Staff
For those of us who work at the Canary Foundation, our work is more than a job—it’s a calling.
Recruiting exceptional talent and driving innovative technology is the Canary way. Help us continue making both a priority by investing in our mission.
For those of us who work at the Canary Foundation, our work is more than a job—it’s a calling.
Don Listwin, Founder, CEO, Co-Chairman
“After 30 years in the technology industry, I launched Canary Foundation in 2004. I was motivated by a personal experience with cancer.
When my mother was misdiagnosed and died from ovarian cancer, I decided to commit my life to advancing early detection diagnostics.” — Don Listwin
When Don Listwin walked away from his high profile technology career to launch Canary Foundation, his motivation was driven by his family’s experience with cancer. His father was a colon cancer survivor and his mother died of ovarian cancer. Her death prompted him to become personally involved in finding a cure — pledging millions of dollars to early detection research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Stanford Medical School, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and other leading cancer institutions. Today, Don’s personal overall financial commitments to cancer research have surpassed $25 million.
Prior to founding the Canary Foundation, Don was CEO of Sana Security, Openwave, and had been the #2 executive at Cisco Systems. Don serves on the board of directors of several private and public companies including Calix Networks, D-Wave, Plumgrid, Teradici, Violin Memory and is a venture partner at Rally Ventures.
Don is also deeply involved with other cancer-related organizations. He is on the External Advisory Board for the Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) at Stanford and is a member of the Stanford Advisory Board for the Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection at Stanford. He also serves as a member of The Melanoma Cancer Center at The Moffitt Cancer Center. In 2009, he was appointed to the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors.
A native of Canada, Listwin holds a B.S. in electrical engineering and an honorary doctorate of law from the University of Saskatchewan.
Read our Founder’s Story.
Heidi Auman, Scientific Program Manager
“I want to help the Canary Foundation succeed at the challenge of aligning different disciplines toward the common goal of early cancer detection.
My role as manager of scientific programs involves documenting strategic plans, ensuring group connectivity, and tracking and communication of results and progress.” — Heidi Auman
Before 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, D.C. 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.
Therese Quinlan, Chief Development Officer
“I joined Canary Foundation to match my deep interest and training in high-impact philanthropy with an organization positioned to create a leap in science and technology to create early detection tests to better the lives for all people with cancer.” — Therese Quinlan
At Canary Foundation, Therese manages the major gift program, and routinely has open discussions with donors. She believes the approach to cancer early detection is pragmatic and robust. Therese was inspired early on by donors and professionals when working at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral and the Alzheimer’s Association. Therese has led significant fundraising efforts at Canary Foundation, with a focus on transformational giving. She attended Mills College.
Renata Barnes, Donor and Development Services Manager
“I joined the Canary Foundation because I believe that the idea of early detection is the logical approach to solving the problem of cancer that touches all of us.
I consider it a wonderful opportunity to advance the goals of the foundation by providing highly personalized data service to our staff and supporters.” — Renata Barnes
At Canary Foundation, Renata uses her extensive experience developing streamlined systems to ensure that the Foundation works smarter and better to satisfy the needs of our community members.
Her work at Canary primarily involves tasks such as database and systems management, she also supports and organizes registration for Canary events, where she enjoys sharing a glass of wine with the amazing people who support the mission of Canary Foundation. Renata attended the University of Utah.
Candy Gularte, Finance and Administrative Manager
“The Mission of Canary is close to my heart after having lost my Dad to lung cancer at an early age.
In my role, I am responsible for ensuring we have effective financial and operational processes in place to sustain the momentum and important work we do with our partners.” — Candy Gularte
Candace brings a strong background of financial and operational excellence to her work at Canary. She is responsible for all aspects of financial, operational, and administrative work. She works closely with staff to enable proper receipt and disbursement of funds and other key operational focuses.