Board – No Barriers, USA

After losing his vision at the age of 14, Erik has dedicated his life to inspiring others to embrace a No Barriers Mindset to live purposeful and meaningful lives. He has climbed the 7 Summits, the tallest mountain on every continent, and solo-kayaked the iconic whitewater of the Grand Canyon, among countless other adventure firsts

A former middle school teacher and wresting coach, Erik is, the author of Touch the Top of the World, The Adversity Advantage and No Barriers: A Blind Man’s Journey to Kayak the Grand Canyon. He is the recipient of numerous awards, among them the prestigious National Courage Award and the 2002 ESPN ESPY award.

Erik is an internationally recognized speaker whose message helps companies, organizations and individuals around the world discover what it takes to turn into the storm, convert challenges into greatness, and reach for seemingly impossible goals. Through Erik’s groundbreaking adventures, he has explored and defined what it means to live a No Barriers Life, describing it as a map we build to navigate and to pursue a life that matters.

“A No Barriers Life is not all about hanging off the edge of a scary mountain, nor is it only applicable to someone who may be blind or can’t walk. No Barriers is for everyone.”

Steve currently serves as VP of Marketing for DaVita, a Fortune 500 company located in Denver. DaVita is a leading healthcare provider operating over 2,800 clinics across the country for more than 200,000 people with kidney disease. He is responsible for messaging to key stakeholders including patients, physicians, payors and policy makers about what makes DaVita unique and better.

Prior to joining DaVita, he worked with many companies in different industries including PepsiCo, Pfizer, Kellogg’s, Eli Lilly, Kraft Heinz, Beam Suntory, Amgen, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aspen Dental, Craig Hospital and many others on consumer research, new product development, positioning strategy, communications and change management.

He holds an MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and an undergraduate degree in business from Drake University.

Steve supports No Barriers because it is a unique brand with a positive message of possibility that impacts so many different people. He has seen firsthand how the organization transforms lives and helps those in need of a true rope team!

Dennis Malinis is the Director for Global Disability Inclusion for Expedia Group. In this role, Dennis leads work on strategy and efforts to foster an inclusive environment for people with disabilities within Expedia Group’s employees, travelers, partners, and communities.

Dennis supports and is committed to No Barriers because he believes in their mission, values, and priorities.

Dennis has the Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies designation from the International Association of Accessibility Professionals as well as the Certified Scrum Master designation from the Scrum Alliance. His educational credentials include a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA in Finance, and a Master of Science in Information Systems Management.

Bill D’Amico is a DEI advocate, a volunteer and a fundraiser for No Barriers USA, Special Olympics, Best Buddies, Project Angel Heart, American Red Cross, Cystic Fibrosis and FoodRescue. Before retiring Bill had a fulfilling career as a technology executive with strong strategic, operational, sales, partnership, financial and technical skills. He is a proven leader, mentor, top performer, and team player adept at building and motivating organizations to maximize growth and efficiency, creating client loyalty and satisfaction, and delivering shareholder value.

Why No Barriers? Bill met Erik Weihenmayer in 1999 when he hired him to provide motivational speaking engagements at his company for a series of training events that involved harnessing a lot of internal change and upheaval in their sales processes. Even then, Erik talked about the importance of a Rope Team, which made a lasting impression on Bill. During those sessions, it became clear that Erik not only possessed a knack for sharing his journey in a captivating style, but also had a passion to become a much needed voice and advocate of inclusion for the disabled community, and that he could use his athletic endeavors to deliver a compelling message.

Over the course of those events and thereafter, Bill and Erik stayed in touch and became friends. When Erik told Bill about his fledgling non-profit No Barriers, and their plans for an inaugural US Summit Event at Lake Tahoe in 2007, he was happy to get involved (along with his children) and help out anyway they could. They were immediately drawn to the energy of that gathering, and witnessed the transformational power it had on people, especially for those who were unaware that such a community even existed for them. Bill’s children have continued to stay involved and Bill has attended and volunteered at every Summit since then, as well as other regional events. It’s been a very rewarding experience for Bill to help people reach beyond their perceived limits, watch them break through their own barriers, and achieve personal summits that bring them joy, satisfaction and a sense of fulfillment; all in the company of other like-minded people. Bill simply wants to help spread awareness and share the No Barriers experience with as many others as possible.

