AFSC Welcomes Dr. Sheryl Bourgeois to Its Board of Directors

Huntington Beach, CA–Alzheimer’s Family Center (AFC) would like to welcome Sheryl Bourgeois, Ph.D., to its Board of Directors. The Board provides leadership for carrying out AFC’s mission for creating happier and healthier days for families suffering from memory loss.

Bourgeois has close to 30 years of experience in fund raising, advancement and marketing both non-profit and educational organizations. Currently executive vice president and chief advancement officer for Chapman University in Orange, California, Bourgeois provides strategic and fiscal leadership to a 110-member division responsible for strategic marketing and communications; advancement and fund raising; parent and alumni engagement; donor relations and stewardship; gift recording and accounting; institutional events; and career and professional development. As the longest-serving member of the president’s senior staff, Bourgeois has helped to shape institutional priorities and long-range planning and oversees several aspects of board governance.

Since 1998, when her tenure at Chapman began, she’s been involved in numerous efforts to improve and enhance the University, including leading capital campaigns, growing the endowment by more than 40%, and, in fiscal year 2017, producing a record-breaking $109 million in cash and pledges.

Her career also includes positions with the Southern California Muscular Dystrophy Association, City of Hope Medical Center and University of California, Irvine.

She has previously held board positions on the Orange Chamber of Commerce and Breast Cancer Awareness.

Bourgeois feels connected to AFC’s mission because she and other friends have loved ones experiencing memory loss. She understands the importance of senior programs dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Sheryl Bourgeois is the 14^th member of AFC’s Board of Directors. Mary Lou Shattuck is the current chair.

About Alzheimer’s Family Center
Alzheimer’s Family Center (AFC) is Orange County’s only adult day health care facility dedicated exclusively to caring for dementia patients. AFC has a 40-year history of improving the quality of life of families challenged by memory loss, such as Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Patients benefit through customized programming tailored to the needs of each individual, from the earliest to the most advanced stages of dementia. Families find respite from the demands of caregiving, and the assurance that their loved one is receiving expert memory care, delivered with dignity and respect.

Recent studies show that AFC makes a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of its patients. Our patients experience over 50% fewer falls and a 33% reduction in emergency room visits within 12 months of enrollment in AFC’s programs. As a result, AFC family caregivers find the responsibilities of caregiving to be more manageable when their loved ones are home, away from the center. AFC also provides family caregivers with support and referrals to manage the medical, emotional, and financial challenges of caring for a memory-impaired loved one.