Administration
The office of the CANSEARCH Foundation is made up of three posts with a total staffing level of 210%: a General Secretary, an Administrative and Financial Manager and a Projects and Donors Officer. The team is reinforced by three competent volunteers who are involved on a weekly basis.
Valérie Steck, General Secretary Tel: +41 76 679 45 63, valerie@cansearch.ch Valérie previously worked in the field of communication and events, before becoming the Foundation's General Secretary (from 2013 to 2017). She then joined the volunteer team and also helps out with administrative aspects and at events, including the charity evening. She is also President of the Founex Loisirs association. Valérie is married and the mother of two boys. | ![]() |
Thanh Mai Toi Ngoc, Financial and Administrative Manager tel: +41 78 259 00 89 thanh@cansearch.ch Thanh MAI THI NGOC is originally from Vietnam. She completed her schooling in Geneva and obtained a master's degree in sociology at the University of Geneva. For several years, she worked in the field of operational marketing in Lausanne. She started as a field staff manager for the French speaking part of Switzerland, and later as a project manager. She gained a lot of experience in product launches, sales promotions, merchandising and event organisation both at national and international level. Thanh then moved to the international organisation sector and joined the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva as an administrator for several research centres for seven years where she also worked as a fund manager for research projects. Thanks to these different professional experiences, Thanh has strong skills in personnel management, project management, budgeting, administration, logistics and event organisation in the academic and private sectors. She has always been able to strengthen her professional skills through further training in project management, web communication and accounting. | ![]() |
Florence Schmidt, Project and Donor Manager tel: +41 79 431 64 46 florence@cansearch.ch Florence holds a master's degree in international relations from the IUHEID in Geneva. She began her career in banking with BNP Paribas trade finance. She then moved into the business press and qualified as a PR journalist. She spent more than 12 years working for the major French-language titles (Femina, Bilan, L'Hebdo) and also worked in broadcasting for Télé Vaud-Fribourg. After that, Florence worked in various communications roles, notably for Suisse Tourisme in Zurich, public relations agencies in Lausanne and agencies specialising in finance and real estate in Geneva. To complete her training, she obtained a DAS in digital communications from the University of Geneva and a diploma in community management. Florence is married with three children. | ![]() |
Volunteers
The CANSEARCH Foundation is fortunate to be able to rely on the loyalty and skills of many volunteers, enabling it to minimize its operating costs and to focus on costs and investments related to scientific research.
Stephanie Ansari Volunteer for CANSEARCH since the Foundation's inception in 2011. Stephanie has been helping with various administrative and event-related matters, most notably with the charity evening auction. She enjoys golf in particular and is passionate about art, a field in which she practices professionally. Stephanie is married and the mother of two teenage girls. stephanie@cansearch.ch | ![]() |
Alix Rivoire Volunteer for CANSEARCH since 2013. Alix has a solid experience as a management assistant in a financial company as well as the supervision and coordination of teams and projects in the services and logistics department of the same company. Alix is married and has three children. She has been devoting herself full-time to family and community life for several years now. In particular, she is very involved in the life of her commune of residence and was a local councillor during the previous legislature. Alix provides us with administrative and logistical support during our charity evenings and various CANDO events. alix@cansearch.ch | ![]() |
Cathy Wintsch Volunteer for CANSEARCH since 2014. Originally from Ireland, Cathy arrived in Geneva in 1989 for three months and never left. She worked for 12 years at the GATT/WTO and then decided to devote herself to her family full time. Passionate about golf and travel, she helps the Foundation with many administrative tasks throughout the year and is a member of the Organising Committee for events, including the charity evening. Cathy is married and the mother of two daughters cathy@cansearch.ch | ![]() |
A big thank you to all our volunteers who give us their precious time to do various tasks for us! Thank you!
Please contact us if you would like to help or promote the CANSEARCH Foundation by creating or animating your own Action Group.