Hall of Fame
Cheri was a member of the NNC volleyball team from 1992-95, helping lead the Crusader program to new heights during her four-year career.
In 1994, Cheri was one of three Northwest Nazarene volleyball players to earn the program's first NAIA All-American honors. She received an Honorable Mention All-America nod that season and followed that up with a First Team All-America recognition in 1995, one of just five players in program history to earn First Team honors. She was named First Team All-Region in 1994 and 1995, First Team All-Cascade Conference in 1994 and 1995, and the Cascade Conference MVP in 1995. In 1994, Cheri was also a significant part of the Crusaders' first Cascade Conference title.
To this day, Cheri remains second all-time in program history with 178 service aces, fourth with 496 blocks, seventh with 1,300 kills, tied for ninth with 3.20 kills per set, and ninth with a .282 attack percentage.
Following her final season, Cheri also earned one of Northwest Nazarene's prestigious end-of-the-year honors, receiving the Hopkins-Humphrey Female Athlete of the Year accolade in 1995-96.
After graduation, Cheri played one summer of beach volleyball in Manhattan Beach and was sponsored by Body Glove. She also coached high school volleyball in Idaho for two years.
She has pursued a myriad of different careers in her professional life, including a wildland firefighter and smokejumper for 12 years, six years working in Antarctica at the South Pole Station for the National Science Foundation, and a Realtor in the state of Idaho for 15 years. She has also run her own jewelry business for 24 years, currently still a Luxury High-End Fine Jewelry Designer (Sky Studio Luxe). In addition to fine jewelry, she is also currently a coach for high-achieving women who feel lonely at the top, helping them live a life of authenticity through her 'Grit and Pixie Dust' keynote and coaching program, which launched in 2025.
After a Habitat for Humanity mission trip to Kenya in 1997, Cheri (along with 5 friends) started a 501c3 Foundation in 2020 to benefit citizens of Africa, called the Alliance for Improved Public Health in Africa (AIPHA).
She met her husband, Will, just eight days into her stint at the South Pole. Their first date was a month-long travel through New Zealand, and they spent the next decade traveling the world. They have two kids, Jack Zealand (16) and Abigail Tasman (13), and now live in Salida, Colorado, at 7300' elevation.
