Every year, we ask our 70,000+ associates to consider nominating an exceptional colleague who is making a lasting impact on those around them, both at work and outside of work.

The Jeffrey Sherman Life-Changers Award program launched in 2016 and is named in honor of former BD EVP and General Counsel, Jeffrey Sherman, who passed away following a brave 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

The annual Life-Changers awards are one of our favorite traditions at BD – because these prestigious awards honor “the best of the best” within our organization. This year, we received 70 nominations from our employees around the world and awarded four winners.

Meet 2021 Jeffrey Sherman Life-Changers Award winner, Kyle Doelman, who is the Senior Manager of Information Security in Denver, Colorado.

At BD, Kyle sees new challenges as an opportunity for personal growth. He’s described by his team as hard working and is credited with revamping the company’s process for risk assessment engagements.

Outside of BD, Kyle and his wife are everyday heroes who are having a truly life-changing impact on the lives of children who are part of the foster care system. The Doelmans fostered and then adopted two of their children prior to welcoming their biological daughter to their family in 2015.

In April of last year, as COVID-19 cases were rising exponentially in many areas of the United States, and as shelter-in-place orders were issued in their home city of Denver, Colorado, the Doelmans were once again asked to answer the call to serve as foster parents. Except this time, they were asked to foster not one but four biological brothers, ages 2 to 8, so the siblings could stay together.

The Doelmans recognized that vulnerable children in particular are facing greater dangers associated with COVID-19, because common sources of protection and intervention, such as schools and daycares, were indefinitely closed. Overnight, their family of five became a family of 9 with seven children under age 13.

“All children deserve the right to be cherished, feel safe, and be loved. We’ve been blessed with the means and the desire to provide that to these children during a difficult time in their lives – and we’re grateful they’re here.”

The four brothers were able to return to their home at the end of March 2021.
After taking a few weeks between foster placements to regroup as a family, the Doelmans decided to open their home yet again and recently welcomed a two-and-a-half-year-old girl and her six-week-old brother into their family.

We at BD congratulate Kyle on this very special honor and thank him for his hard work. For more 2021 Life Changer Award stories like Kyle’s, visit the BD Blog.