Mitch Moffett is a retired corporate executive with over 35 years of sales, marketing, and organizational management experience. Mitch has a successful leadership track record in a variety of complex corporate settings. Prior to retirement and since 2003, Mitch was the Vice President of Healthcare for Kronos (now UKG).

Mitch has a passion for building successful teams and helping individuals exceed their goals. Mitch has been a volunteer for No Barriers for the past 7 years and strongly believes in No Barrier’s mission to help everyone reach their highest potential.

Gena Harper was born with congenital Glaucoma, but she has never let that stop her from accomplishing her goals or motivating others to reach for their dreams.

Tenacious and inspiring, Gena is one of the very few blind Financial Advisors at Morgan Stanley and in the United States. She is a Certified Investment Management Analyst ® (CIMA), who, along with her business partner of 31 years, provides custom financial planning for her clients that delves into and simplifies even the most complex situations. Her commitment to meeting life head-on extends to her work with her clients, encouraging them to look beyond the immediate and challenge themselves to live full and meaningful lives.

Dr Friedman, a Past-President of American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), has been a student, and teacher, of mindfulness for over a decade. He has presented at both the ACEP annual meeting, and BalanceED on numerous topics; including Meditation, Hypnosis, and Mindfulness.He has a strong interest in the diagnosis and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Syndromes. He was elected President of ACEP in October of 2018. He was elected to the Board of Directors of ACEP the in 2012, and again in 2015. He has served as Chair of the Emergency Medicine Foundation & is a Past-President of the Florida College of Emergency physicians (FCEP).

Bob Baltimore is a managing director and co-chief executive officer at Harris Williams. During his 20-year history with the firm, Bob has advised hundreds of clients, helped build a successful industry practice, and served in a variety of leadership roles.

As co-chief executive officer, Bob is accountable for the strategic direction, life, and performance of the firm. Working in collaboration with all Harris Williams leaders, he helps deliver an exceptional experience as well as unmatched expertise and execution capabilities.

Bob has extensive experience advising clients on a broad range of mergers and acquisitions and strategic advisory assignments, including divestures, capital raisings, and financings.

Harry Dalessio is head of the Full Service Solutions businesses within Prudential Retirement, a unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) and a leading provider of defined contribution, defined benefit, nonqualified deferred compensation plan administration, institutional investment and participant services. Since 1924, Prudential Retirement serves nearly 7,800 public, private and not-for-profit organizations and more than 4.2mm individuals accounts for over $401.3B of retirement account values.

Even as a child Tom Sullivan was an entrepreneur. He’d charge the kids in his Boston neighborhood to watch him do bicycle tricks, and as the oldest of 11 children there were plenty of kids around. His first official business, a contracting firm, wasn’t quite the success he hoped for and neither was the syndicated travel show he tried to launch in the 1980’s.

His persistence and desire for success paid off in 1993. He began buying excess and scrap wood from lumber yards and reselling it out of the back of his pick up truck to homeowners and contractors.

Keith Allman was elected President and Chief Executive Officer effective February 14, 2014. Prior to his election, Mr. Allman was a Group President, a position he was promoted to in 2011, and had responsibility for Masco’s Plumbing Products and North American Cabinet businesses. While Group President, Mr. Allman was responsible for a number of companies accounting for approximately half of Masco’s revenues in 2012.

In this role, Mr. Allman led the development and implementation of a platform-wide strategy including the turnaround of the North American Cabinet business.

No Barriers Board of Directors

board of directors

Erik Weihenmayer

Steve Clouthier

Dennis Malinis

Bill D’Amico

Mitch Moffett

Billy Lister III

Dr. Vidor Friedman

John Broadbent

Skyler Williams

advisory board

Harry Dalessio

Tom Sullivan

Robert Baltimore

Keith Allman

Are you interested in joining the No Barriers Board of Directors?