Game Changer Event Series · 501(c)(3)
Starry nights,
in the desert,
for a cure.
A breast cancer survivor, Daphne Barak turned her own recovery into a movement — raising millions for cancer research under the desert sky.
On 12 April 2024, Daphne Barak underwent surgery to remove breast cancer at UC San Diego Health. In the year of intensive chemotherapy that followed, she recovered fully. In the very same twenty-four hours, her husband, Erbil "Bill" Gunasti, came through a life-saving emergency operation — the two of them on the tables of Prof. Anne Wallace, director of the Comprehensive Breast Health Center, and chief surgeon Dr. Bryan Clary.
Out of those two improbable recoveries they founded the Game Changer Event Series — a 501(c)(3) built to pay the debt forward. Its signature evenings, the Starry Starry Night galas, raise money and awareness for breast cancer research, and honour the doctors and nurses who save lives with "Angel of Life" awards.
Where it goes
Every dollar, into the science.
Proceeds benefit the Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health — the region’s only National Cancer Institute–designated cancer center.
From the desert
The Starry Starry Night galas.
From the Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage to Palm Desert — now a four-day affair with a charity golf tournament — the galas draw friends of the cause from RFK Jr. and Cheryl Hines to Andrea Bocelli, Eric B. and Alexis Wilkins.
