Previously, Sheryl was a senior associate at FowlerHoffman LLC, a national consulting firm specializing in progressive public policy initiatives.  During her tenure at FowlerHoffman, she directed a statewide community engagement effort on behalf of Preschool California, a broad-based, multi-year, non-partisan advocacy campaign to achieve voluntary preschool for all 4-year-olds in California; wrote key components of a multi-year public education plan for The California Endowment to address the health care crisis in California; and oversaw research and development activities for the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom's public education effort aimed at securing minors' access to confidential reproductive health services.

She served on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies (IGLSS), an independent think tank answering questions that affect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.  IGLSS has since become part of The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Sheryl resides in Berkeley, California with her partner Susannah and their daughter Georgia.