About Us

Who knows how it feels to be told your child has cancer? We do!

Our Mission

Brighter Tomorrows believes that every family who has been touched by a childhood cancer diagnosis deserves a compassionate, loving support system.

Our mission is to welcome parents, caregivers, children, family and friends to share experiences, provide resources, and offer breaks from the rigors of a childhood cancer journey.

We are here to support the newly diagnosed, the survivors and the bereaved. 

Who Are We?

Founded and established by families who have faced childhood cancer themselves,  we understand what you are going through because we have faced the same fears, asked the same questions, and grasped for the same hope necessary to survive each day of this long, and most often, difficult journey. 

We are here to help you at the start, during and after this journey by providing comfort, support, education and distractions from the daily struggle through activities, meals, sibling support and connection to other families on the same road.  

Our History

Brighter Tomorrows was founded as a non-profit 501c3 corporation in 2007 by four mothers of children with cancer, determined that no family should ever have to travel this difficult road alone.  Through their experiences it became apparent that there was power in providing this valuable support.

Liz Canan

President and Founder

Mayo Clinic Operations Administrator, Division of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care.

In March, 2004, Liz Canan’s life was forever changed when her 6-year old son Will was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Will’s cancer journey spanned 8.5 years until his death on October 11, 2012 at age 14.  During this unimaginable journey, Will endured multiple brain surgeries, radiation and re-radiation treatments, multiple chemotherapies and other treatments as his family and doctors tried everything to slow or stop the cancer. His courage, kindness, resilience and sense of humor endeared him to many.

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Board Members

Mary Hansen

Mary Hansen

Secretary

Bio

Mary Hansen

Secretary

Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union, CEO
Certified Internal Auditor
Minnesota Health and Insurance Licensure

Mary serves as Board Secretary and was elected to the Board of Directors in December 2011. She became involved in Brighter Tomorrows due to her friendship with the Canan Family and considers it a tremendous privilege to serve on the Board! She has been involved in the largest fundraiser for Brighter Tomorrows called the Go for the Gold Run/Walk since 2012, and has chaired the event since 2014. Her passion has been fundraising to support the mission to families facing pediatric cancer and together her family has personally raised over $46,000 during her time on the board.

She has served as the CEO of the Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union for almost 20 years and serves as Vice Chair on the MnCUN Board, the state credit union trade association, as well as a director on the Minnesota Credit Union Foundation Board. She maintains her Series 6 Registered Representative securities license as well as her state life and health insurance licensing. Her past work experience includes financial advisory services and internal audit, where she earned her Certified Internal Auditor designation.

Brandon Passon

Brandon Passon

Treasurer

Bio

Brandon Passon

Treasurer

Mayo Clinic
Internal Audit Services, Auditor II

 

Ronald Petrovich

Ronald Petrovich

Board Member

Bio

Ronald Petrovich

Board Member

Director, Mayo Clinic Public Affairs  News and News Delivery
Former Manager, Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media
 
Bio
Ron Petrovich, a Brighter Tomorrows board member since 2017. He is currently Director, News and News Delivery, Public Affairs, Mayo Clinic.

"The more time I spend with the Brighter Tomorrows team, volunteers and families, the better I feel about joining this amazing organization. I’m honored to work with colleagues who place the interest of families who are battling childhood cancer above everything. It’s our mission to make a grueling ordeal a little easier; this may mean different things to families. As a parent, it could be talking to a friend who has experienced the same physical, mental, social and financial burdens. As a child, it might mean playing with other children to escape the rigors of treatment. For a healthy sibling of a patient, it might be sharing confidences with our teen coordinator or another brother or sister who are dealing with the same issues.

I wish there was a group like Brighter Tomorrows when I had cancer. In 1991, living in Michigan, I was successfully treated for testicular cancer. My physicians had the best intentions, but looking back, I feel that I was treated with excessive, invasive procedures. We didn’t have a group like Brighter Tomorrows, and I think a support organization like ours may have helped my wife and I ask more questions and make better choices. Brighter Tomorrows connects families in person and through social media. Several people in our group also have strong relationships with Mayo care teams, hopefully giving families access to information from wide perspectives to make informed decisions.

My wife Stacey and I are the proud parents of Alexis and Mantha, and through their volunteering we learned about the power of helping kids with cancer. They both attended Penn State University and participated in THON, the largest student run philanthropy in the world, dedicated to raising millions of dollars for research and families facing childhood cancer. When Mantha danced in the 46-hour marathon, we stood for hours in a packed basketball arena and witnessed the resilience of these kids. It was a life-changing experience for us. So, when my boss at Mayo, Chris Gade, mentioned that his friend, our president and founder, Liz Canan, was looking for a board member, it seemed like a perfect fit. While I’m on the board, Stacey loves to bake for Brighter Tomorrows events when she can. We both get great satisfaction seeing the smiles, but more importantly, we are inspired by these children and families who show us how to live and fight with brave determination and grace."

Christa Keehr

Christa Keehr

Board Member

Bio

Christa Keehr

Board Member

Marketing and Communications, Olmsted Medical Center
Mother of Childhood Cancer Survivor
Parent Representative on Brighter Tomorrows Board
 
Bio

Christa joined the BT board in 2019, after four years of participation in the group.  Christa’s daughter Hannah was diagnosed with Stage IV, High-Risk Neuroblastoma in 2015 at the age of two.  She has joined the board to give back to the organization that kept her family afloat, and to help families faced with the diagnosis of childhood cancer.  Hannah is joined by her older brother, Jacob, and they enjoy participating in Brighter Tomorrows and meeting families who have traveled a similar path.

Brighter Tomorrows has been there to help us to heal as a family. We thought, at first, that with as fast as Matt’s treatments went that we would be fine. Little did we know that our needs were just beginning.
Kathrine Ferrie

Mother of Matt

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