$1 million fundraising effort by life science leaders to be held in Pacific Northwest
Life Science Cares is aiming to reach even greater heights with the 2024 Timmerman Traverse, as this year’s roster of hikers targets a fundraising goal of $1 million to support Life Science Cares’ programs and community partnerships.
The 2024 team, led by Traverse founder Luke Timmerman, will hike 20+ miles across the North Cascade Mountains in Washington State over the course of two days in August. Each of these leaders in the life science sector has committed to raise a minimum of $25,000 for Life Science Cares and our network of nonprofit partners.
“The Timmerman Traverse has raised more than $3 million since 2021 for Life Science Cares to fight poverty,” Timmerman said. “These challenging outdoor expeditions inspire people. They raise critical funds, they raise awareness of Life Science Cares, and maybe even most importantly, these expeditions have nurtured lasting friendships and shared purpose among biotech leaders. These bonding experiences make our communities stronger.”
Proceeds from the Traverse support Life Science Cares’ community investments, grantmaking and partnerships providing access to basic needs, access to education and access to opportunity in Greater Boston, Philadelphia, New York, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area. To date, the Life Science Cares network has distributed more than $16 million in grants to community partners and supercharged those grants with 20,000+ volunteer hours and more than $1 million in in-kind contributions.
This year’s Traverse team:
- Luke Timmerman, Founder, Timmerman Report
- Amy Abernethy, Former Principal Deputy Commissioner, FDA
- Vineeta Agarwala, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz
- Katherine Andersen, Head of Life Science & Healthcare, HSBC USA Commercial Banking
- Bonnie Anderson, Co-Founder and CEO, PinkDx; Former Co-Founder and CEO, Veracyte
- Jim Birchenough, Chairman of Global Healthcare Investment Banking and Co-Head of Global Biopharma Investment Banking, Barclays
- Racquel Bracken, Partner, Venrock
- Jason Coloma, CEO, Maze Therapeutics
- Cayce Denton, General Partner, Dandelion Capital Management
- Saul Fink, CTO, Q32 Bio
- Tracy Fink, Founder, The Tortoise Institute
- Colin Hill, Founder and CEO, Aitia
- Art Krieg, Founder and CEO, Zola Therapeutics
- Jennifer McNealey, Chief Financial Officer, Abdera Therapeutics
- Joe Payne, Founder and CEO, Arcturus Therapeutics
- Derrell Porter, CEO, C-TRL Therapeutics
- Jim Reddoch, CSO and EVP, Investments, Royalty Pharma
- Aaron Ring, Anderson Family Endowed Chair in Immunotherapy, Associate Professor, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center; Co-Founder, Simcha Therapeutics, Seranova, Stipple Bio, ALX Oncology, Ab Initio Biotherapeutics
- Harlan Robins, CSO, Adaptive Biotechnologies
- Nancy Simonian, Founder and Former CEO, Syros Pharmaceuticals
- Ashley Van Zeeland, Vice President of Corporate Development, Illumina
- Ethan Weiss, EIR, Third Rock Ventures
Hear from the team about why they’re stepping up to support Life Science Cares.
This year’s team is getting early support from a group of Timmerman Traverse alum—a network of industry leaders who have participated in past hikes and who have contributed $80,000 to kick off the 2024 fundraising. That was matched by the Gilead Foundation as part of a match challenge around the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in January.
“This industry’s commitment to collaboration, innovation and solving big challenges is evidenced by the continued success of the Timmerman Traverse,” said Life Science Cares CEO Sarah MacDonald. “These efforts fuel the community connections we build and will lead to measurable impact toward our mission to disrupt poverty and inequity in the communities in which we live and work.”
There are a number of ways for people to support this year’s hikers.
DONATE: Go to the Timmerman Traverse website and find a hiker you know. They’ll appreciate anything you can give — $100, or $500 or $1,000 – to help them hit their goal of $25,000.
SPONSOR: If you’re thinking big as an organization, and able to donate between $5,000 and $100,000, you could join an outstanding group of dedicated sponsors above. Learn more about sponsorship. Contact Sheryl Moon with any questions.
About Life Science Cares
Life Science Cares (LSC) activates the financial and human capital of the life sciences industry and partners with nonprofits to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inequality in our communities. Now operating in five life science hubs (Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York), LSC has invested $16 million and tens of thousands of volunteer hours in community organizations providing access to basic needs, access to education or access to opportunity. Learn more at https://lifesciencecares.org/.