Sheri Farinha

Sheri Farinha is a nationally known civil rights activist on behalf of deaf and hard of hearing people. She has been the CEO for NorCal Services for Deaf & Hard of Hearing for more than 25 years. She graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts, and a Master’s Degree in Special Education-Deaf focus.

Sheri began her activism more than 35 years ago. She assisted in passing SB 1211 which provides dates for testing a new Text-to-911 service in California. She served as president of the California Association of the Deaf and was the DeafLife Deaf Person of the Year in 2012. Sheri is responsible for facilitating the creation of the Disaster Response Interpreter (DRI) curriculum after speaking with the late Richard Devylder, Director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. Recently this training became very important during the coronavirus pandemic.