From a young age, Cherry has had a deep love of the outdoors. Cherry's grandparents were UAW retirees with a small cabin up-north to which they took their grandchildren every year. Cherry and his grandfather fished together regularly chasing salmon and steelhead in the rivers during fall and winter. He learned to bird hunt with his father and some of his most valued memories are walking fields and two-tracks with his father and the family dog. As an outdoorsman, Cherry values conserving our environment and making sure that Michigan always has wild places for our citizens to explore.

Cherry is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in natural resources and environment before returning to receive his Masters of Public Policy. After graduation, Cherry worked in the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Office of Science and Policy. Later he moved to the DNR's grants management staff and was promoted to the Department's performance management coordinator in 2011.

Inspired by friends and family who instilled in him the importance of public service, Cherry decided to run for the position of Flint Charter Commission in 2015. He served as vice chair of the Commission, which proposed Flint's first new charter in more than forty years.

Prior to joining the Legislature, Cherry started a small business alongside his wife, Teresa. They have one daughter together, Diana, and two yellow labs, Marley and Sassy.