Don Listwin, Founder, Chairman

A 25-year veteran of the technology industry - he was CEO of Openwave and had been the #2 executive at Cisco Systems - Listwin walked away from his high profile technology career and launched Canary Foundation in 2004 in order to dramatically accelerate early detection research activities.

Listwin's motivation is his family, which has been deeply affected by cancer. Listwin's father is a colon cancer survivor, and his mother died of ovarian cancer. He has thus far pledged over $22 million for early cancer detection research.

Listwin is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sana Security and serves on the Board of Directors of Genologics Life Sciences Software, PLoS, Calix, Stratos Biosciences and the Listwin Family Foundation. He is on the External Advisory Board for the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) at Stanford, the Stanford Advisory Board for Early Neoplasia Detection (END) Center and a member of the Board of Trustees at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

A native of Canada, Listwin holds a B.S. in electrical engineering and an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Saskatchewan.

Scientific Program Management

Heidi Auman, Ph.D., Scientific Program Manager

Prior to joining the Canary Foundation, Heidi was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at New York University School of Medicine's Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine in New York City. In the lab of Dr. Deborah Yelon, her research focused on studying the genetics and cell biology of cardiovascular development and disease. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the National Academies in Washington, DC. There she worked on issues at the intersection of policymakers, scientists, and the public with the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. She earned her Ph.D., M.S., and M.Phil. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University.

Simone Marticke, Ph.D., Scientific Program Manager

Dr. Simone Marticke is a native of Saxony, Germany, where she resided until completing her Abitur. She obtained her B.S. in biological sciences with a research focus in neuroscience from Stanford University. Dr. Marticke remained at Stanford University to pursue a Ph.D. in genetics. Her research in the lab of Dr. Richard M. Myers was aimed at understanding the molecular behavior of a transcription factor important for human speech and language. She applied ultra-high throughput sequencing methods to identify binding sites for this transcription factor in the human genome. Upon completing her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Marticke joined the Canary Foundation.

Sarah Hawley, M.S., Data Analyst

Sarah joined the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2002, as a Statistical Research Associate, where she provided data analytic support for prostate cancer research. Her areas of expertise include the analysis of gene expression microarrays and tissue microarrays as well as custom statistical programming in the R language. She became a Canary Foundation team member in April, 2007, where she now serves as a Data Analyst and Coordinator. Sarah holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Carleton College and an M.S. in Statistics from Colorado State University.

Development

Pat McCowan, Director, Seattle Office

Pat has more than twenty years of nonprofit management and fund raising experience. Most recently she served as Director of Key Initiatives for Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, where she raised $25 million in private contributions and managed a $100 million fund raising campaign. Her extensive experience includes management positions in both small and large nonprofit organizations.

Pat has led strategic planning, board development, fundraising and grantmaking programs, and she also has been a consultant for a variety of notable organizations.

Therese Quinlan, CFRE, Director of Leadership Giving

Therese has been involved in philanthropy on and off most of her life, joining professional ranks in 1990. She has held positions such as one at San Francisco's prestigious Grace Cathedral in fund development and for the Labyrinth Project. She created several effective fundraising systems during her ten years at the Alzheimer's Association. This included the chapter's first-ever major gifts program that raised 4.5 million dollars in the first 19 months matching donors to research and National Institutes of Health related projects. Providing information to donors about how to help bring about innovations, advancements and breakthroughs in science is the message she emphasizes in leadership giving. She has presented at development conferences, written articles and organized successful staff, board and community fundraising teams.

Therese has been a certified fundraising executive (CFRE) since 2002 and serves on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She practices donor-centered philanthropy, helping donors to achieve their goals of changing lives by making extraordinary, high-impact gifts.

Patricia Adams, Office Manager

Native to California, Patricia received her Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design and began her career in publishing. After ten successful years in production management, publishing and advertising, Patricia entered the nonprofit field to find a more rewarding outlet for her skills. Being an active volunteer herself, she began her second career as Coordinator of Volunteer Services at The Tech Museum in San Jose, Wildlife Rescue, and most recently at KTEH - Silicon Valley Public Television.

Patricia is an active member of the South Bay community, with long term commitments to Hospice of the Valley, San Jose Public Libraries, and seasonal events such as Christmas in the Park and the San Jose Jazz Festival.