David Carr will serve as a moderator and Danielle and Mark Herzlich as keynote speakers for the upcoming Top Ten Professional Women and Leading Business awards Oct. 16. Marjaree Mason Center image

Marjaree Mason Center on Monday announced domestic violence activists Danielle and Mark Herzlich as the keynote speakers for the 41st annual Top Ten Professional Women and Leading Business Awards.

Retired NFL football player, Fresno State alum, and personal friend to the Herzlichs, David Carr, will moderate the discussion.

For the first time in event history, the keynote will be delivered by a married couple, the Herzlichs, who have made it their personal mission to advocate for survivors of domestic violence.

The awards ceremony honors local professionals (expected to be announced early August), and will bring 1,500 attendees together with the goal of honoring outstanding individuals in the community while also raising awareness of domestic violence. The event will take place on Oct. 16 at the Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center.

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, according to a news release. After escaping an 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.

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.

“When I was going through what I was going through years ago, either people didn’t believe me, or they didn’t have the tools – or thought they didn’t have the tools – to do anything about it.” Danielle said. “I want to change that for every other survivor out there.”

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.

“I am a cancer survivor. I can donate money to hospitals and doctors who are trained to find cures and treat patients, but I am not a doctor myself, and I cannot directly affect change by creating a cure,” Mark said. “But with the issue of domestic violence, I can directly affect change that will end domestic violence. I believe that men need to come together and fix this MEN’S issue.”

Today, Mark and Danielle sit on the Board of A Call to Men. Mark is also on the board of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund as well as being an advisory member of the Jimmy Fund.

Danielle currently serves as the Director of Initiatives at PAO, a ministry that serves professional athletes across the country. She is currently pursuing a seminary degree in biblical counseling.

Mark, as the Director of Team Freedom at International Justice Mission (IJM), the world’s largest anti-human trafficking organization, champions the cause of justice and dedicates his efforts to eradicating the scourge of human trafficking. He also currently serves as a studio analyst and color commentator for college football for ESPN’s ACC Network.

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.

Tickets are on sale now at www.mmcenter.org.