorker, Grace has always loved sun, warm weather & the BEACH! So when California came calling 13 years ago, she answered “YES!!!” And, the South Bay became her “home.” Grace loves sports so much she worked for the National Football League for several years ~ developing her strategic planning, marketing and events skills. Taking her Big League experience local, Grace is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Hermosa Beach-based UPI Marketing Inc., a retail sports licensing company specializing in official NFL, NHL, MLB, NBA and MSL products. Having been involved with Walk With Sally for over 10 years, being a part of this community provides Grace with enormous pride. Walk With Sally is not like other organizations that just write checks and then they are done. It’s people connecting with people and actually caring. It brings families with a shared story together so they do not feel alone. For Grace, the S in WWS stands for Sam, her dad. She knows firsthand how incredibly difficult it is watching a parent suffer from cancer and because of that she wants to make sure Walk With Sally is accessible to every child stricken by this deadly disease.

SUZANNE SHARER

Vice President of Sales and Operations, Contemporary Holding Corporation

A native of Tenafly, New Jersey, Suzanne has been a resident of Manhattan Beach for 18 years and an entrepreneur alongside her husband and business partner, Bob McDaniel of South Bay Automation.    Suzanne was a six-year board member of The Neptunian Woman’s Club beginning in 2011 as Vice President of Fundraising and most recently as Co-President for the 2016-2017 term. Under her leadership, The Neptunians won “Best of Manhattan.”  After seven years as a Walk With Sally volunteer focusing on development and fundraising, Suzanne joined the Board of Walk With Sally in January of 2018.  In 2017, Suzanne and her husband were honored with the “Beacon of Light” award for their ongoing support and corporate sponsorships of White Light White Night. Through her work with Walk With Sally, Suzanne honors her mother-in-law, Barbara McDaniel, who lost her battle to pancreatic cancer in 2013, vowing to help children get through the trauma of cancer.

SHARON STRAUSS

Vice President Client Services, Vitamin T

Sharon grew up in Baltimore, MD and went to college in Tucson, AZ at the University of Arizona. She moved to Los Angeles after college and has made the South Bay home. She is currently the Vice President of Sales for Vitamin T, a division of Aquent. Aquent is a staffing agency that specializes in placing digital creative talent, where she’s been employed since 1999. Sharon started out her days as a recruiter and loves the match making process – so the pairing process of mentors and mentees is particularly interesting to her. Sharon became actively involved in Walk With Sally in 2013, just after losing her mother to cancer. Sharon has been a mentor to Kiarra since November 2013, and has participated on the White Light White Night committee for the last 3 years. She looks forward to seeing Walk With Sally expand to many more cities so the organization can help kids across the country.

Honorary Advisory Board Members

Advisory Board 2018