Board Chair
Marie Bernard is the Executive Director of Sunnyvale Community Services, a local nonprofit agency, a position she has held since 2010. Under her leadership, Sunnyvale Community Services has grown to serve over 10,000 low-income individuals each year with emergency assistance including financial aid, year-round food assistance, case management, and services for homeless individuals. With an annual budget of $11M, the agency serves as a hub for safety net services in the community, bringing together local volunteers. Prior to joining Sunnyvale Community Services, Marie worked for 19 years at Hewlett-Packard in a variety of director and management positions in marketing and workforce development. After leaving HP in 2003, she was Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of San Jose, and then became the CEO of Project HIRED, a nonprofit organization assisting individuals with disabilities to gain employment. Marie has served on the Board of Directors for several nonprofits, including Second Harvest Silicon Valley, Sacred Heart Community Service, and CakesforKids. Marie holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, a M.A.in Pastoral Ministries from Santa Clara University, and a B.A. in History from the University at Buffalo. She is a Senior Fellow of the Silicon Valley American Leadership Forum’s Class XXXI, as well as a graduate of the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits’ Leaders’ Institute and the Institute for Leaders in Ministry from the Diocese of San Jose. She and her family live in Sunnyvale.
