HEATHER ANN BRAUER, PHD

Leader with 15+ years building coalitions, advising senior leaders, and launching initiatives that depend on trust, relationships, and collective action to succeed. Track record of architecting programs from concept to scale, including a $50M global research consortium and a nationally recognized movement to advance gender equity in sport, while cultivating the partnerships and governance structures that sustain them.

Currently leads AI/ML-driven global health initiatives on the Accelerator team at the Gates Foundation focused on women's health, routine laboratory data, and equitable access to innovation. Previously partnered directly with C-suite leadership at NanoString Technologies on major platform launches. Has spent decades building teams as a coach, a national movement for girls in sport, governance structures for equity, trust across conflict lines in the Middle East, and a family through foster and adoptive parenting, because the commitment to people has never been separate from the work. Brings a lifelong, personal commitment to equity and to showing up across differences, regardless of sector, title, or circumstance.

• Co-Founder & Former Chair, Girls’ Ultimate Movement (2014–Present)
• Co-founded a national initiative within USA Ultimate to advance gender equity and leadership pathways for girls in sport.
• Elected Board Member & Gender Equity Committee Chair, USA Ultimate
• Led policy and programmatic initiatives to advance equitable participation across the national governing body for ultimate.
• Board Member, Ultimate Peace (2020–Present)
• Supports governance and partnership development for an organization using sport to build trust across conflict lines in the Middle East.
• Board Member, Boomtown Café
• Provides strategic oversight for a Seattle community café model supporting unhoused individuals.

• Team USA Athlete & Gold Medalist – 2015 Beach Ultimate World Championships
• Boston Marathon Qualifier – 2020 & 2021
• Foster and adoptive parent advocate
• Mentor to early-career scientists
• Former Women’s Center Manager and Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor

• Chumsri S, Carter JM, Ma Y, Brauer HA, et al. Characteristics associated with spatially resolved immune landscapes in triple-negative breast cancer in the FinXX trial and Mayo Clinic cohort. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2023.
• Brauer HA, Crotty R, Hu K, Stevenson K, et al. Simultaneous identification of cell of origin, translocations, and hotspot mutations in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma using a single RNAsequencing assay. American Journal of Clinical Pathology. 2021;155(5):748-754.
• Swain SM, Tang G, Brauer HA, et al. NSABP B-41, a randomized neoadjuvant trial: genes and signatures associated with pathologic complete response. Clinical Cancer Research. 2020;26(16):4233-4241.
• Schroth W, Büttner FA, Kandabarau S, et al. Gene expression signatures of BRCAness and tumor inflammation define subgroups of early-stage hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients. Clinical Cancer Research. 2020;26(24):6523-6534.
• Asleh K, Brauer HA, Sullivan A, et al. Predictive biomarkers for adjuvant capecitabine benefit in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer in the FinXX clinical trial. Clinical Cancer Research. 2020;26(11):2603-2614.
• Waks AG, Stover DG, Guerriero JL, et al. The immune microenvironment in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer before and after preoperative chemotherapy. Clinical Cancer Research. 2019;25(15):4644-4655.
• Lee JS, Yost SE, Blanchard S, et al. Phase I clinical trial of the combination of eribulin and everolimus in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research.2019;21(1):119.